I purchased the International Driving permit today. It took all of 10 min. I wish the citizenship process was just as fast. Now I need to find someone who has a stick shift car to practice on. Alas I have not found a kind soul to lend me their car to use. Any takers?????
41 DAYS BABY!!!!!!!!
I was just informed by a fellow Italophile that NY Literary Agency is not as reliable as I made myself think. I am going to keep looking around for the right publisher. Grazie Mille Michelle! I will write more when I have researched more.
I sent a portion of my manuscript to the New York Literary Agency this past week. I got a response back from them, that they received and it will take about 1-2 weeks for them to review it.
How it works is after the read it and accepted it as something they can sell. They will start giving it to different publishers to look at and see if they want to buy the book. I don't pay the NY literay a penny for doing this, Alas there is always a catch. Once they sell my manuscript to a publisher, they get 10% of the earnings I will receive from selling it initially. Not too bad. After that I will have my own publisher....how exciting huh???
Also in the news, I have filled out the application for AAA to get my International Driving Permit. I will need to get 2 passport sized pictures, $10 check, and my driver's license. Done and done! I will apply sometime this week.
I HAVE 44 DAYS LEFT UNTIL FIRENZE 2007!!!!!
Valentina emailed me today and answered more of my questions. She is fabulous!!
Then I think to myself...WOW....is this really happening AGAIN!! Katie, can you do this?? Of course you can, why not? I need to experience life. But what about Addy, my adorable niece, im going to miss her. What about my Nana? I want to take her with me. No I can't Papa will miss her too much. Pack light kate. I can't pack like i did last summer. So much stuff I never wore. What if I just bring one bag?? HA, that is crazy talk. I am now packing for a whole year of different seasons. Geez, where does one begin?? I have no money to buy clothes, I have no money, period. HAHAHA!!! yea that does sound funny. I am a healthy American girl with no money and im moving overseas. HAHAHA!!!! Yes that is what is going on in my head right now!!
Jay, my brother in law, asked me tonight, "so you are only getting paid like 75 bucks a week?? I know you are going for the experience but shouldn't you get paid more." I informed him that I am going to be provided food and shelter in return. It is all about the experience. Definitely!
I am thinking and worrying way too much. Stop it Katie!!!
Will be when I arrive in Firenze, bella citta. My favorite citta!!! I am still looking for a good ticket. So I talked to Valentina da Firenze yesterday on the phone at 7:30am my time. She was very bubbly and funny. I felt a great feeling talking with her. We seem like a great match. She explained the duties I will have with the girls, Carolina e Maria. They are in the process of moving north of the city center, Piazza Liberta. I know that area well because that is one of the Piazzas the #7 bus goes around on its way down from Fiesole. Speaking of Fiesole, she owns a touring company in Fiesole. I told her how surreal that is because that is place and an experience I would love to do. Ever since coming back to the States, I have always thought how fabulous it would be to be a tour guide for small groups of tourists. I asked her if she could show me her business, and she said "Of course!" I am in complete heaven!!!
Yes, the rumors are true. I found a family to work for and live with starting in January 07. I hope to be speaking with my new sister, Valentina, this weekend. Details to come....
I was just reading on Expats in Italy about how this woman and her husband have obtained citizenship by going to the comune his grandfather was born in. I read and read and read and READ how she (or should I say her husband) did it. I read people complaining about the consulates all over the States, how slow they were, how inconsiderate they were or are, how they were just not helpful, how they wouldn't stop this couple for obtaining a right of jure sanguis.
All this bitching got me thinking, if this whole citizenship thru the consulate doesn't work for me, what the hell, I will try this process. I will move to Montefiorino, my Nana and Great Grandfathers' hometown and apply with all my papers in hand.
It is so funny how this one guy on this forum was writing in an angry and frustrated tone how pissed he is with the consulate in Chicago and how he thought he will be screwed if he can't obtain citizenship here. Someone replied back, Just move there, that is what you plan on doing anyways.
He got really offended by that remark, Move? NOW!
When will it ever be the right time to follow your heart unless you just jump in head first. No need to get your panties in a bunch....just take the leap and go for it!
Well...I almost have all the right paperwork for the good ole consulate, I mean Italia. My favorite place on earth. I am waiting for my Dad to get our certificates out of the safety deposit box, and I wrote to my Nana's home town to see if they can send me a similiar letter with proof she was born in Montefiorino just like Grandpa. Good news there.
As for my book, well, I am still technically working on it. Some have asked me to post a portion of it on my blog but alas, I feel it still needs more work. From the help my British amica, Giovanna. She has been proofreading for me and tells me I need to work on it just a bit more. (katie types in a british accent) :-)
I do want to start writing again. About my adventures going on at this moment, citizenship, finding a family in conjunction with being an au pair, and finally finding myself. I still feel there is a lot more to who I am. I suppose this past year being back in my hometown, in my childhood bedroom, in my parents house, amongst my siblings, and old photos, I must be ready to venture off again. Being around this safe environment of "Nana's house, being home at a decent time, not drinking heavily at the bars with friends, staying home on a friday AND saturday night to watch reruns of Law and Order:SVU with mom, blogging my way thru the weekend" seems to be leading me somewhere that encompasses me being in an unfamilar place. So I am able to challenge myself even farther than before. Why not huh? I think the things that are the most worthwhile is the things we are most afraid of. (isn't that a line in a movie?) So like I posted a few weeks before about Dr. John Poling, he once said to me:
"The royal road to achieving genuine satisfaction in life is going the bloodly hard way."
Words to live by.
Not a lot of you know but I have written a book about my adventures of my summer in Firenze 2005. I got the idea to write about my life during that summer from my mother. She thought it would keep me busy while I was looking for a job once I returned to the States.
I would tell her all my adventures on the seaside and on my excursions to Roma with Em, she said why not just write a great book about all these wonderful experiences. Why not exactly?? So I did....I collaborated all my journal entries into a keepsake of the summer of a lifetime. I am now letting a few close friends read it to see what they think and then I shall start sending it off to some publishers. Who knows....I could be the next Frances Mayes....j/k. It would be fabulous though. To be a writer in the Tuscan hills outside of Firenze....ahhhhhh.....I'm dreaming of my gorgeous villa and my gorgeous counterpart of the Italian persuasion by my side.
Dreams can come true. Just ask me :-)
Luciano wants more. I am such an idiot. I need to get more birth and marriage certificates leading from my great grandparents to me. It is such a pain cuz I wanted to send these delicate documents back to my Great Zio Lorenzo back in London asap.
AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
I don't know what to do next. I don't want to give up cuz I am just so frustrated. BUT I REFUSE TO GIVE UP!!!!!!
| You Are Impressionism |
 You think the world is quite beautiful, especially if you look at it in new and interesting ways. You tend to focus on color and movement in art. For you, seeing the big picture is much more important than recording every little detail. You can find inspiration anywhere... especially from nature. |
In my possession now is the original documents of my great grandparents. How amazing is that??? I plan on taking another day off soon so I can scurry down to the consulate and show my friend Luciano Oddo. I am certain I am in now. I will write more later but right now I need to dry my hair for work.
Buona Giornata!!!
a presto ragazzi
Today, I received an email from my great Zio Lorenzo da Londra. He has agreed to send me the documents I need to hand in to the consulate to copy. WHOOOO HAAAAAA!!!!
If you didn't read my post on Amici Over the Ocean about my Friday visit to the consulate here is what happened:
I went there with the "replica's" of my great Grandparents birth certificates, it was notierized and everything. Luciano Oddo, consular agent, said I needed to get the original Original from my uncle in London.
So I emailed him and he has agreed to lend his great niece these precious documents. How lovely of my Zio??!!!
SO now you are all up to speed. Keep your fingers crossed and your Buona Fortuna's flowing my way!!!
Grazie mille ragazzi!!!
a presto
Nana and I went to an Italian language group Ieri sera. It was lovely seeing my Nana speaking her native lingua. SHE WAS SOOOOO HAPPY!!!! And that in return made me happy! The group consisted of a bunch of older people that seemed to be very well aquainted already. So we felt rather left out. Alas we did have a great conversation with a charming man named Gino and his sorella Julia. They were fabulous to talk to! Also there was a man that sat next to me named Niccola, who looked so familiar to me. He was very kind and warm. My greatest joy of the evening was to hear my Nana said, "I think I want to join that Italian language group in my community."
She loves to talk and be social just like me. That is probably why she is my best friend!
I am almost there. I just have to travel to Chi-town to the consulate on Michigan Ave. I received Nonna's birth certificate yesterday among all the other Labor day mail. I am so excited!!! Hope everyone has a great day!!!
Ciao
a presto
Here is my favorite collages. I just finished it yesterday. I love looking at it. I know it is hard to read here but I love it! I have it hanging on my wall so I can see it everyday. The one with the saying is a collage facing me as a write this. I couldn't get a good picture of it because it is on a vertical bulletin board. I love this quote by my Professor of Philosophy, Dr. John Poling and also my great friend! Dream into Reality....exactly. I love that part of my collage. It is smack dab in the middle. Something I must keep reading over and over again. Nothing is impossible if my heart is set on it. Don't ever give up on what you truly want in life!!
Thanks John!
a presto
I read an article in the newspaper yesterday about a friend of mine that was in a tragic car accident. The car in front of him drove over a piece and sheet metal and it was flung into his windshield and it struck him in the neck and head. Is our lives planned out?? Was there a no way he could've avoided this tragic accident?? Or was there a way or a choice he could've made that would've have changed the outcome?
I keep thinking that the choices I have made that have drawn me closer to Italy is all ME! NO ONE has directed my life in the way it has unfolded right now. However, my Nana was born in Italy and My Nonna (my Nana's mom), who always called me on birthday, as well, maybe my path was already decided for me because of my background. My Nana wanted to travel the world, she had my drive, but she got married young. My Nonna was an independent and never wanted to hear the word "no". She was driven just like me. She was selfish and always wanted attention. In many ways, Nana, Nonna, and I are sooooo similar. Was this path already made once I was born??
I know this is deep thinking, but I am curious if anyone else thinks like this.
I have decided that I am uncertain on whether our lives are planned or developed by us.
Now that I am in my mid-20s, I feel that I can't waste one day. I am constantly trying to find a way to live, thrive, and BE in Italy!
HERE IS MY NIECE: ADDISON CHRISTINA BAEDKE BORN 7:03PM AUGUST 18TH, 2006, 7LBS, 20.5 IN LONG.
I CAN'T BELIEVE I AM AN AUNT!!! ISN'T SHE JUST GORGEOUS!!!
BELLISSIMA BAMBINA!!!
