Mini-Videos: Casertavecchia and Caserta

These videos are all very short and self-explanatory...
Casertavecchia Video Clip 1
Casertavecchia Video Clip 2
Casertavecchia Video Clip 3
Casertavecchia Video Clip 4

We got caught in a flood in the city of Caserta:
Caserta Flood Clip 1
Caserta Flood Clip 2

(These videos come to you with special thanks to the AWESOME Josh Lizon -- who generously gifted us this amazing camera.)

The Misfortunes of Bone: Pizza

Ok - I'm being coerced into typing my first entry in this thing.

Last night was my very first encounter with real italian dining. A popular pizza place in a concrete jungle to the south of Mt. Vesuvius. But first, I have to start from the beginning.

Our leader here in the church that we attend, is an American and a teacher here at the base school. He has been here a long while, married to a beautiful Italian and speaks the language fluently. Great guy. He called me yesterday afternoon and asked if I would help him get his car to a dealer in downtown Naples. No problem.

So, I follow him down - now keep in mind I'm driving an unfamiliar vehicle in an unfamiliar area that has a reputations for having the craziest drivers... In other words, everybody drives like me - it's kind of scary, especially with how comfortable I am with it. After dropping off his car, I'm riding back with him when he realized that he was supposed to be at a meeting that night. He apologized but was going to continue to take me home. Being the generous person that I am (cough cough) I told him he should just go and I'll keep myself busy until he was done. His response was, "Great, in return I'll take you out to have some of the most amazing pizza you've ever had."

Due to the 'so called traffic,' we were late to the meeting that was supposed to start at 6:15 - However, I'm learning the Italians take start times as a mere suggestion. At 6:45 the meeting finally starts - it's about Family History, so I am invited sit in and listen. Listening is really the only way to describe what I did - Everything was in Italian. It's interesting listening to a language that you have no idea what they're saying. All I really got out of it was that Italian is a very rhythmic language.

When the hour long meeting finished (at 9:00), I realized that 8 others were also going out for pizza. We all started to squeeze into one Fiat when we realized we wouldn't all fit, and finally settled on taking four cars to find the pizza place. Now, notice that I used the words 'so called traffic' for the reason for being late - that was nothing compared to what I saw next. There's nothing like trying to tail another car through the streets of Naples while being cut off by a produce truck (I mean, come one - who is driving a produce truck through a major metropolitan street at 9:30 in the evening?) with a Fiat Mini on your right, another vehicle passing in the oncoming traffic on your left and a scooter squeezing in between all of you like it was a four lane highway. Apparently real Napoli traffic occurs after the sun sets.

After losing the car in front of us - we stopped at an intersection that had 40 street signs in every direction (you think I'm exaggerating?) - The driver is on the phone with the guy in the car we just lost and he's reading all the street signs to him. It took me a couple of minutes but I finally figured out what was going on. There were no signs that said what street we were on, only signs that pointed to other places - by reading all the signs (Pompeii is to our right, Napoli is behind us...) they were hoping that the other driver could triangulate where we were and how to get there.

At 10:00, we were pulling into the Pizzaria with promises to me of nirvana. Their proof was all the cars that were parked practically on top of each other. However, I think the drivers to all those cars were ages 10 and under because when we walked into the place, I had flashbacks to taking my boys to Chuck-E-Cheese. This is 10:00 at night and this place was just crawling with kids.

Thus began the window war.

We found a table that was big enough just outside of the pizzaria and had just sat down. My back was to a window. This window had two panes that would slide side to side. After we sat down, a couple of young boys opened the window and poked the guy sitting two seats down from me on the back. The guy reached back and slid the window shut. That must have been the reaction the boys wanted because they did it again. This time the guy next to me reached back and slid the window shut. Everybody at our table was in deep conversation (in Italian) and so I thought I would have a little fun. By putting my left arm into the track of the window, I was able to effectively wedge my elbow against the sliding window behind me and use my hand to provide enough friction to keep the other window from sliding open in the other direction. Clever me.

This became the ultimate challenge to all the little gladiators inside. There is now a bruise on the back side of my left elbow. Out of the corner of my eye (I tried to act as if I didn't know that I was ruining their fun) I could see that they had put five kids at each window to push. This went on for about a half an hour. Finally I could feel the pressure release and I thought I had won. Not in the slightest, they regrouped and put all ten kids on the window behind me. I knew this was going to be painful, so just when they were going to put in their maximum effort, I casually dropped my arm from the window. The stack of kids tottered briefly, paused like the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and then crashed to the floor. (heheh)

Now, the whole time I had to ask myself - where are the parents? I just can't imagine parents sending their six year old kids down to the local pizzaria in their volvo's with explicit instructions to pick on guys from Wyoming.

Well, I ended up paying for that little stunt for the rest of the night. Not only did I have the continuous rhythm of Italian at the dinner table, but I had three or four of those kids giving me the whatfor (I think they took shifts). At first I thought they were just playing with each other - but their language included raspberries which is clear in any language (the tongue flavored kind). I really wondered what would happen if I were to turn around, wrinkle my brow and start angrily quoting Robert Frosts, The Road Not Taken - but, I didn't have the guts. I think I would have been the only one who would have enjoyed the joke. The war finally ended when one of the boys picked up a plastic knife and threw it at me - only then did I hear a mother get after the boy. At least I think it was a mother.

At 10:15 we were told we could go pick up our pizza. I decided to help with this and maybe calm the locals. two other guys and I walked through dining area, out the front door, across the street to another building where there was a line of people picking up pizzas.

Why is it that out of everybody in line, I was the only one that other Italians came to to ask questions? I thought that maybe the kids put a sign on my back that said "Ask me where the bathroom is."

It was at this point that I decided to call Annie and let her know that I would be late. (Hey, no making fun, I called her first.)

After the amazing view of Mt. Vesuvius in the moonlight, the nightly fireworks display - I finally got a taste of some real Italian Pizza. Yes, it is different than what we have in the states. At 12:30 in the morning, I dragged myself into my apartment.

But... that pizza was worth it.

Aparently There is Such a Thing as Love at First Sight

This will be brief -- just a quick update.

We have a new van!  Well, new to us.  :)   It's a 2009 Dodge Caravan.  It's shiny and black and all of the doors open and close themselves with the push of a buton.  Oooohhhh: robotic!   It's uber comfortable.  We feel so grateful for it!  Now when we buy drinking water and food, we don't have to carry them a sort of long distance to get them home.

Speaking of groceries, here at the Commissary, if you want to get a shopping cart, you need to have a Euro coin.  After five weeks I finally figured out how to get Euro coins on the base!

There are so many little details that it would be helpful to know.  I'm thinking about compiling them on a website.

We might have had the van a week or two sooner, but just before we made the transaction the window was smashed by a thief who stole some of Matt (the previous owner)'s belongings.  Tough luck!  The officials here warn us that we must never leave anything at all in our cars.   I guess we better go ahead and follow that advice...

It's midnight and the fireworks are going off.  Happens almost every night.  Not a problem -- they're distant and they only last a minute.  Just interesting culturally, you know?

We are meeting so many beautiful families and making friends with some really neat people.  It's just like kindergarten -- it feels so very awesome when someone decides they like you and want to be friends!  It happens so easily among the people here.  Maybe it's because we're all in (or have been in) transition? 

We have made the decision to live in the beautiful villa in Castel Volturno where Mark and Donna Lunsford have been residing (see earlier post).  We saw many beautiful homes, but this one continues to sing to us.  It was the first house we saw!  But the shopping around was necessary and good for us: it got us familiar with the area, and helped us to come to understand what we really wanted.  Today we made it official at the housing office, in a meeting with Anna and Paulo, our future landlords.  We expect to move in a few weeks -- around the end of June.

Living in Castel Volturno, we'll be attending church services on the coast in Pozzuoli.  We've been attending the Casserta Branch of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  I'm sad that we won't be staying with the Casserta Branch because I really like the people there.  But I am sure we will love the folks in Pozzuoli, too.

Church here is really fascinating.  The Casserta Branch has fully bi-lingual services.  People translate for each other so that everone understands what is being said.  The missionaries and others use radio devices to transmit translations to everyone during group meetings.  Everyone who speaks only one language holds a device, and when a person speaks in one language, it is immediately translated into the other.  In smaller meetings, someone sits nearby and translates for you.  (I really appreciate the kindness in that.)  Hymns are sung in both languages simultaneously.  The sacrament is blessed first in one language, and then in the other, before it is passed.  There is always a need for willing hands to help with the work of the church, as there are only about 20 families in the branch.  So yes, we already have been given some assignments, even though they know we'll probably be in the other branch before long.  People have been so generous!  Trish met us at the airport and saw to it we had some food and water in the house when we were too exhausted to get some for ourselves.  She's been looking after us now and again.  So kind!  And Sara watched our children the first full day we were here.  She is amazing, and I am so thankful for her friewndship.  Pina made sure I had someone to sit by in church and then cooked us yummy italian brownies.  They've made sure we had rides to church.  Awesome, generous people.

OK, it's late.  Enough for now!  Good night!

Bit by Bit, Putting it Together

Things here are good.  We are getting everything done bit by bit.  Every little accomplishment is a vital part of getting settled here.  Arrive.  Eat a meal.  Rest.  Survive jetlag.  Get groceries into the apartment little by little, walking one 1/2 mile trip to the store at a time.  Do the same for drinking water.  Maintain the inflow of necessities.  Cook with bare basics.  Get the kids into school.  Get them registered for childcare in preparation for a week of mandatory orientation training.  Call a realtor and begin visiting amazing houses for rent.  Try to get the realtor to show you something nice close to the base, if possible.  (Easier said than done.)  Homework and chores every night!   Do everything with a three-year-old in tow.  Take the driving test.  Take the driving test again and pass it this time!  Try to find a vehicle.  Find out how to buy, register and insure the vehicle.  Be patient when the chosen vehicle becomes delayed due to vandalism (smashed window) repair.  Figure out how to get the promised advance pay so that we can begin to pay for temporary quarters.  Ride a bus accross the city to jump through the hoops to get an ID card.  Go home for documents nobody told you to bring, then ride accross town and try again. Try to get the kids registered at the hospital in case of emergency.  Have hubby visit the ID office again to fix what wasn't done before, then try to get registered at the hospital again.  Gratefully arrange and accept rides to church. Make new friends.  Enjoy the warm sunshine.  Chat with the Italian maids.  Try to figure out how to use Italian appliances.  Wonder at the beauty of a big brown grashopper and thrill to watch bats hunting bugs.  Get used to watching your feet so you don't step on the handsome, large black beetles that love living in the grass.  Feel young and alive.  Feel low sometimes but keep going.  Hug your kids and be amazed at how they're growing.  Hold your sweetie's hand a little more often.  Notice how the family has really been getting good at pulling together.  Keep going, and watch it all come together, bit by bit.

The picture above is the view from our balcony.  (The building to the right is the school, which I think is a very convenient location.  It's a very nice school.)

We're just about ready to commit to a house.  What an amazing experience.  The housing allowance in Kevin's assignment is extremely generous.  When you can have anything you want, what would you choose?  A gorgeous house right on the beach?  A luxury apartment with a view of the entire coast?  A lovely cottage next door to international soccer stars?  A big home in the middle of a small, quiet, 1000-year-old town?  When you get to choose, that's when you learn some very interesting things about yourself. 

Ciao bella, eveyone!
--Annie

A Day in Castel Volturno

Yesterday was a very wonderful day.  Mark and Donna Lunnsford, who we met on Bone's (Kevin's) first day at work, invited us to see the home they'll soon be leaving in Castel Volturno, as they return to Poulsbo, WA.  The Lunsfords are AWESOME, and so was the day they generously gifted to us. 

At 9 AM Mark and his friends arrived in two cars to carry all six of the Bonners 30 minutes northwest to breakfast and lunch at their beautiful villa.

We were given the grand tour.  The house has beautiful grounds with lemon trees, a vegetable garden, ample parking, and adorable statues in the courtyard.  The villa is gorgeous with marble and tile everywhere.  It has six bedrooms, four bathrooms, two spacious living rooms -- one on each floor, a large kitchen downstairs and a smaller one upstairs, at least three balconies, and an enormous roof to play on.  The landlord, Paulo, built it himself while raising five little girls.  He and his wife Anna now live in another house which he built inside the same gated compound.   They keep the grounds immaculate.  The Lunsfords adore everything about living there: the short walk to the beach, the short walk to the open air Saturday market, the bakery, the pizzeria, the ancient little town full of cobblestones and chapels and shrines. 

Most of all, the Lunsfords love their neighbors.  They loved us.  They love Paolo and Anna, they love Paulo's extended family who live nearby, they love the people they know in the town, they love the sellers at the market, they love the nephew of the neighbor who they met on the street.  They remember everone's names and greet everyone with kisses and handshakes.

We were escorted to the Saturday market, where we had a lot of fun, and I also learned that haggling over toys doesn't work when the children are standing there grabbing things.  (The toy-seller's smile said it all, and I grudgingly paid 15 euro for toys worth MAYBE 5 euro.  Don't take kids to market.  Valuable lesson.  Education is often expensive.)

We walked into the lovely old town.  Two small dogs (belonging to Paolo and his family) decided to escort us along the way, and they remained with us along the entire hour-long walk.  They were so cute! 

Along the way Mark led us to knock on Theresa's door, just to say hi.  Theresa is a lovely woman who works in the same department as Mark and Bone.  She invited us in, greeted us with kisses, and whipped out some yummy cookies for the little boys.  She was sweet, and a good sport, considering the curious little army she had invited in! 

Theresa's darling 15-year-old daughter Stephania appeared suddenly with kisses for Bone, me, Mark and Donna.  I was very amused by her entrance, because Bone didn't see Stephania until she was suddenly kissing him.  His eye's got so big!  She was showing very good manners, but my dear husband is not yet used to Italian hospitality.  It was priceless. 

It was an amazing day, and we are so grateful to the Lunsfords for the unforgettable gift they gave us which was their overwhelming love and hospitality.  Oh how I would like to be like them some day.

So now we must only decide if we'd like to live there.  It is well within the housing budget the Navy has given us.  It would mean a 30-40 minute bus-ride twice per day for the children, and a 40-minute commute for Mr. Bonner.  And that is absolutly the only draw-back.  Truly a difficult choice. 

So what would you do?

Norfolk & Wisdom from Howard Burton

Yesterday we woke up in Elk Mountain, Wyoming.  Dad Bonner wouldn't hear of us taking the Airport Shuttle, and drove us to Denver himself.  It was so fun riding with him.  He parked at the airport and then came inside to make it infinitely easier to check in all of that luggage!  Thanks Dad.

We flew from Denver to Chicago, and then on to Norfolk.  We sat together on the Chicago flight, but we all had to sit separately on the flight to Norfolk.  (At least I was allowed to sit with three-year-old James.)  The kids were amazing -- especially Sam (7), who had to sit pretty far from everyone else.  Little heroes! 

It is morning in Norfolk, everyone else is asleep, and I am thinking about the people we met yesterday: Ilsa, the lovely South African stewardess who met the love of her life in Chicago; Walt, the nice man who checked us into the Hampton Inn last night; and Thor, who brought us room service last night at 11:20, even though the restaurant was supposed to stop delivering at 9:00.  And thinking of them makes me think of an old friend named Howard Burton.

Howard Burton is a Seattle engineer and entrepreneur.  He was Bone's (Kevin's) employer for about seven years.  Aside from the fact that he's good leader and a great engineer, he's a very generous man.  He throws an incredible Christmas Party every year.  (I know -- in literature that would be Dickens' Mr. Feziwig from "A Christmas Carol", right?  Not such a bad person to be compared with, in my book.) 

Howard taught us a piece of advice that is worth more than gold.  Whenever you're in a restaurant, learn your waiter's name right away, and make sure you use their name when you see them during the visit.  It lets them know you value them as a person.  It makes them feel good, and it makes you feel good too.  Some people will say this trick gets you great service, but it does so much more than that.  It makes the waiter your friend.  It makes the meal into time spent with a new friend.  It makes your time with this person, however short, special and memorable.

We started trying this everywhere -- not just in restaurants -- and it has added significantly to our happiness.  One very memorable time was when James was born.  We just learned and used the names of all the nurses and others who cared for us in the hospital.  For that brief, special time, they all became our friends, and they loved us.  It was incredible and powerful and beautiful, and I will always remember it.

So now here I am waking up in this nice Hampton Inn in Norfolk, and I am remembering Ilsa and Walt and Thor and others we met yesterday.  Thank you Howard, for teaching us to recognize the treasure of people who are all around us.  There is love everywhere if we learn how to find it.

It Happened in Evanston...

The first two days of our journey were sweet and a breeze.  The children have been excellent travellers, and we've had a lot of fun.  We've come about 1000 miles!

Today was a little more eventful.  After we slept last night in the Comfort Inn at Evanston, Wyoming, we got on the road this morning excited to be almost "home" to Elk Mountain -- just 250 miles more down the road.  Our van decided that it liked Evanston, and it didn't want to leave.  About 20 miles into today's journey, the transmission became seriously handicapped. We turned around got back to Evanston!

A mechanic confirmed the seriousness of the issue, and we needed to change our game plan.  No hope of repair was possible in the next one-to-two weeks, and we fly out of Denver next Monday.  We now had some interesting issues to solve!  What should we do with the van?  How can we get to Elk Mountain?  How will we get to Denver? 

We quickly decided to look for a buyer.  (We had intended to have Bone's dad sell the van after we fly out, but now things were obviously not going to play out that way.)  The Dodge dealer was not interested, but a salesman referred us to a man named Anthony who keeps a fleet of vans for "Mountain Regional Services, Inc", located a few blocks away. 

We drove to "Mountain Regional Services, Inc", and I walked inside.  Anthony was not in, but a sweet receptionist dialed his number and handed me the phone.  He was interested, and a few minutes later he was shaking hands with us.  He was in his late thirties, full-blooded Italian, with an easy smile.  He could only offer us $300, and he was certainly not trying to rip us off.  (His cost would be about $2500 to repair, and the value of the vehicle in trade was little over that.)  We knew we were in no position to find a better offer, and we agreed.  We were grateful that we'd be able to properly dispose of the vehicle, and also that an otherwise good and useful van would not be wasted.  $300 was way better than paying to have it towed to a wrecking yard in another city!  We made arrangements to make the transaction after lunch.

During this meeting with Anthony, I was required to take emergency potty breaks with children three times!  And this facility was actually not supposed to allow children inside the doors due to the nature of some of it's clientelle.  Awkward!  Thankfully, the staff was very kind and understanding.  

Lunch was a whirlwind of questions, decisions, and calls for information.  The children hardly noticed, and instead had a blast climbing and playing at the surprisingly fun Evanston McDonalds.  (God bless the person who invented the idea of climbing toys at McDonalds!)  Could we rent a car in Evanston and return it in Laramie?  The answer was no.  Could we rent a car from Park City and return it in Laramie?  The answer was no.  Could we rent a car in Laramie and return it in Denver?  No -- but Laramie Enterprise told us there is airport shuttle service from Laramie to Denver.  Good to know!  Is there Greyhound service from Evanston to Laramie?  The answer was yes.  The next bus was tonight at 10 PM. 

I would have taken that.  Bone was not game for Greyhound in the middle of the night with four children.  Was there another bus?  The answer was yes -- 9:30 tomorrow.  That would work.  But Bone's father also didn't like the Greyhound idea, and would prefer to come get us tomorrow.

We got settled in again, to the same nice room at the Comfort Inn, cleaned out the car, and then I returned to meet Anthony and make the trade.  It was fun chatting with him and with Maryanne, the notary who witnessed the transaction.  I was glad to meet these interesting people.  I felt I was having an adventure.  Finally, Anthony dropped me back at the Inn. 

And then, Bone and I took the children swimming!

So here's what I am thankful for and amazed by.  Where did the car trouble happen?  Very close to town.  How long did it take to see a mechanic?  Immediate service.  Did we have a GPS and cell phone service?  Yes, and boy did they help!  How long did it take to find a buyer for the van?  Like 10 minutes.  Did we have to pay or did we get payed to get rid of our van?  Yes, we came up with enough to rent a van for a week if necessary, after we get to Laramie.  Can we get to Laramie on our own if needed?  Yes we can.  Did we meet some interesting and kind people and get a little taste of Evanston, Wyoming?  Yes we did.  Did the kids have a good day?  They did!  Did Bone and I learn a thing or two today?  We did, and maybe even grew a little closer. 

As I was driving to meet Anthony and sign over the title, this song came into my head.  It made me wonder about how God wants us to feel.  Is there somehow he wants us to feel?  I believe he wants us to be happy, but he does have to send us challenges sometimes. 

Fear not, I am with thee.  O be not dismayed,
For I am thy god, and will still give thee aid.
I'll strengthen thee, help thee and cause thee to stand
Upheld by my righteous, omnipotent hand.

In every condition, in sickness, in health,
In poverty's vale or abounding in wealth,
At home or abroad, on the land or the sea,
As thy days may demand, so thy succor shall be.