Milano -- without Luggage, but with Great People

My luggage dallied for 48 hours before joining me in Milano. This is the second flight mishap in two months, but it caused some fun experiences. Okay, showing up to work on Monday morning wearing the same jeans, shirt and running shoes that I wore during my ten hours of flying was not glamorous. But, the Monday evening trip to a local clothing store (Celio) to buy a neat linen shirt and cotton pants was quite fun. Before dinner on Tuesday, I went to Zara where I bought another outfit, but it turned out that my luggage arrived during dinner that night. Nonetheless, I have some exciting new clothing and I fully expect British Airways to reimburse my expenses.

Our office in Italy has five full-time employees, and then some salespersons who operate in and out of the office. Four of the five speak English, and two of them have quickly become some of my favorite co-workers around the world. One of them has worked for our company about five years, including some time in the English office. Her goal is to work in America and it has been fun exchanging ideas and opinions of what she loves about America and what I love about Spain. For those of you who know me, imagine someone as fascinated about all things American as I am about all things Spanish. She even went so far as to say that she supports whatever we (the U.S.A.) do with our foreign policy. When I questioned this, she reminded me of the help offered by the U.S.A. to the Italian people in World War II. I still think skepticism toward the most powerful government in the land is preferable, but it has been fun to learn about her perspective as well as the perspective of several others during my time here.

Other than that, I tried horse meat for the first time on Monday night. In Spanish, "caballo" means horse, so when I asked what "cavallo" meant I had an idea of the answer. But when the financial manager responded by whinnying, an adventurous mood inspired me to try it out. What I didn't realize (I was caught up in the moment, I suppose) was that it was cavallo tartare. In my opinion, no land-based meat is tasty when it's raw, but I still ate the majority of my plate.

Tuesday night an American co-worker and I joined one of our Italian hosts at a hotel bar for some aperitifs, after which we went to a lovely alfresco pizzeria for dinner. Our dinner began at 10:30 PM! Late dinners were becoming a trend until tonight, when two American co-workers joined me and two British colleagues out for an Italian dinner that ended by 10:30 PM. Without our Italian guides, we really had a hoot trying to translate the menu. One would think it would be easy, but it was written in calligraphy and it contained so many proper names of sauces and cheeses that we understood only a few items. We finally received an English menu where we saw that one of the unidentified items was donkey. This time, I declined to be adventurous, but the risotto with funghi e formaggi was top-notch!

Friends from Around the World
Co-workers from two countries, Italy and Mexico, will be visiting in the coming months. After experiencing so much heartfelt hospitality in their home towns, I am thoroughly looking forward to showing each of them "My kind of town." A while back a friend shared a quote with me, "The world is small and round ... we shall soon meet again." I love that this is coming true for me in July and August 2005, and that it has been true so many other times in life.

Considerations
After more than three years of performing essentially the same job, and after having visited all but a few of my employer's world-wide locations; I was recently thinking that I should consider moving on from this gig. The recent 24-hour flight delay and luggage mishap certainly encouraged that notion. But now, as I'm getting to know a new operation, and after meeting a few more interesting people in this office, I am reminded of how much fun it is to work for this good, global employer.

No matter what eventuates, this summer is not over, and neither is my run around the globe. As I look back and look around, I certainly enjoy the view whence I am. It's when I look ahead that I realize that the path is not nearly as straight as an arrow. I can see quite a few potential curves and turns, and I'm quite excited by many of them. Returning to school? Working abroad? Working in the Loop? Only God knows how the rest of these Palacio Pages will be filled. And that is quite an exciting prospect!

Off to Bed, Looking forward to a Fun-filled Day!
Tomorrow will surely be a long day at work, after which I will join my co-workers for dinner. The dinner attendees consist of three Americans, three Italians and a British guy, who will soon transfer to Italy. This dinner is sure to be long and entertaining! And I've got to get to sleep so I can play my part at the table effectively!

Buona sera tutti!