it's official!!!

a month ago, we got an email from the intrepid Beatrice, our liaison at the seminary who deals with visas and immigration. she has truly been a godsend throughout the process of applying for our permesso di soggiorno (permission to stay), which is what allows us to stay in Italy for more than the 90 day tourist allotment so Nick can work. she started working on our application before we even arrived in the country, and one of our first forays into Italian bureaucracy involved going to the post office to pick up the permesso kits on our second day here when we didn't know our tartufo (truffle) from our tiramisu -- and failing, because the post office was closed. we had better luck the next day, but then we had to reschedule the second appointment from August 28 to December 11. if we had kept that original appointment, i'm sure we would have been done with the whole process much sooner, but as it was, we trotted down to the police station in December to be fingerprinted and then settled back to wait. they told us it would be about two months before our cards were ready. well, February 11 came and went. March 11 came and went ... and i had to bring all of our documentation proving that we were in the process of obtaining our permesso so we could get back in the country after our weekend in Croatia! finally, on March 21, the cards were ready. of course, the office was open limited hours for pick-up, so it took another few weeks before we could make our way back down to the Questura.

as has become second nature now, i brought two folders with us: the folder containing the paperwork they said was necessary, and then the folder containing every other bit of paperwork that could possibly be pertinent. in my limited experience so far, it seems that half the time, you need what they say you do. a quarter of the time, they don't even look at what you bring. but that last quarter of the time, they want something else entirely, and woe to you and to your household if you don't have it! everybody seems to have the same clear plastic folders with a snap closure from the local casalinghi (household goods store), and i always feel very Italian whipping mine out.

so we left the house around 10 AM, ready to face the equivalent of the DMV with a backpack full of activities and snacks for the girls. and we walked in the door, and i reached toward the ticket machine to take a number, when i realized that ... there was only one other person in the waiting room! and in a bizarre turn of events, it was the friendly nun who had befriended the girls at our appointment in December. they called her back first of course, and then she reappeared within a few minutes. a few minutes later, they called me back to verify my identity (i had to put my finger on the scanner again and verify my name and date of birth). one of the employees spoke better English than the other, and when he saw i was born in Massachusetts, he said "Patriots! Tom Brady!" and i had to pretend to be a Patriots fan. the things i do for this permesso!

anyway, after Nick did same verification, they told us to wait a few minutes, and then ... there they were! all four permesso cards!

i had to document the empty waiting room. Italy, you never cease to surprise us!

something you'll never see in an American DMV -- a sound system or a crucifix

 so, seven months after starting the process, we are now legally allowed to stay in Italy for the rest of the year. on closer inspection, the permessos don't actually expire until 2021. and this is very good news, because ... we're planning to stay in Rome for another year! when Nick first accepted the position, it was on a year-to-year contract. we had until March to decide if we were going to return for the following academic year. as the months have flown by, we really wanted to come back for a second year, but there were some logistical issues to figure out with both of our jobs and our house. we spent lots of time in prayer, conversation, and individual soul-searching. in particular, we asked for the intercession of St. Joseph to help smooth the way for us to stay if that was indeed what we were supposed to do. and over a period of several weeks in February and March, we both had assurance that our jobs would be available for us when we return. we still aren't sure what will happen with our house (our current tenants have bought their own house and will move out by July 1), but we are trusting that that piece will fall into place as well.

we are so excited to have another year to grow in our faith, both individually and as a family, in the Eternal City. i felt a little guilty for considering another year here -- just one year has been such a gift! and i don't ever take it for granted. but we also feel a (happy!) responsibility to the college, to devote ourselves to life at the NAC and continue to deepen our relationships with the students, other faculty, and our friends here. we've barely scratched the surface of what we would like to see in Rome and in Italy, and of course we're hoping to be able to travel to other places in Europe as well while we're on this side of the pond.

we'll be home for summer break from July through mid-August, and can't wait to be back in the States and see all of our family and friends! at the same time, i'm glad we won't be leaving our little apartment in the yellow wall for good when we head to the airport on July 1. we're not ready to say our final arrivederci to Rome yet!

back to the day we received our permessos. as we walked out of the office, still shaking our heads at how ridiculously easy that was, Nick asked the girls if they would like to go to the park. Greta literally screamed with excitement, and hopped on her scooter as we followed the crenellated wall (the Passetto di Borgo) from St. Peter's to the Castel Sant'Angelo. there's a small playground in the park adjacent to the castle. i don't think the girls ever think about the fact that they're swinging in the shadow of Hadrian's mausoleum, which was later converted to a papal fortress. but i do, and i treasure every moment.