Mexican Christmas

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas. Eric and I just returned from Rome. When we got back we found that “Papo Natale” had left us the most wonderful Christmas present – phone and internet service in our apartment!! I’m back in the 21st century! Well, kind of. Anytime I’m doing anything that involves Italians I feel more like I’m going back in time about 200 years. Last week Eric and I tried to go into Catania for dinner. There’s a Mexican restaurant there, and from what I could translate from their website, they have “real” Mexicans running the place- they even had pictures of these so-called Mexicans. We were willing to risk that it might not be exactly authentic Mexican food, we just hoped that they wouldn’t bring out a pizza folded in half and call it a taco. To preface this story, I should tell you that Eric and I have been putting off buying a GPS. First of all we like to think of ourselves as adventurous people who don’t need a GPS b/c we don’t get lost, we just sometimes find a creative way to get to our destination. Secondly, GPS’s cost about $400 and we’d rather spend that money on actual travel and not a computerized map. So back to the Mexican food. Eric had gotten Mapquest directions but couldn’t print them b/c the library printer was broken. Consequently, Eric is driving while I navigate with no map and the turn-by-turn on a sheet of loose leaf paper. This worked out fine until according to the directions it seemed that we should be parked in front of the restaurant, but in reality we were parked in front of a horse meat vendor. Catanians love horse meat. I have yet to try it, but people tell me it tastes like beef. Why not just eat beef, then? Why eat a horse? Eric and I decide to park try to find the restaurant on foot. (grr…I’m in heels) We start walking around and soon find that we are in the Horse Meat District. Even though it is 8:30pm, every other store is a horse butcher who has a table out on the sidewalk displaying various bits of horse. Who goes out to buy raw horse at 8:30pm? How are there this many horse meat stores in one city? Even though I’m passing by horse steak and horse liver and horse intestine, I’m secretly grateful b/c in the fish market they usually have a big swordfish head sitting in the front window, and I don’t know what I would do if there was a dead horse head staring me in the face. He’d probably be mocking me for thinking there might be Mexican food in this neighborhood. Ha ha, “Ney”-borhood. I’m starting to doubt that I’m adventurous person, and that maybe $400 isn’t that much money after all for a GPS. After 30 minutes and still no Mexican food, I decide to give up. I tell Eric I can’t look at any more horses and we find ourselves a nice horse-free pizzeria. A few nights later is our last night before we leave for Rome. We decide to open our Christmas presents that night. I fix nachos and Eric makes margaritas in our new blender (thanks Shelly and Matt!) and we watch The Santa Clause III on TV. I love living here and most of the time it is exciting and rewarding in so many ways, but sometimes I really miss America. Nights like these make me really happy.

Luke's Blog

It seems like everyone has a blog these days, right? We are all so important!! :) Here is the blog for my adorable nephew, Luke. He was born in March and has been the delight of the family ever since. He is the ringbearer in our wedding- I can't wait to see him in his tux!

www.sellshouse.blogspot.com

Eric's Blog

Hi everyone! I've gotten a few comments on the fact that I haven't blogged since Eric got to Sicily. I'm sorry!!! :( Things have actually backtracked in my pursuit for internet access from home. At one point, I had an active phone line, PLUS international calling, AND had the internet service "on order". Then one day I picked up the phone and there was no dial tone. Back to square one! Ugh! So dear friends, I am not ignoring you, I am just monumentally frustrated and tired of trudging over to the library every time I need to check my email or blog.

HOWEVER, my loving almost-husband has started his own blog and it is much more up to date than mine. You can also link to his web albums which show our trips to Lipari- which was AWESOME, by the way.

http://www.lifeisaforeigncountry.blogspot.com/

Only 3 weeks to the wedding! I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eric arrives

Hi everyone! So sorry for the delay in posting. Believe it or not I am still without phone or internet at my house. I could go on about all the drama involved in setting up utilities in Italy for a whole post, probably. But, as I just nipped over to the library on my lunch break, I will instead focus my attentions on more exciting events.

Eric is here! He arrived Thursday night and has been sweating since he stepped of the plane. He's gone through about 30 gallons of water already. We're hoping his body will adjust to the change in climate, but I'm not optimistic. :) He keeps accusing me of dragging him nearer and nearer to the Equator (first DC and now Sicily). I'm starting to think that all of our vacations together are going to be in NORTHERN Europe.

But really, he is enjoying himself here. I took him for dinner at Pizzeria Pellegrino, which is right in the main piazza of the town. They have the most amazing pizza there called pizza tartufatta. It has mozzarella, proscuitto crudo, roasted mushrooms, 2 other mysterious cheeses and truffle oil. This may not sound like eating it would be a transcendent experience, but let me tell you IT IS. There was your life before tartufatta and then your new life with tartufatta. While we were eating, they were having an outdoor Mass in the piazza followed by fireworks. I told Eric the locals were welcoming him to town.

The next couple days we spent putting the apartment together. Eric is excited about installing his stereos (yes it is plural, I think he has a dozen or so) and is mystified by European current. We have transformer boxes but for some reason they aren't working effectively. He gets shocked everytime he puts the needle on his turntable. His new idea is to rewire all our lamps with euro plugins so that we don't have to plug them into the transformer, we can just plug them into the wall. I find it adorable that Eric gets excited about projects like this.

Hope to post again soon! Ciao!

The Beach

This picture really does NO justice to the experience I had last Sunday on the beach at Catania. However, I realized as I was leaving that I hadn't taken any pictures, so I turned around and snapped one.

The beach where I live in AciTrezza is made of volcanic rocks, so to enjoy the water you need a boat or a floatation device, or pay a few Euro and get a chair on the Lido (big deck on the water). A few miles down the coast there are more typical beaches. The Catania beach is amazing- to your left, Mt Etna feels like it is right on top of you, it takes up the whole sky. In front of you are sandy beaches and the Ionian Sea rolling in. To your right is a cabana with food, live music and very lively Italians.

Things can't be that bad when you have a view like this

The past couple weeks have been sort of high stress... I've moved in to the apartment but my household goods shipment is still sitting in Naples waiting to be put on a truck and driven down here. In Italy, August is the vacation month, and everyone operates as if they are on vacation, even while they are at work. Our housing department is staffed entirely by Italians. They are wonderful, friendly and very helpful, but I must have been there 20 times this month. Yes, that's more than once a day. "Ciao Lieutenant Murphy, come stai? Can you come back after lunch? No one is here who can set up your utilities." "Boun giorno Shannon! Oh, today is bad, there are only four of us... can you come back tomorrow? Grazie mille!" Now, there are lots of helpful MEN in housing: "Ah, bellisima ragazi (beautiful lady) oh yes I help you. Eh- Giuseppe, LT Murphy is here! Ah, bella bella, Ciao! You go out with a nice Italian, eh, yes?" Being "bellisima" can get me lots of things, but it doesn't seem to get me internet in my apartment any faster. :)

The picture above was taken on the terrace of my apartment as the moon was rising. It is so beautiful!

Pharmacy Party

Last Wednesday we had a potluck at work. We were celebrating becuase two of the techs had August birthdays, and myself and another tech had just arrived. My lead petty officer, HM2 Cavero, is Philipino. I've had plenty of Philipino food at potlucks at Bethesda, but it was no comparison to the food HM2 Cavero brought in. Wow! Pancit and fried rice and these little sandwiches that were out of this world. She takes roasted chicken, shreds it and seasons it with Hoisin sauce, then wraps it in hommade sweet dough and steams it. It was so soft and delicious! I hope we have lots of potlucks.

Later that afternoon we had a command awards ceremony. I was presented with the Navy Achievement Medal, which had been forwarded from Bethesda. This was a big honor and I was very proud to recieve it. Most officers who do a good job will get an end of tour award, and usually it is a Navy Commendation Medal, which is a bit lower of the totem pole than the NAM that I got. So, I was very pleased that my superiors thought highly of the efforts I put in at Bethesda and rewarded me for them.

I'm starting to feel more comfortable in my uniform. Lieutenant is a relatively high rank in the Navy. Most people come in an Ensigns, then are promoted Lieutenant Junior Grades, then promoted to Lieutenant. Generally, LTs have at least 4 years of service. I came right in as an LT. Hence, I only had one measly little ribbon- the National Defense Medal, which everyone gets. My most junior techs were more decorated than me! After 60 days at Bethesda, I got to put on the Global War on Terror ribbon, since Bethesda provides medical support to the operations in Iraq/Afghanistan. That was all I had for 2 years. You get to feeling a bit wimpy when all you have are two ribbons. Thankfully, the command was awarded a Meritorious Unit Commendation Medal this past summer, for successfully passing our accreditation inspection. So, I got to show up with a FULL BAR of ribbons when I got to Sigonella. (see above) Now, I get to buy my fourth ribbon- which goes in a whole new row! And after 12 months on board at Sig, I get the Overseas Service Ribbon- I'll have 5!!

COS Vineyard

I spend Saturday and night at with a dozen friends at this beautiful vineyard in the Ragusa province in southern Sicily, about 90 minutes from base. http://www.locandacos.it/english/default.htm

We arrived Saturday and spent the afternoon by the pool, then the owners held a wine tasting for us followed by a 5 course dinner. Sunday morning we had fresh baked crossaints and espresso along with a tour of the wine cellar. One of their wines is stored not in wooden barrels but in terra cotta urns buried in rock. (see above) That one was my favorite!

I start work tomorrow which I am looking forward to. I miss having a routine. Living in the bachelor's quarters is getting tiresome, too. I've been living out of the same suitcase since early July, and I'm ready to get settled into my new home.

Can you believe it?

This is the view from the terrace of my new apartment. I signed the lease on Friday and will move in next week. Wow!

My New Ride

Here are a couple of pictures of my new car. "New" as in new to me; it is actually a 1994 BMW 320i. In 1994 I was in the 8th grade. It has about 200,000 Km on it which I think is something like 120,000 miles. It has European specs, which means that I am doing metric conversions while figuring out my speed or deciding how much gas is left. It has a manual transmission which I haven't driven in quite a while, but memories of my teenage years driving the Mercury Capri are coming back to me.

Paolo Simone

Friday night I went with friends up to Taormina to see a Paul Simon concert. Taormina is a small resort town located on the Ionian sea between Catania and Messina. I can hardly explain how lovely it was to visit. Many of its narrow streets are closed to traffic, so you are able to roam freely. High end shops and small caffes line the streets, but turn onto one of the narrow alleys and you will find nearly hidden restaurants and bars with spectacular views of the coast. Everything seemed a little mysterious in the dusk as we walked up the hill to the Teatro Greco for the concert, and I got that feeling that I was walking back in time.

Construction of the Teatro Greco was begun by the Greeks in the 2nd century, AD, and expanded upon by the Romans in the 3rd century. Much of it has fallen apart over the centuries, but through the knocked down columns and walls you get an even better view of the sea and the erupting volcano. I was enchanted by the place and felt that it was a testament to the resilient Sicilian spirit- the ravaged beauty of the terrain and the people.

Oh, and Paul Simon was pretty good too! :)

Aci Trezza

I spent my first weekend in Aci Trezza. It is a quaint fishing village north of base full of resaturants, caffes, bars, and shops. It overlooks the Ionian sea and is famous for its 3 large volcanic rock islands in its harbor. According to local legend, these are the rocks heaved by the blinded Cylcops at Odysseus as he sailed for freedom. The views are spectacluar, deep blue sea in front of you, Mt. Etna's smoking peak at your back.

Learning Italian

My first weekend in Sicily was an absolute blast. Amy picked my up Friday afternoon to take me to her apartment in Aci Trezza, about 35 km north of the base. On our way, we made a stop in Catania to purchase a ticket for the Paul Simon concert which was happening the following Friday. Amy had invited me to go along with a group of her friends, but there were no more tickets being sold on base. We had been given directions to go to the Catania Box Office. They weren't the best directions I'd ever heard: "75 Via di Giacamo Leopardi, across from the bank and the gas station." But, we were going to give it a try.

Catania is the second largest city in Sicily, (2nd to Palermo) and is located on the Ionian Sea about 20 minutes northwest of base. It is a very urban, industrial, fast paced city. We found the street and parked, but the street numbers weren't making sense and though we found a few bank/gas station combinations, we found no box office. Amy asked an Italian where to go, he pointed her to a newsstand, we asked at the newsstand. Amy kept saying "bigliette" (ticket) and "Paul Simon" and some other things in Italian. Finally, she said "box office" and the Italian says "Ahhh...Ticket Box Office! Si, Si!" and points us in the right direction. About 2 blocks away on a side street there is a big sign that says "Ticket Box Office"! Who would have guessed? Maybe I don't need to learn Italian after all! :)

Benvenuti!

Greetings from Sicily! Everything is wonderful here- sometimes I have to pinch myself to realize that this is actually my life. I arrived on the island last Wednesday after a very LONG flight. My sponsor, the other pharmacist on the base, picked me up and took me out to dinner in the nearby town of Motta.



Motta is a lovely town which during the 1500's was a feudal estate, formed around a large castle built on the high cliffs overlooking the fertile plains of southern Sicily. By the time Amy and I got there, the sun had set and we drove through the dark narrow stone streets to the top of the hill to reach the "best pizza place in Motta". We ate proscuitto and mushroom pizza outside on a small terrace and I drank most of the half-liter of house red wine that we had ordered (Amy's cure for jet-lag!).



Until I find an apartment on the economy, I'll be living on base in bachelor's quarters. It is like a hotel; I have a bed, bathroom, desk, TV, small kitchenette, and access to laundry. I'm near the Commissary (grocery store) and NEX (Wal-Mart type store) as well as the gym and various administrative buildings. For the next 3 weeks, I'll be in Base Indoctrination, otherwise called "death by Powerpoint". Representatives from all the departments/services on base will give a lecture to all the new sailors on base, talking about what they offer, policies and procedures, etc. After that, I'll start my new job!



Hope everyone is well! Until further notice, the only way to communicate with me is email. Once I'm set up in an apartment I should have phone services. Miss you all! Ciao!