Che cosa e' succesa?

Well, as most of you know by now, I MADE IT!

I was getting a little worried as training came to a close and my VISA still had not come (Ah!!!). I had tried getting in touch with the Italian Consulate in Houston several times during the two weeks of training in various ways: phone calls, emails, faxes. No luck at all. I did not one time receive an answer or get a hold of anyone. Also Howard and Elizabeth were helping me try to contact them, as I was in training most of the day. I had applied for my VISA on July 17th, and they told me it would reach me in plenty of time - by the first week in August at the latest. We could not figure out what was going on, and I didn't know what else to do!

Well, I had bought a flight from Little Rock to Dallas on Monday, August 24th. Monday rolls around, I still don't have my VISA, and I was supposed to flight out Tuesday! On the way to the LR airport, I try calling my congressman's office, who referred me to the State Dept, who referred me to the Italian Embassy in Washington, D.C., who gave me the same number for the Houston Consulate that I'd been using all along. Weow.

So I flew to Dallas anyway, thinking that if by some miracle my VISA arrived that afternoon, Liz could just overnight it to me. Thank goodness Dad and Mom were on the case too! They had a specific extension number for someone in Houston, called it, and reached someone on the first try. Hahahaha! Ah. Anyway, turns out that my VISA had been ready since July 21st. Another reason it was distressing is because I had left my passport with them, and they were going to mail it back with the VISA. It was partially both parties fault, as I wasn't aware that I was supposed to have left a self-addressed envelope with them to mail to me, and they forgot to ask for it when I applied. Also, they didn't contact me, but left it sitting on a pile there. Good grief! But it all worked out. Dad had it FedEx-ed to me overnight, and it arrived at 7:00am Tuesday morning - in plenty of time for me to fly out from DFW at 11:45am!

Flying standby, as many of you know, has never been my forte. I have always gotten stuck somewhere along the way. This time I got as far as Washington D.C. before I caved. :) I ended up buying a flight from WA D.C. to Frankfurt, to Rome, and it was so nice to know for certain that I would be on that plane! Dad and Kyle met me in Rome and brought me home to Scandicci. Yay family reunion! I arrived late in the evening of the first day of Convegno, which has been great. I will tell you all about it when it is over! Ciao! A doppo!