The Spencer Family In Italy

I told Ms. Glenda that I would post on the blog more often and so far I have failed. I would make it a New Year's Resolution but I know if I couldn't do it before what makes the new year different. I have never been good at the New Year's Resolution thing....but who knows...there's always a first time for everything. Anyway, Dante and I are back in Naples. It was a long busy, fun, and exhausting trip but we are happy to be back with Devin and Devante. It was hard being away from them. San Diego was great. It was warm and sunny. I took care of the things I needed with our house. It was nice to see our church family. It felt like I had never left because as always I was greeted with open arms. Thank you all for your prayers and we appreciate all the emails. It was nice being back home and seeing family and friends. For those we didn't see, sorry.....we will see you on the next trip. We definitely wanted to see everyone but it wasn't possible. Hopeful...

It has been awhile since I've done a post. Things in Italy are getting better. I think we are finally calling it home...OK, not really home...I still say San Diego is home but we are getting used to our new life here. All the things I dislike about Naples are still there but I am thinking about it differently. The boys have adjusted well. Dante is getting ready for kindergarten next year. He is excited he can take the bus with his big brother. He's getting very tall and talkative. Devante is doing well. He likes his Italian class and has made a lot of friends. This weekend at church they are doing a performance, I will post pictures later. We have started traveling a little bit since Devin's work schedule has slowed down. We went to Ravello two weeks ago. It's supposed to have the best view of the Mediterranean Sea. It was so good to see that there are places in Italy that look like the pictures I had seen as a child. It seemed like we were in a different c...

School started Aug. 25 for Devante. He is doing well and enjoying it. He was accepted into the Italian Immersion Program so he's learning Italian. He's doing great. I can't believe that on Friday he will be 9 years old. Time has gone by really fast. He's growing up so fast and is a great son. Dante is also getting big. He seemed to have gotten taller overnight. We are working on his ABC's and 123's though he's not very interested in learning them. He would rather play with his action figures. I have had to incorporate them into our learning routine and lots of songs and dance. Although I like to sing, I know that I can't but he seems to love it. We went to the Naples Zoo last weekend. It was 5 euro to get in. I thought great, a lot cheaper than the San Diego Zoo. We thought it was weird that we were the only ones in line but it was nice not to have to bump into people to see the animals. As we started walking around the park, we s...

Devante finished his swimming lessons for the summer. On Friday, he received his certificate and he passed to level 3. Not bad for a boy that didn't even like putting his head in the water. He is now jumping off the diving board into 8 ft. of water and is loving it. Dante is still in level one. He only took one session because it was very complicated to get him in the water. He didn't want water in his eyes and although I bought him goggles it still was not fun for him(maybe next year will be better when he's a little older). He loves the water but just didn't want to put his head in the water. That really doesn't work in swimming lessons. On Saturday I attended a women's conference at a church we've been going to the past few weeks. Our speaker was a woman of God who travels around the world sharing the love of God to women. She had been in Africa, stopped in Italy, and today she is heading back to her home in Texas. I was very moved by her and ...

Unfortunately, this summer the boys couldn't go Vacation Bible School hopping. There was only one vacation bible school at the Naval Base. The boys have spent the summer in the pool swimming. They are both taking swimming lessons and we got a pool at the house that they use a lot. They spend their time together playing video games and pretending they are characters in Star Wars or that they are Transformers. Friday nights, just like it was in San Diego, is family night. The boys get to pick what we do. Usually we rent a movie that they choose, eat popcorn and they get to stay up late. Although, I haven't been too strict with the time they go to bed during these summer months. Devin has spent most weekends working. The summer is his busiest time of year. I have spent the summer swimming with the boys and reading.

I think everyone has concluded from my blogs that life is pretty different here. We are trying to adjust although some having an easier time than others. I have had the hardest time adjusting but little by little I'm learning to just deal with it. So what do we miss? Well, of course, we miss our family and friends and our church. Email and letters are not the same as seeing someone or talking to someone every day. We miss sales....yes, sales. Shopping at the Navy Exchange is not as cheap as people think. For the most part, they only sell top of the line items and lots of designer wear. Although, it comes at a discounted price...it is definitely not a good sale, or a Ross, or a Marshalls. I just had to order Devante's school clothes and shoes online. I have done some online shopping for specific items I was looking for but to buy a whole school wardrobe was a bit complicated. Devin needed just plain T-shirts to hang out in and couldn't find them out here so we...

So we've been in Italy 4 months and we've seen lots of things we are just not used to. The weird and silly stuff to us but very normal to those living in Naples. Number 1- Trash. Naples has a big trash problem. According to what is said, there is no where to dump the trash so it does not get picked up for a couple of weeks or longer. Driving can be like a roller coaster ride, not only because people here drive like maniacs, but because you have to swerve out of your lane so that you don't hit the trash piles. When the sidewalk and the one or two dumpsters get filled up the trash overflows on the road. To make matters worst, people just throw their trash out the windows of their cars. I also heard that some people will put their trash bags on the trunk of their cars and drive. Where ever the bags land that's the dumping area. I haven't seen that yet but I did have a flying Red Bull can come towards my windshield as I was driving on the freeway. Number 2...

Today is the 4th of July. Devin is working. The Admiral wanted to go island hopping today. We are at home. I was going to fill up the pool that we just purchased but guess what, I turned on the water this morning and no water. We usually have low water pressure but never no water. There is an event at Carney Park (the military park) but to get in the park is a one lane street and very limited parking, which means it will take forever to get in and forever to get out. In the US we look forward to July 4th so that we can see the fireworks. Here in Italy, we see fireworks almost every day. Fireworks are legal here so for every birthday or celebration they do pretty amazing shows. I must live around a bunch of party animals because sometimes at 2am you can see fireworks and it doesn't matter what day of the week it is. Last night at 1:30am there were fireworks. The Italians know how to party. It usually is a big event with lots of food and the party doesn't really get...

I'm learning Italian. I figured at least one of us should know at least enough to get us around. I've learned quite a bit with my class and speaking with my landlord who doesn't know English except for a few words. Now that my class is done for the semester, I am studying at home with CD's. We go to the market and buy fresh fruit and veggies. Well, I don't know how fresh they actually are with all the pollution problem they have here but it can't be any worst than all the pollution and chemicals we have in the states. It is definitely cheaper to buy at the market than at the Commissary even with the outrageous exchange rate (.60cent euro to one american dollar). We have also gone to the fish market where you can get fresh fish everyday. We have also started shopping at the Italian stores. Going to the base every time we needed something or just to get out was driving me crazy plus you can sometimes get better deals on things and there is a larger select...

Ok...so we finally are settled into our new home and getting used to life in Naples. Well, trying to get used to life in Naples, talk about culture shock. The boys are settling in fine. Devante likes school. He says its easier than at Literacy First which concerns me that he is not being challenged enough. School will be done on June 12th for him so he has all summer to work on other stuff and get prepared for third grade. Dante has his days. Being with him all day long is exhausting. He's four and very active so I'm on the go all day long. I am enjoying my time with him although I do miss working....sometimes. I think I have plenty of work here with Dante and the new addition to our family. Yes, we have a new addition to our family.....Luigi....our dog. We got him from a family that was leaving Naples and couldn't take him. They found him as a newborn puppy and the Autostrada (the freeway). I didn't want to get him but the boys and Devin have always want...

Well, things are quite different out here. We are still trying to get used to not having all our things and how slow things work around here. Life is very slow paced and for us who are always on the go, sitting around waiting is not fun. We are living at the Navy Lodge right now while we wait for inspections and paperwork to be signed for our house. Living at the Lodge took some getting used to since we only have 6 channels and very limited internet access. We definitely miss our TV programs and being on the internet all night. Devante is in school and making new friends. Dante is starting to pick up on some of the Italian words. His favorite work right now is "Caio" hi or bye. They both like it here but really miss their own stuff. Hopefully, by the end of this month we should be moved in and have at least a small part of our things. All our furniture doesn't get here until April 13th. Our Armada is still in route but should be here a week early. So we should...