Arrival!

Caio! I have arrived to Sigonella safely! After just about 24 hours of travel time and having now been here just over 24 hours; I have found myself a computer and am getting a little bit acclimated. 

The travels went well, the kittens did amazingly well and barely made a peep the whole time. I think they were scared shitless, but at least they had each other and I was able to let them walk around and try to use the litter box every few hours. Giving them Benadryl (per vet recommendation) every 8 hours also helped out, though was challenging to give while in the airplane bathroom! They are now settled at a friend’s place who lives out on town (Ramir) and I am going to go visit them later today. 

I am still jet-lagged and long for a full night of uninterrupted sleep. My cold has gotten the best of me and its not budging. I am still coughing and have my ‘man voice’ to full effect.  I was able to get some Sudafed PM to help me out this evening and pray for at least 8 hours. 

The townspeople are a mixed bag; the younger people just say “No!” to every American sounding question or phrase. The older people ask you questions in sentences thinking you speak Italian and get frustrated when you say “No Italiano”. I thought my smile, some hand gestures and body language would get me far with communication, but I was wrong so far. The Italians on base (contract workers) are much, much nicer though. As are the people from the hospital, psd and such that I have met. Everyone is very welcoming. 

My sponsor Dana and another nurse, Hannah, have been so extremely helpful in getting me settled and used to the area. I have already checked in, checked out the hospital, gotten a cell phone and even a car to rent. A little Fiat manual car. Thats been a trip and I have only drove but 1 mile!  At least they drive on the right side of the road here.  I have been told that automatics are a hot commodity and that my Alero will be sold in a heartbeat when it does come time for me to leave...BONUS! I thought it would be toast by the time I was done; it makes me happy to think I will get some money from it. 

Power outages happen daily here, and as I write this its now been out for at least 30 minutes...not terrible...but its very warm here. Breezy and warm, but similar to the California weather I so love. Even have the cool nights for good sleeping. 

So far I have learned many things; island hoppers (old beat up cars), umbrella girls (random hookers on the side of desolate roads), eggs on pizza (surprisingly delicious), alch-o-blows (the nightly breathalyzers everyone gets when coming on base after dark), and that plastic (debit or credit) gets me no where in this town! 

I look forward to more adventures, exploring and the laughs I will give and get from my experiences here and will post pictures when I can; having trouble currently.