Not plugged in

Italy is a developed country, right? So you'd think that something as simple as plugging something into an electrical outlet would be straightforward. Well, you'd have thought wrong. That’s because in addition to the power in most apartments being limited to 3 kW (which is apparently low enough that you can’t iron when you’re running the washing machine, though you can choose to pay for more power), there are three different systems of electrical plugs and outlets, each one incompatible with the others. I ran into this problem yesterday, when I bought a microwave and wanted to plug it in. It turned out that the microwave had a Schuko plug (bottom left), which doesn’t fit into the socket in the kitchen (top left). Also, I bought a power strip at Ikea so that I could plug in both my laptop and external hard drive at the same time (that’s another thing – there are never enough sockets in Italian apartments), but it had a 16 A three-prong plug (bottom center), which has a different prong spacing and thickness than the 10 A outlet (top right) that is in place where I have my computer stuff.

So today, I went to a hardware store to stock up on adapters. In addition to several Schuko to 16 A adapters, I also got a 3-to-1 10 A adapter, so that I can plug in my computer stuff. The result, including the plug adapters that convert from US plugs to European standard plugs, is pictured bottom right. Somehow I get the feeling that even though all these systems were designed to be incompatible for safety reasons, all of these adapters and multisockets end up making it all the more dangerous.

Links

Good rebuttal to a pretty snobbish article on being an expatriate in Europe.

Moving Day

Today was finally moving day. I went to the realtor's office at 10, where I signed the official contract, met my landlord, and got rid of ridiculous amounts of money (2 month's rent as deposit, plus 1 month's rent as payment for the realtor, plus registration taxes). The realtor did the best she could with her limited English in communicating things between the landlord (basically no English) and myself (basically no Italian). Then the landlord took me to the apartment, along with his son, who spoke some English, and showed me the utilities, and how everything in the apartment works.
I don't know if I've mentioned it, but most apartments for rent are furnished here. Getting an unfurnished apartment means truly getting something unfurnished -- no kitchen, and perhaps not even toilets! -- so you're not only looking for a nice apartment in a good location, but also judging the furniture. Luckily, the apartment I found has almost completely new furnishings and appliances. It's also in a decent style (ok, I probably wouldn't have gotten a bright red sofa-bed, but you know...). After being driven back to the center, I briefly went to the Mercato Centrale to pick up some fruit and lunch stuff for this week, then I just went to my old apartment and picked up the first bag to take to the new place.
I managed to do three runs back and forth today, each time taking one bag or suitcase with me, which took care of most of the stuff I already have with me here. In between, I went to Esselunga, a large grocery store, and Lidl, a German discount grocery chain. I was pretty glad to see that there was a Lidl nearby the apartment, since that will definitely help keep grocery costs down (EUR 1.38 for a liter of milk at Esselunga vs. EUR 0.70 at Lidl). Before the last run, I stayed at the old apartment for a while to use the internet, since I don't have that set up yet in the new place. From what I've heard, it can take anywhere from one to three months to get the telephone installed and DSL set up, so I'll get that process started as soon as possible. In the meantime, I guess I'll have to rely on the internet at work, and on reading material in the evenings and on weekends.
Finally, I made myself some pasta and homemade tomato sauce, with some Italian red wine (one of the few things that's cheap). Whew... now I'm tired!

Quick trip home

When I bought my flight from Germany to Italy, I ended up buying a roundtrip flight, since that was considerably cheaper than a one-way flight. I thought I'd just not use the return flight, but I booked it for a Thursday anyway. It turned out that the Friday after the return is actually a public holiday in Italy (Liberation Day), so I decided to actually use the flight, visit my parents and pick up some more stuff to take with me. The flight itself was pretty uneventful, and I spent a few days eating well, visiting my dad's brother and family, and seeing what herb pots my parents had bought for our balcony in the new apartment in Florence. On the way back to Italy on Sunday, I took the train, which took a little over 11 hours (the plane takes a little over one!). The train ride wasn't too boring, though, since the route took me straight across Switzerland, so I got to see plenty of green pastures with cows and sheep, beautiful snow-covered mountains in the Alps, and some very pretty scenery at the lakes near the Italian border.

Contacts & Contracts

This evening, I got together with Chris and Erin, two Americans who've been living in Florence for several months, and whose blog I ran across. We met for coffee after dinner and they gave me some useful tips about internet connections, bank accounts, and fake meat products for Kristen. It was definitely nice to talk to other people who were also strangers in a foreign country and had to go through some of the same difficulties (language, getting settled, etc.) as I am.

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I'm finally getting somewhat settled at work now. In contrast to the efficient systems in Germany and the US, where you were cared for and introduced to everyone the first day you arrived, here it seems to be somewhat more disorganized. Last week, I finally got a desk of my own, although it's still temporary, since it's in the graduate student room. Before that I was sitting in my advisor's office at another person's desk. Today I applied for an email account, and got a copy and printing code (which doesn't work yet). And I also got word that my temporary work contract is being prepared.
About that: I was supposed to start officially working on April 1st, with the one-year contract starting that date. However, they emailed me the contract while we were in Argentina, and wanted it sent back signed shortly thereafter, before we returned to the US. So I told them that I couldn't do that since I was out of the country, and they agreed to have the official contract start in May, and to have some sort of a temporary contract for April. Well, apparently the temporary contract is in the works and I have hopes of getting paid at some point, and the official contract, for which we (might) start the paperwork next week will start middle of May.

Music I've been listening to

Since I haven't brought over my CD collection yet (and will probably have to leave it with my parents in Germany for space reasons), I've been making use of iTunes and my digitized collection. These are some of my recent favorites:

• The New Pornographers: The Bleeding Heart Show
  I bought this song on iTunes this weekend after reading a review of a show of theirs online. This is one of those songs I keep hitting 'repeat' for. It starts out slow, builds, and is just perfect when Neko Case takes over the vocals.
• Forro in the Dark: Asa Branca
  Pandora.com (doesn't work in Italy, unfortunately) introduced me to this song a little over a year ago, and I bought the whole album shortly thereafter. Forro is a northern Brazilian type of music that's been described as a mixture of reggae and polka. Forro in the Dark have updated the sound, replacing the traditional accordion with a flute, and getting some help from David Byrne on this track.
• Bajofondo Tango Club: Pa' bailar
  This is what Nuevo Tango should sound like: not just a copy of traditional tangos with a techno beat, but a blend of the two styles, and most certainly very danceable.
• The Shins: Turn on Me
  I got this track for free when it was on Pitchfork's top songs of the year 2007, and got addicted.
• Damien Jurado: Ohio
  Sounds like Dylan. What more can you say?
  

Fiesole

Today was another beautiful spring day -- warm, not hot, and sunny. I decided to take the bus up to Fiesole (pronounce: fee-EH-so-leh), a small town on the hills outside of Florence. That seems to be a pretty popular thing to do, and the bus was full of tourists. I think the bus authority wanted to take advantage of unknowing tourists, and this was the first time since I arrived that someone checked the tickets (and that they were validated!). Anyway, the bus made its way through the city and then up some windy roads and past some pretty impressive villas until it arrived in the main square of Fiesole about half an hour later. The town dates back to the Etruscans, and hosted a Roman settlement as well, of which an amphitheater and some other ruins can still be seen. I didn't actually visit these, since they cost admission and I'm waiting for Kristen to get here to visit places that charge money, though I did manage to see some of the ruins through a fence. I walked around a bit and then walked up a steep hill to a 14th century church and monastery, from where there's a spectacular view down to Florence in the valley. I've read that it's a bit cooler up here in the summer, and I can imagine that this place would be ideal for a picnic then.