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As I mentioned before, 2012 is a year of big anniversaries. One of them, is the 20 year anniversary of my arrival in San Diego, on September 9, 1992. It seems impossible it has been so long: soon I will have lived here longer than I have lived in Italy.

I do miss my family and friends, A LOT, and I do miss some things about Italy, such as l’aperetivo, well designed & affordable furniture, vacation time and socialized medicine — yes, I am a bleeding liberal, at least here in the States, since in Italy, I am considered more on the right…imagine that.

However, I never, not even once, regretted my decision, for as hard as it has been at times. I love San Diego and would not trade this city for anything. And I have always felt I belong to two countries (or maybe to none…but this is different story).

SPOILER ALERT: following is a bitter recap of the immigration path for a LEGAL alien. Feel free to skip it if you like.

During my past 20 years I had to deal with the “wonderful” immigration department on many, many occasions. I think I tried almost any available visas: tourist, prospective student, full time student, temporary worker, full time worker.

Despite 10 years in which I resided here legally, paying out of state tuition, being forced to get health insurance (funny how nobody talks about this health mandate, since it is for “foreigners”), paying taxes, getting social security income withheld (without being eligible for receiving any of it) and being a law abiding person, I was never eligible for residency automatically. I spare you how difficult it is to get residency through work, or even as an outstanding professional.

Only my marriage allowed me to become an official, legal alien with parole papers (meaning I can leave the country and come back while I waited for my card): who came up with these denigrating terms? I finally got my green card, which is not green at all, after submitting to a background check, a joint interview with Matt and a medical exam that made sure I did not have HIV, a condition which would have disqualified me. Well, after all this is understandable I really did not want to have anything to do with immigration again.

END OF BITTERNESS

It has been so long, the department changed its name: I still never remember the new one. I am obviously not the only one: INS is still really high in Google searches. No surprise: which is easier to remember?

from INS (Immigration and Naturalization Services)…

to USCIS.

However being a resident is still not a permanent condition and so, as the big anniversary approached, and with an important election looming, I figured it was a good idea to become a citizen. After all this time, I was actually surprised at how quickly and efficiently the process went.

I applied at the end of January, dropping a nice, fat check, and swearing not to be a Nazi, or a communist or a drunkard, or a drug dealer or an illegal immigrant smuggler, basically proving of being of sound moral character (seriously!). Within a couple of weeks I received a confirmation text and email. Amazing! What efficiency. After more fingerprinting, I prepared for the civic exam, which was ridiculously easy: you are given a booklet with 100 questions/answers and they will choose 10 to ask you. As long as you answer 6/10, can write and read a sentence in English you pass. By the way, anwwer this one: how many voting members does the House have in 2012?

Despite being very preoccupied by Matt’s health, the exam went well. It was ironic they asked me who the USA fought in WW2. My answer? Germany, Japan, and Italy, for a while, before we switched sides and joined USA. The inspector laughed, and while the answer was not in the book, I still passed. By the way, I am sure more than the many Americans could not answer the majority of these questions.

Test your knowledge with these online questions.

So the day finally came for the naturalization ceremony. Matt graciously agreed to come with me to witness the momentous event. I am sure he regretted the decision as soon as we saw the huge line sneaking around the building, as we arrived, at 7.40 am, 20 minutes early. Fortunately, though, the line moved faster than expected: in fact when we were all seated, we had to wait a good half an hour, till 10 am for the judge to appear. To make matters worse, Matt was “relegated” to the balcony, so he had to sit and wait: we should have brought a book. At least I had my smart phone.

We all received our info packet, which included the oath of allegiance and of course a small American flag.

After a few speakers dealing with the technical stuff, such as how to register to vote, and to get a passport, the judge finally arrived and we got started. We began with the flag presented by ROTC kids (no comment), then the American Anthem. Then, there was a video message from the President: I guess I am glad I waited, otherwise I would have had to sit through Bush’s message, and that would have totally ruined the moment.

Then Bonnie Dumanis, San Diego District Attorney (and mayor candidate) spoke, and finally the judge. She started with calling out all the nations represented in the room: there were 680 people from 75 different countries. I could not see any other Italian, but guess which country had the most representatives???

After that, she just gave a congratulatory speech and then we all recited the oath of allegiance. The whole ceremony was over in about 30 minutes. We then lined up some more, to get our certificate. And that was it.

20 years of waiting and it was all over. I guess it felt very anticlimactic. Nor I felt any different…and since I still have my Italian citizenship (both US and Italy support dual citizenship) I will still criticize both countries equally. (-:

Matt went back to work, and I went back home (I took the day off) and resumed my normal life. Since it was only a couple of days before memorial Day, Matt was able to find some very patriotic red, white and blue flowers, completed with the flag and he brought them home to celebrate me. What a sweetie!

So now I am a “real” American; next step: a US passport and registering to vote (nor that my vote matters in California).

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Unfortunately my parents had to leave the day before Mother’s Day, but at least we had the chance to celebrate with Nonna at Keegan’s school Mother’s Day Tea. I am still not sure why it is called a tea, since the only tea served is ice cold, and especially why they insist mothers need to wear a hat: this is not England, nor the first day of horse racing. In fact every year less and less mothers comply. I obviously buckled under pressure, but did not wear the hat I hastily bought. Mom wore it instead: it definitely fit her better than me.

This year, fortunately they skipped the usual dance-along game, and just had moms and kids walk down the “walkway”: pretty embarrassing, but nobody was really paying attention anyway.

So we socialized with other moms, while the kids had some snacks and wreaked havoc around the playground.

Rozalin and Keegan goofing around for Nonno’s camera

On Sunday we had the real celebration. It was a little bittersweet as nonni left the previous day and we were all a little sad: we missed them! The day was beautiful, though.

I slept in that the morning (till 10.30!), while the boys watched some TV and prepared an amazing brunch for me. I woke up with the wonderful smell of pancakes and eggs.

I got my sweet cards, (from both of my “boys”), an orchid plant (how long will it take till I kill this one too?) and a  gift certificate for a massage place nearby. Certificate that Keegan keeps on reminding me I have to use!

He was so proud of all the gifts and of course of his handmade card. He stitched the work MOM on a piece of fabric and tucked inside a card he decorated with his drawing and name. He was happy he had the chance to do it, since we got back from our trip just 2 days before Mother’s Day Tea.

our annual Mother’s Day Photo

The afternoon was mellow: I enjoyed the last of the sun, before the marine layer rolled in. Then, we all went for ice cream and on the way back we played a little at our neighbor Jada’s house.

Keegan gave me another cool gift that afternoon when he told me, totally out of the blue: “You are always pretty mom!”. It was really sweet. I guess moments like these make up for all the other frustrating ones…

Matt cooked another amazing dinner for us and we just relaxed and watched a movie to conclude a good day. Thank you boys for making this  really wonderful celebration for me. I love you with all my heart.

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2012 brought an unusual amount of special anniversaries: our 10th year wedding anniversary, my 20th year anniversary since I arrived in USA, and both of my parents will be celebrating round numbers birthdays. So, since my mom always wanted to go to Hawaii, my dad felt this would be the best year to do so to celebrate together all this big dates. What an amazing gift!

WARNING: this is a mammoth post (2233 words at last count)! Feel free to skip to the pictures.

Even if we only had less than three weeks to plan it, and we were not even sure we could leave due to Matt’s health, my trusted travel agent found us a great package for 5 nights in Maui, at an amazing condo-resort, Honua Kai at North Kaanapali on the West coast.

We packed in a rush the night before, and we left by sunrise with a direct flight to Maui, ironically from Alaskan Airlines. Thanks to our trusted DVD player, Keegan was good during the flight and even we had the chance to enjoy a movie or two. We landed early in the morning (Maui time). We were greeted by the wonderful, warm, and drizzly air of Hawaii. Keegan was excited and a great help, carrying his pirate suitcase and penguin backpack.

We immediately went to rent a car, well, a minivan. For as much as I despise them, it did come handy, with 5 people and lots of bags.

We stopped for a satisfying junk food meal: Keegan’s — and my parents’ — first McDonald’s fare. Of course he loved the nuggets, fries and shake.

Since it was too early to check, but it was also Keegan’s nap time, we had the brilliant idea to drive west passing for the rugged north shore (follow the link for a great article describing the trip). We knew it was twisted and narrow, but we would have never imagined it would become a 1 lane, 2 way of traffic road, over soaring cliffs, without any guard rail to protect you from the abyss.

In fact, as we discovered on our return, most rental companies forbids you from driving that road, and that there have been plenty casualties there. Well, nobody warned us, and the maps were not very useful. I did wonder why no sites or guide mentioned that route.

So, we started the grueling, and nerve wracking 2.5 hour drive. Matt was nothing short than AMAZING. Despite the less than 5 hours of sleep, and the long flight, he maneuvered that mammoth like a pro. This also meant he had to back up, TWICE, on a curvy, almost dirt road with no protection. I stared straight into the abyss, and it was not fun.

On the plus side, half of the road was two lanes, and Keegan slept the whole time.

The view was indeed incredible, and in retrospect, I am glad we got to see it. We only took one photo, as we did not dare stopping since we did not want to wake Keegan up.

So I grabbed some images from the aforementioned article, showing some of the views we passed on the way.

Seabird Sanctuary

Kahakuloa Head (see map)

Nakalele  Blow Hole: finally a two lanes road! (see map)

Honolua Bay (see map)

click on the map to see it full size

The funny thing is that we ruled out driving the Hana road to kill time because we thought we would have been too tired for it…and then we found ourselves on a much harder road.

We finally made it to the Condos, by 2pm, just as Keegan was waking up. We had to wait almost an hour, but fortunately we could sit in the beautiful outdoor lobby, and watch at the ocean or explore the resort-like grounds. We were all tired and cranky, especially, ironically, Keegan, who was the only one who got a two hour nap, and it was not easy to entertain him.

Finally, we were allowed into the apartment and all I can say is WOW!!! It was three bedroom three baths, but this does not even start describing it. Two of the bedrooms were master bedroom, with a huge tub+ shower bath, and all rooms had king size beds. The kitchen /living room/dining room was immense. There was even a washer and drier. The whole place must have been a 1,000 sq. Incredible!

the kitchen: can I have one like this at home? Please?

the non-master bedroom (or Keegan’s room)

The balcony was overlooking the courtyard and had a full ocean view. In fact, the main image on the resort’s site could have been taken from our room.

We rested a little, then we headed to the beach, which was steps from the hotel. We learned that this particular beach is actually a wonderful snorkeling spot: how convenient is that? It was drizzling, so we saw the first of many beautiful rainbows. (even some full double rainbows, man)

Finally Keegan was in a good mood, so he jumped in the water and played. He even checked out the pools. After a great dinner at the Hotel restaurant and grill, we all crashed out very early: there are three hours difference, after all. Of course, sleeping was a challenge for Keegan, our “born traveler”. He acted out and did not want to go to bed. Then he proceeded waking up at 3.30am (Maui time), and after an hour of attempts we gave in, and let him get up. We set him up with the DVD player and went back to sleep for another couple of hours.

When my mom woke up, Matt and I left and went grocery shopping and rented snorkel gear. We were finally ready for 5 days of fun at the beach! So we all headed out to the ocean. It was sunny and beautiful. We did some snorkeling: it is amazing how close the reef is!. Even Keegan tried his gear on.

Not that he would really try to actually snorkel, mind you, but hey, baby steps…It was amazing: I missed Hawaii. After the beach, we explored one of three swimming pools; Keegan’s favorite one was the largest one that featured 2 small grottoes with waterfall, and most importantly a water slide.

He was excited to be barely high enough to be able to use it. Even I tried and I have to say it was pretty fun.

on the lanai (balcony)

After lunch we all crashed, even Keegan (even if with some difficulties). He woke up cranky, and after a few minutes, he simply retreated to our bedroom and crashed out again. So cute.

We planned some fun activities for the next few days and reserved our spot for a zip-line tour. So exciting. I was surprised Matt wanted to do it, since he does not like heights as much, but he was excited too.

We went to the beach late, played and waited to watch an amazing sunset.

We had a mellow evening, and enjoyed the fresh night air from our lanai (balcony).

The night went better, and Keegan woke up at 6. We again set up the DVD player and we got a couple more hours of sleep. After a quick trip to the beach, we headed to Lahaina. It is a nice, tourist town (nothing to do with the rowdy Lahaina bar in Pacific Beach). Right in the middle of the town, there is Banyan Tree Park, named after the famous, huge tree.

Keegan’s picture of us

After a quick tour of the court house, we headed to the docks. We scheduled an hour on the Reefdancer Boat, a glass bottom boat that would take us to the reef.

On the way, we got to admire the coastal view.

Once we got to the reef, we could watch the fish, and divers were swimming by the windows showing different specimens: our favorite one was the octopus.

Matt and I even spotter a sting ray floating by. After the boat ride, we were starved and stopped by the closest restaurant, where Keegan had his fill on fries and chicken nuggets.

After a well deserved rest, Matt and I went off on our own to do some snorkeling at Black Rock. In retrospect we should have just walked from our hotel…when we finally made it, it was raining, but sunny, so we still got into the water. This weather actually gave us a wonderful rainbow, and it was great to come up to the surface and watch it arched over the mountains. We saw amazing fish, and a sea turtle.

That night, Matt and I had a date night, and we went for a romantic dinner in the same resort we stayed last time we were in Maui, before Keegan was conceived.

The next day was a beautiful sunny day, with no trace of rain. So we went to the beach first for some play in the sand.

Matt and I left around lunch time and went to our zip-line adventure. We chose the canyon zip-line, since it was the closest one and offered nice views of the coast. It had 8 different zip-lines.

getting ready for the first zip-line

ready, set, go

now is Matt’s turn

a couple of the zip-lines

After a few of the lines, we stopped to have lunch at a beautiful vista, where we could admire a 360 panorama.

It was really a fun adventure, and really not scary at all. I would definitely do it again next time I am in Hawaii.

When we got back, Keegan was still sleeping. When he got up, we  went to do some shopping with my parents and had dinner at the famous Hula Grill. The food was great and they even had hula show.

we had to buy at least one flower lay

a romantic shot…maybe not romantic but a cute one.

The next day, the last full day, it was a little cloudy, but this did not stopped us or Keegan. He brought some of his favorite toys with him, and he lined them all up ready to play.

Soon, another rainbow appeared and with it the sun.

We spent most if the day in the water. We started at the beach, and did some snorkeling right there. It was a great day: we saw lots of different fish, and turtles. Amazing. Then moved to the pools and tried a new one as well as one of the hot tubs.

After lunch, Matt and I went for another snorkeling adventure, at Holowalu, on Highway 30, Mile 14. The view was amazing: lots, and lots of fish, and I followed and swam with a couple of turtles. It felt like being inside a movie. The reef was really close to the surface, which made for great snorkeling, but that also meant we got stuck in a few inches of water. It was a little scary, especially because we got separated, but we were able to come back on shore. What a great spot for our last snorkeling adventure.

When we got back to the condo, there was still time to play on the beach with Keegan and my parents, and of course to take some postcard-like pictures.

Matt and Keegan did some amazing building

What a magical place: we will miss Maui.

We spent the evening packing, but we had more fun before we had to catch our flight. The next morning, we left around 9 and we took the easy road toward the airport. As always Keegan was full of energy and ready to go.

We stopped for pictures at a viewpoint on the way to Maalaea Bay.

Our destination was Maui Ocean Center. What a great aquarium! It was nice to get to see all the fish we looked at while snorkeling up close (and not foggy or blurry). I even got to take a picture of my favorite fish. This fish is very elusive, so it is convenient to get it in a tank.

We also saw a pretty cool octopus that was moving graciously around. fascinating.

We saw also plenty of other ref dwellers, but no Dori or Nemo: there are indigenous of Hawaii.

What? no Nemo or Dori? Well, at least they have Scar.

Keegan listened to an informative talk about sharks and we watched turtle feedings.

Another great feature of the aquarium was the tunnel tank: a tunnel is dug inside a huge tank containing all sort of sharks, rays and other fish. Contrary to the one at Seaworld, you can actually sit and watch them slowly swim by all around you. Magical.

Unfortunately, it was soon time to go. Even in Maui the airport experience is not a pleasant one. The computers were down, so it took even longer than usual, but we finally got on board. The flight went well. Keegan watched 3 whole movies…we were too exhausted to argue.

We arrived in San Diego in the evening, and I have to say that, at least on the way back, Keegan did not suffer the jet lag too much.

So it has been an incredible trip, and getting back to our normal life was not easy. But I know that the wonderful memories of Maui will accompany us for many months to come. We are deeply grateful to nonni for this great present and we did treasure every moment.  We really needed this vacation after the stressful months we had.

MAHALO!

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Well, this 2012 is really intense. It fells like we have not had a break since it started, which explains why, again, we are really behind on our blog. For archival purposes only, I will backdate these posts, even if it is really July.

My work has been really intense, since I had to create three brand new classes since January. Then my car broke down, for good, so, heartbroken, I had to spend two weeks looking for an immediate replacement: it is not easy to find a manual transmission car in California. I finally settled on a VW GTI, and so far I really like it.

As soon as I got my new car, Matt got sick, and we spent the following couple of months between doctors and exams. Fortunately everything is back to normal, and after a big scare, Matt is healthy (and very trim).

Right on the middle of all this craziness, my parents came to visit. We were very happy to see them as and they really helped us out a lot. As always we were glad we could have much time together and they spent a lot of time with Keegan, giving us a needed break, and also provided a much need distraction from our worries.

This time we all went to pick them up at the airport, and Keegan was soooo excited. They stayed at the apartment at the beach once again, so we had the chance to visit PB quite often. Unfortunately the weather was not cooperating, with grey and gloomy days, but it did not matter. We still got the chance to spend time at the beach and play around.

looking down at the pool, on a gloomy afternoon.

Plus, in the few sunny days we had, Keegan had fun swimming in the apartment’s pool. He really showed off his swimming skills, resistance and underwater swimming skills.

He also did a few jumps, before we realized there were signs everywhere forbidding it. Ooops. Keegan was very worried a policeman would come and arrest him. I like his healthy fear of authority and respect for the rules. Hopefully this trait will not change when he reaches puberty.

Keegan warmed up to them immediately and he even started practicing his Italian, which I had a little neglected. Of course he got really spoiled with excellent food (well, we all did), lots and lots of undivided attention, and, needless to say, plenty of presents. It started with many books, mainly the written Italian version of his favorite movies and some new ones. Then he finally got the one present he has been dreaming of and asking about since December : the Batcave, which is basically a doll house for boys. He was very excited, since he did not expect it till his next birthday. And obviously, since he is 4, he really did not play with it all that much.

His favorite toy present turned out to be a Buzz Lightyear figure that could talk and open its wings. This was totally a spur-of-the-moment gift from Nonno, and what a hit it was.

A few days after their arrival, we got to celebrate my mom’s birthday, and an important one at that. I had a nice lunch with them at the beach, then they spent the afternoon with us and we celebrated with muffins and gifts.

nonna wearing the new earrings

looking at the Let’s Make Art creative inspiration book

Besides of course enjoying their company, i nonni always give us the wonderful gifts of time: so, even if they were still jet lagged, they had Keegan  over for a sleepover ( or so he likes to call it) at the apartment at the beach even a couple of days after they arrived. We had a classic date night with dinner and a movie. It was great to be able to sleep in the morning without any worries. We really missed it.

Of course, Keegan had a blast with nonni: he stayed up a little later, played and played, and even got to swim in the jacuzzi, since the gloomy weather made the pool too cold.

Up to this day he talks about his sleepover at the apartment.

The second weekend we had a whole 24 hours for ourselves: we started off with the Cirque Du Soleil latest show, TOTEM.

Even if it was a last minute thing we had excellent seats, and we were lucky enough that no one was sitting in front of us. As always the show was great, even if I still think that O is my favorite one.

Since we were in Del Mar, we went for a romantic, sunset walk along the coats and then a wonderful dinner. And once again, the luxury of uninterrupted sleep is priceless. Thank you nonni!

Priceless was also watching Keegan and his nonni play around and laugh so hard it would echo everywhere. Or listening to the creative stories they are always ready to create to entertain the little guy.

Or hearing familiar Disney stories in Italian.

iPad picture

Keegan taking a picture of his nonni and mom

During their stay, Keegan also had another treat: a Legoland field trip with his classmates: daddy took him since i had to work, and it looks like they had quite a good time.

One of the most remarkable things about this particular visit was the extraordinary gift they gave us all: 6 days in Maui! More on the next post.

After our wonderful trip, we got to enjoy my parents for a couple of more days in our house before they had to leave and go back to Milan. We were all sad to see them go, but we had wonderful memories to keep us company till the next time we see each other. Come back soon, we miss you!!!

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