Done!!! (hopefully...)

Good news...the Permit to Stay procedure is done! In order to stay here for the semester, we not only need a visa, but there's a very long procedure to receive a Permit to Stay. Before we left in January, we were required to register on a website, prepare paperwork, and make copies for this procedure. During orientation week, we were told that there would be a day set aside when the Italian authorities would come and complete the process. When we came that day, they took our paperwork (barely looked at it) and put it into a folder with our health insurance forms...and told us to wait for an email about a meeting with the post office in about a week or two to receive a receipt of our permit.

Six weeks later...During midterm week we got the email. Had to wait in line with passport and the papers they gave us to sign on a few lines and receive a tiny piece of paper. We were supposed to carry this with us so that we could exit and reenter the country - of course, over spring break, no one even asked for the receipt. Assuming we were done, we put our receipts away and carried on.

At the end of last week we got an email and letter about a mandatory appointment at the police station. Little did we know that we weren't done with the process...we were required to get more passport photos (which oddly enough, can be taken at those little photo booths in the metro stations) and make more photocopies for this appointment to get fingerprinted and complete the Permit. I consider myself lucky that my appointment was this week...some people have to go the week before we fly home! Fortunately, the station is just up the road from where we live, and it didn't turn out to be as bad (or as long) as I had anticipated. Thank goodness!!! So as of right now, I'm done with this crazy process...

All that to say, what we thought would be finished during orientation week has turned out to be a 2 1/2 month process so that it's okay for us to stay the next 4 weeks. Definitely annoying. Go figure...but that's Italy for ya! :)

Ciao for now!