Lost in Translation...

Alright, well it's official, we are moved into our home! And when I say moved in, that's a very loose statement! We have moved in what we have so far which is not much. Our bags are in the correct rooms and our groceries are unpacked. I just received my unaccompanied baggage yesterday, so I'm happy to report I now have some winter clothes...it was a good day! We did recieve our temporary furniture and it is ROUGH!

We have a couch...I kid you not, it is the exact same couch I had in Andy Holt (University apartment style dorm at UT), a coffee table, a kitchen table, chairs, 2 night stands and a bed that is harder than our wood floors! I seriously sat down on the bed when they moved it in and just started laughing. We went to the store when we moved in to buy some essentials like 1 towel, some plastic plates, and silverware, toilet paper, sheets, a blanket, pillows, groceries, and a TV. Yes, a tv. Taylor about wore me out trying to get that thing set up as soon as we moved in so we could get the whole 7 channels they offer on the Armed Forces Network (AFN). It took 3 trips to the BX (Base Exchange...our Wal-Mart) just to get the right cords and plugs and then a visit to the Piernick's to get the correct adaptor for the plug because the plugs are not standard over here and not all European plugs fit all outlets and appliances. Why make it easy, right? I was doubtful and betted that he wouldn't get it set up that night, but he won...he got it all set up and working the first night. Point for Taylor.

There was one minor detail we went without the first night and that was HEAT! The inspector said the pressure was high on our hot water tank (or some kind of tank that controls heat in our house) and he didn't recommend turning on the radiators until someone could come look and see what the problem was. So we had hot water, but no heat. The highs have been in the low 50's to high 40's for a good 2 weeks here...it was a little chilly! I slept in 2 pairs of socks, leggings, flannel pants, a t-shirt, longsleve shirt, and my fleece and I was quite comfortable that night.

I also mentioned that all of our windows have shutters on them. Taylor is in heaven because he loves to sleep in the dark, but it totally throws me off to not have any sunlight in the morning because I ususally start waking up a few times before I need to wake up. Well our first morning I set my alarm to get up for Spouse Start (a welcome/informational type program) and at 7:45 Taylor's alarm went off. I don't know if I set my alarm wrong, or disabled it, or what but I had to be at Spouse Start at 8am! I woke up completely disoriented and threw myself together enough to make it to the program only 15 minutes late...not too bad! So I'm figuring out ways to allow sunlight through so I'm not so disoriented in the morning.

Our heat was fixed the next day and on our second night as we went to bed Taylor turned off the heat downstairs, or at least he thought he was turning off the heat. It is Italian law that you are only allowed to run your heat or air conditioner 14 hours a day. So the next morning I wake up and shower to wait for my unaccompanied baggage to arrive and I walk downstairs into an absolute oven! It was SOO hot down there and we have yet to figure out how to turn our heat on and off. We're still messing with it and can't figure out which way is which. I know that sounds really silly and that it should be really simple, but I'm telling you, NOTHING is simple in this country! Oh, I also misreported in an earlier post. Our house is heated by radiators, but our heat comes from our floors. How cool is that?? And it is so great because we have all tile and hardwood. That tile gets so cold, but with the heated floors I can actually walk around barefooted without freezing my toes off!

Another appliance we have yet to figure out is our German washer and dryer. Aside from the German words telling us how to work it, it is full of symbols that don't mean a SINGLE thing to me. Again, it sounds so silly, but it is nothing logical at all like blue for cold, red for hot, nope, nothing. So after I finish this I'm heading over to the warehouse to pick up instructions for my washer and dryer...what do you want to bet it's all in German?

I attempted to top off our rental car with gas before I turned it in on Wednesday. I went to the gas station, just as I had with Taylor the day before. I waited for the guy who pumps it to come over and ask what I needed (most stations do that here)...no one came. I waited awhile longer...no one came. So I drove down the road to the next station and I waited...and no one came. So I realized the station was on its siesta (actually that's Spanish and I can't remember what the Italian word for it is...) but basically most business close for about 2 hours in the afternoon to have lunch and take a nap. So I had learned about this in my Spouse Start that morning and I learned how to work the machine. So I got out and went to open my gas tank and it took me about 5 minutes just to figure out how to unlock the top of it. When I finally got it unlocked I then went over to the machine to pay for my gas and sure enough in the little Italian I could figure out...it wouldn't take credit cards, only Euros. Well I had no Euros and needless to say the car never got topped off. I just laughed at my situation...well after I got my frustration out and I'm just glad no one else was there with me to see my struggle with the gas station. You know, it's these little things that you don't think about and no, they're not big deals...but they're annoyances and little adaptations that I just have to get used to!

And speaking of...Since we do not have internet I am currently sitting at the Airman and Family Readiness Center on base using their wireless. My battery is about to die because I brought my charger, but not an adapter and my plug won't plug into the outlet here! Good news though, Taylor thinks our internet will be set up on Wedneday. He got a text in Italian and from what he could decipher, he thinks that is what it was telling him...I'll let you know!!!

Bye for now!!