#38: Italiani in Australia
Ciao Nonni,
Hello from Australia! We have made it back to the southern hemisphere, after 24 hours in transit between Rome and Brisbane.
I employed my usual survival tactic of going into the journey thinking that it would be absolutely hideous, and that we all just had to get through it. As a result of these rock bottom expectations, it was relatively alright. Both flights (Rome to Dubai, and then Dubai to Brisbane) were only about half full, so we had some extra room to spread out. Being able to get the kids lying flat to sleep was a big win.
The couple of days prior to leaving were truly action-packed.
Aside from leaving all of our packing until the absolute last moment (as usual), myself and the kids managed to squeeze in officially becoming Italian!
The full gravity of this still hasn't sunk in yet, I think probably because within an hour of signing our papers we were on the road to Rome to catch a plane. But yes, after around six years I can finally say that I am Italian. Sono italiana.
My first interaction as an Italian was, fittingly, a fight about paperwork.
We lined up at customs, in the non-EU queue.
Unfortunately, because of the timing of our trip we won't be able to get Italian passports until we get back in May.
We approached the Italian customs official with our Australian passports. David has a visa in his, so he was fine. Myself and the kids, however, don't have any such easily viewed and verified paperwork. When we were asked the date of our arrival in Italy and we answered "last July", there was instant tension in the air.
I explained, we are Italian!
The official, I think sensing a ruse, switched immediately to speaking Italian to catch me out.
I don't know whether it was my new status as a citizen of il bel paese, or just that things are finally coming together, but I held it together enough to handle the language switch without breaking stride.
We had a full and frank discussion about the veracity of my seemingly ludicrous claim. I explained why we didn't have visas, how the request for recognition of citizenship by descent worked, and how this had finally been concluded mere hours earlier. The man, clearly still highly incredulous at this point, reviewed my stack of supporting evidence and finally waved us through. I was on cloud nine.
Flying into Brisbane has been a lovely way to re-enter Australia. Of course the weather has been perfect. Sunshine definitely helps with the jetlag. And I'm not ashamed to admit that I've been very much enjoying the flat whites.
I did not, however, enjoy the amount I had to pay for said coffees... Even with the exchange rate, they're around triple the price of my morning cappuccino in Lucca. Mamma mia!
The best thing is definitely seeing Adelaide (the niece, not the city)! Raffy and Leo are both loving playing with their gorgeous little cousin. She has grown up so much.
I haven't experienced too much in the way of reverse culture shocks, but then I guess we haven't really been out and about yet. I will say that, as crazy as Italians are behind the wheel, the driving experience here is much worse.
Road rage in Australia just feels more aggressive. The fact that the cars here are roughly twice the size (welcome to Queensland) probably helps.
Italians, for all their driving peculiarities, are motivated above all by constant movement. Merging is accepted and happens without issue, whereas here, every merge is seen as an affront to the person who has to yield. No one will make space. It's pretty wild.
Next week we will arrive in Melbourne. I can't wait! Only a few days now until we will see you.
Lots of love,
Kate
