It turns out that our not feeling well in San Marino was more than the flu.
Yep. We thought it was just a flu, since we’ve both had 4 shots. We went to our local farmacia and picked up some meds. In fact, we were feeling so poorly that our Thanksgiving dinner consisted of bean soup and cornbread. It actually tasted pretty good.
A few days later, we were not better, so we went to see our doctor, Gino Malatesta (yes, that's his name, which translates to "headache"). He took one look at us and told us to get tested. Since we had several home test kits, we opted to take them. Both of us were positive. Devasting feeling. We’ve been able to avoid getting the ugly virus since the beginning, and now, here we are in Italy, having to isolate. Apparently, there’s no escaping.
Now it’s been two weeks since we tested positive. Mike has tested negative, but not me. I will take another home test today and hopefully I will be able to go to the farmacia tomorrow and get negative results.
Robert and Maria have been angels, picking up groceries for us. Until this past week. Maria started feeling ill, yet tested negative for Covid. Apparently she got pretty ill, so Angela and Giuseppe took her to the hospital. After several tests with inconclusive results, she came home. She still has more tests to run this week. We are watching her (remotely) closely.
Mike has been using an Ikea chair that was left here by Julia and Valerij. We’ve been concerned about him wearing it out. Plus, he misses his LazyBoy recliner. So we ordered a recliner from Ikea and had it delivered. I am very happy, because he looks more comfortable and the chair takes up less space in the living area. He says he likes it too, except that there is no head rest. We'll have to see if we can find one that fits this chair.
Did I tell you that Italy and the US do not have a reciprocal agreement to exchange driver’s licenses? Americans must take the Italian driving test – written and driving – in Italian, and be treated as if they are new drivers, even if they’ve been driving for 50 years. There’s no escaping.
I’m taking an on-line class to prepare me to take a driving license class. It’s two hours, twice a week, on Mondays and Wednesdays. It’s a little awkard, as the hours are 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. So I have to do some fancy meal preparations. The class itself is good, well organized, and there are only 4 students, which helps. But there is so much to learn! Every little detail about a road, the signs, the parts of a car…. And it’s all in Italian. There’s 12 chapters, we do two a week, so it moves pretty quickly. We’ll take a 2-week break during Christmas, then end on January 11. Once I complete this course, I will have to find an Autoscuola nearby where I can take a course that will further prepare me to take a written test and a driving test.
One of my classmates recommended a study book that is written in both Italian and English. I found it on Amazon.it. It’s over 300 pages, with very small print!
Hopefully I will get a negative test today or tomorrow. I would really like to go to check out Christmas markets at some of the small towns near us. Maybe even go to Pescara, where I think they have a big one.
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