Natale italiano

    
          A week ago, after we had finished the last of our Thanksgiving leftovers, I was having trouble getting in the Christmas spirit… despite all the festive trees around base and the advertisements on every Neapolitan billboard for regali di Natale (Christmas presents). Now, all of a sudden, we are one week into December and inching rapidly toward the 25th. What’s a recent expat living in temporary housing to do? ...and, might I add, with our scant Christmas decorations still boxed up and probably hanging out in the middle of the Atlantic?

          Fortunately, we’re no longer disoriented by our new surroundings; and the weather, sunny and balmy upon our arrival in November, is now reminding us it’s time for coats and scarves. Yesterday Alan was finally able to fix the sound on our laptop—don’t even get me started on our luck with computers!—and we got our Christmas songs going on iTunes. At the Chapel on base, they’ve already lit the second candle on the Advent wreath, and this afternoon we were treated to a wonderful Christmas Cantata by a local Italian choir. It was great to hear the singers first perform a few traditional songs in Latin, then put their Italian touch on a few English crowd-pleasers. After an especially rousing medley of Jingle Bells across the decades, one of the basses belted out a “Ho Ho Ho! Mehhhh-ry Chrrrristmas!”

          I was happy as a clam until that point, but when the encore turned out to be the Hallelujah Chorus, nostalgia hit me for the first time since we landed in Italy. (In college a couple of dear friends and I started attending the yearly performance of the Messiah at Duke Chapel—mind you, it’s the only time of year I'm OK with setting foot on that devilish campus! ;) Unfortunately, I am notorious for doodling on the lengthy program and dreaming of getting muffins at intermission, so while we were all ready for a bit of a break this year I still miss our festive tradition.)  Then, before we could applaud them again, I heard the first few notes of our national anthem and my eyes were no longer dry. There’s just something about hearing the Star Spangled Banner overseas…

          Of course, there's also something about living in Europe.  We are definitely enjoying ourselves here, and in fact have been pleasantly surprised each time we’ve ventured off base. Earlier this week we took a field trip with our orientation class and the Italian guide took us to some fancy shopping districts, gorgeous piazzas, and—by far the best part—the Mergellina port, which offers spectacular views of Vesuvius. And, after days of airplane/cafeteria/hotel kitchenette food, we finally managed an eggplant pizza and (my absolute favorite) hazelnut gelato—definitely worth getting soaked in the rain on our way home!

          Now that we’ve familiarized ourselves a little with various Neapolitan neighborhoods, our next order of business is signing a lease. Hopefully that will be the subject of our next post. We’ve had mixed results in our apartment hunts, but one excellent lead…provided we can ensure the Italian realtors play fair. Cross your fingers for us—here’s to finding the best hotel we can offer you!

top: the Royal Palace, Piazza del Plebiscito        bottom: Mount Vesuvius & the port of Mergellina