Thursday, August 18, 2011

Sweet dreams for the Sweet life

The countdown is on! Less than two weeks and my feet will touch Italian soil.

That's great because it means soon I will be living la dolce vita,  the sweet life.  And that excites me because things will slow down and I can really live just VASGO.  Imagine taking in all the sights, sounds, smells of that crazy-old city called Roma.  I close my eyes and easily visualize beautifully old buildings with its grand architecture and aesthetically pleasing surroundings.  I see nonne, grandmothers, wearing handkerchiefs tied around their heads walking to the nearest family-owned single-location grocery store which is so unlike that mega-walmart you just bought 2 pounds of salmon from.  Then I see myself following them, but not noticeably, so I can soak it all in - see what they buy, hear them order meats and cheeses, learn the ways of the wise.

I also see a tangent experience developing.  One where my following a nonna ends up with me being noticed for following too closely and I get screamed at in a language I hardly understand. The other shoppers peer around the aisles to see what all the noise is about and all I feel is my face getting red and I'm wondering what the italian word for "stalker" is.

I also envision her grabbing the nearest baguette and hitting me with it until she runs me out of the store.  My Italian skills = your two year old nephew.

Tranquil or comedic, what I envision has yet to come because I'm still in the city of brotherly love and it's a madhouse trying to move.  One of these days I will put up a full HOW-TO section on moving abroad so people who try to move and still keep their assets in their former lives can have a little better idea of what to expect.

But for now, please don't hit me with these.


Arrivederci my friends.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Anyone ever try to flee the country?

Leaving your home country can be a difficult thing.  I don't just mean taking a vacation for a few weeks.  I mean truly packing up all your belongings and leaving all that you've known to basically start a new life.  Few people do it because it's not easy.

I have been approached with quite the unique opportunity.  My wife is a nerd.  Not the embarrassing kind of nerd like in that tv show you secretly like.  She is the respectable nerd.  I'm talking about those ingrained with impressive ambition to stay focused on that oh-so-ridiculously-far goal.  For example, all of you who are in the process of getting your masters degrees or doctoral degrees, I applaud you.  I also think you're crazy.  :)

Me?  I'm Corporate America Sales Guy.  Or at least was.  My path started with an independent company which was bought out by a Fortune 500 company.  Then I transferred to another region within the company.  Then I jumped from that Fortune 500 company to another.  Oh how sweet life can be when you are young and hungry.

So when smart girl gets a two year award to live in a foreign country, as The Clash put it, Should I stay or should I go?  That's exactly the question I have been faced with.  What's better - two years of Skype or two years of culture shock?

My vote?  Goodbye corporate America, buon giorno Roma!