Depending on how familiar you are with current slang among the hip hop generation, you might have the wrong idea about this post from reading the title. I do, in fact, have a fatty, and I am talking about my passport.
Effective January 1, 2016, the United States Government no longer accepts applications to add pages to ones passport. This is a big deal, because, when you apply for a visa to visit other countries, many require that you have at least 4-5 blank pages in your passport upon application. Since they no longer add pages, a mere $82 fee, you would be required to apply for a passport renewal ($110).
This presented a few issues in addition to the higher fee.
- You must take new passport photos
- If you have visas from other countries that do not expire yet, you will need to carry 2 passports
- The processing time may be longer.
I have been fortunate enough to have many stamps and several visas in my passport, and I was quickly approaching the end of my book when I got my application in on December 29, 2015 and amazingly, I already received my fatter (pages added) passport. Those couple of weeks were the longest amount of time I spent without my passport in years. I am happy to have my dear friend back.
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| Fatty |
Let the exploring continue!
~JE
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| It doesn't quite close |
Over 3 years ago, I made a big decision, to move from a small town in Nebraska to Italy for my job. Back then, I had big plans. I expressed my desire to start a blog and document my adventures and my life.
My friends and family threw me a total of 4 going away parties, one of which was a surprise from some great ladies. They showered me with love and said their goodbyes and wished me well. I promised I would keep them all up to date on the "blog".
I arrived in Italy, eager, excited, and just a tad bit nervous. I moved into my new apartment and spent a few days getting acquainted with my new city, Brescia. I started work, I navigated to the grocery store, I ate everything in sight...and long story short, I never started the blog.
So, here we are, a few years in and I didn't document the play-by-play of life as an expat in Italy. However, as they say...better late than never. I refuse to make any promises about what this blog will be, but I will say that my intention is to share some of my world. I would like to share some of the experiences (that I can remember) from the past few years, the challenges, the language flubs, the victories, and also life as I know it now in Italy. I might also share random information about fitness, fashion, cooking, and whatever else, simply because that is how my brain works. I hope you find something interesting here, but if not, thanks for stopping by anyway. Welcome to my world (tour)!
~JE
