Quest'Anno

Ciao tutti!

I am doing great, as always.  :)  I have finished teaching and stopped all my private tutoring lessons, which means I thankfully have some down time before heading to the beach house in Toscana (Tuscany).

I'm pretty occupied with cleaning out my room of everything I've built up over these past two years and a half.  There are papers from my Italian school, vital records of my ancestors when getting citizenship, the intensive teaching course, and then actually teaching at the school.  It is really nice to go through it all and remember the work I put in during those different periods of my life.  Different periods that have transformed me and helped me grow.

Then, there are all of the drawings and cards from my aupairs kids, families that I went to converse (talk about life) with weekly, and students from the school...

 

My love language is 'Words of Affirmation' so you can understand how much each of these mean to me.  I am so happy I have time to take all of this in now, that way I can say goodbye and thank everyone that has touched me in some way.  You know what?  That may be part of the reason why we miss a certain time in our pasts; we do not take the time to appreciate what we have right this very moment.


On Father's Day, as I skyped my parents, my mom and I realized that I started my adulthood here in Italy.  I began this adventure after high school and will be turning 22 this year.  I could not have dreamed of a better experience than I have been given.

Il Percorso alla Cittadinanza

Ciao tutti!

    It has been a while, I know.  Ever since my teaching course started last September 2015, I have been preparing lessons every moment I have free!  I had a WONDERFUL October, seeing family in America to celebrate my sister's wedding in Missouri and then getting to know my adorable niece (who just turned two!).  Once I returned, I immediately started teaching English conversation at a small private school one block away my host family's house and, as I said, have been making lesson plans every evening.  I am currently giving ten private lessons per week and am still editing English books for the father of one of my private students.  

 I am also really excited to share that I am organizing four aupair exchanges right now!  There are so many Italian families here in Milan searching for an American teenager to speak English in their house (what a job!).  I strongly encourage American youth to travel before college to open their mind and be exposed to different cultures, therefore after realizing how many families are willing to host, I got started.  American boys and girls are welcome, so please help me pass the word along!!  You only get benefits from this experience, you cannot lose anything.

In other news, if you have not heard already, (it feels more official once it is on here)...I am an Italian citizen!!!  I wrote a few pages in one of my many journals about the entire process, and after reading it to my sister, I wanted to share it with you all.  So here goes...



My Journey to Citizenship

   It all started in May, 2014 when I received the first documents from Grottolella, Avellino. I have had this idea since high school, but was never given the opportunity to get started.

Ever since my first visit to Italy, back in August 2005, I have wanted to become Italian. I knew my family had it in us and knowing that we had lost such a beautiful culture was unacceptable to me. I wanted to make the Spinelli family real Italians. I wanted to learn the language and more about the fascinating country.

My opportunity showed up after I had finished studying Italian for eight months, while aupairing here in Milan. My (current) host family invited me to stay with them longer and I gratefully accepted. Now I had the time to focus on obtaining citizenship through my relatives. I went for cittadinanza 'jure sanguinis', which means citizenship 'through blood' in Latin. 



The first thing to do was to find out about my Italian family members. Thanks to my grandmother, my grandfather's cousin (the only Italian-speaking relative I know), and Ancestry.com, I put together bits and pieces. We are so disconnected from our Italian heritage that my grandfather's sister does not remember her grandfather's name...just to give an idea of how serious the cultural gap is. We are not even able to call ourselves Italian-Americans.

I must say, that had to be the most exciting research I will ever do. Looking through the historic birth records and marriage licenses gave me chills. I loved sharing my discoveries with the rest of my family back in America, afterwards. The most interesting thing for me to find out was the change of our last name at Ellis Island. 

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The following is the complete Spinelli family history; my father's side.


       My great-great-grandfather, Domenico Spiniello, was born in the tiny town of Grottolella in the region of Avellino on January 14, 1877. He arrived to America for the very first time on April 27, 1896 when he was just 14 years old, to find work.

He fell in love and married Concetta Biscardi in Pittsburgh, PA on April 27, 1902. She had come from Grottolella also, and although I like to think they romantically met on the boat to the US, they probably had known each other before. It would have been impossible not to know everyone in their tiny town. Plus, the fact that they got married on the exact same day of Domenico's arrival, six years later, pretty much removes any doubt.

Back to the story...

Missing their beautiful country, Domenico and Concetta returned to Grottolella. Once they arrived, they declared their marriage at Il Comune di Grottolella (the town hall), which is where I found all of my great-great-grandpa's life records. It was there where they started a family. On June 28, 1906 Luigi Spiniello was born.

They must have realized that their son would have so many more opportunities in the Land of the Free, because they sailed back to New York in 1896.

This time the officers at Ellis Island made an error when recording the family name. It was extremely common for this to happen due to how many immigrants passed through and the fact they hand wrote everything back then. From that moment on we were known as the Spinelli's instead of the Spiniello's.

As little Luigi grew up, he visited his parents' hometown often. For some reason he decided to change his name, maybe to make it more American. He married Jeannette Bacco as Louis Spinelli, in Pittsburgh PA, and started a name-changing trend.

My grandfather, born as Dominic Donald Spinelli and later becoming Donald Henry Spinelli, was the last family member with Italian parents. That was where the cultural barrier cut my family off from Italy. The language, traditions, recipes and stories were not passed down and therefore, were forgotten.

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       My next step was to gather the birth, marriage, and death certificates of every male relative between me and Domenico (the last to be born in Italy). That was the most fun. I called Il Comune di Grottolella nearly twice a week either asking for one of the documents in the infinite list, making sure they were searching for it, or trying to get an estimate of when it would arrive. Somehow they miraculously understood me! Southern Italians have a very different accent than the Milanesi. Lesson learned; you cannot rush the Italian work flow. The documents arrived when they arrived.

Now keep in mind, it is not every day that an American girl, living in Milan, applies for Italian citizenship through her trisnonno (great-great-grandfather). 

Most people do it in their own country. In fact I got introduced to an American woman*. She had done exactly that, except it took her two years to gather the documents leading back to just her great grandfather. I had one generation more to prove and I got it done in six months. I spent hours on my Macbook, trying to complete the puzzle of my family tree. 

There were two times when I was tempted to pay for professional help because I was that lost, but I am happy I can say I did it on my own. I definitely could not have done it without the help of my family in America, though. They ran around for me, getting the official stamps (called Apostilles), copying certificates, and sending them across the Ocean.

  *  Fun fact:  This woman's family also came from the Avellino region and lives in Pittsburgh still, just like mine. What a piccolo mondo!  I am blessed to have met her because she was so informative and encouraging throughout this process.


The next step was translation. I had to translate every certificate into Italian, from me to Domenico - but excluding the wives since they did not carry the last name. I ended up using a company close to my house in Springfield, VA. Then after many, many visits to the Comune di Milano I had to get residency that showed I was living in Milan and THEN I could apply for citizenship. By the way, I had to renew my permesso di soggiorno (permit to stay) in the middle of all of this but the Carabinieri (Italian police) were so nice and cooperative that it was no issue! I got a special one "in attesa di cittadinanza", which means waiting for citizenship.


I officially became an Italian citizen on November 4, 2015.


It was a great adventure and I gladly would do it all over again. Every frustrating moment has been paid off. One day I will visit my family's hometown to search for any Spiniello's left. Who knows, maybe they have been waiting for their American relatives to find them. I am proud to reclaim my Italian heritage. È una cosa così bella, non si può perderla! Sono orgogliosa proclamare sono finalmente una cittadina italiana. (It is such a beautiful culture, you can't lose it! I am proud to say I am an Italian citizen).

Addio

Well, it is that time of year again; in a few hours we are moving down to the beach house in Livorno for three months!  Which also means my next post will be in October.  :(  I wish I could post more often!  I am currently writing in my journal since I am constantly out and about with the kids.  It is much more convenient during the summer, too.

Time has flown between editing an English book, preparing for my course in September, accommodating my first visitor (a really close friend from home), and spending a long weekend in Sicily. 

Unfortunately I cannot go into depth about the wonderful trip alla Siciliana we took, but I can say that I would certainly like to move to Southern Italy.  It is the Italy I dream about, with all of its warm traditions.  I will also mention that miraculously BOTH owners of the bed and breakfasts we stayed at, told me they were searching for mother-tongue English speakers to work with them........seems as if my wish may just come true one day!

Another quick update; my citizenship is still processing.  No news there.  I am so excited for my summer plans!  I will meet up with the same friend that visited me, somewhere in the beautiful Tuscan countryside this time (she is aupairing for family friends of my host family!) and then I will go meet my Turkish best friend and her boyfriend, in Cinqueterre.  The last trip I have planned is to spend a two week working holiday with one of the families I converse with, while my host family goes to London!  They are a great family with four children who actively participate in our parish by altar serving and playing in the church's sports teams.  I will take a train from Livorno to Varazze, a seaside town in Liguria, then we will move to their mountain house, in Macugnaga!  It will be my first time in the mountains during the summer.  I cannot wait!!

After that, I will go back to Milan to greet my host family fresh from London and we will drive back to Livorno to spend the last vacation week of August all together. 

Once I am in Milan, I will start my CELTA course and be unreachable during the whole month of September.  I will have to study hard for those four weeks.  Afterwards I have job opportunities waiting for me, but will not share until they are set in place.  :)  Prayers are welcomed!

I hope you all enjoy your summer break and appreciate the time spent relaxing with the people you love.  Live in the moment!

Designa la tua vita seguendo le passioni da Dio non le ragione.
Design your life following your passions from God, not the rules.


You can see my pictures of Sicily if you add me as a friend on FB at:  https://www.facebook.com/imspinelli36

Tutti In Bici a Pavia!

I had such a great weekend!  I rode my bike for 43 miles, with two friends from the church youth group, to Pavia.  Then, we had two families over for a delicious dinner of roasted beef and special cheeses, and on Sunday we celebrated the birthday of their cousin in the countryside.  Next weekend is going to be even busier!

This is Francesco and Marta. Everyone from the youth group has basically grown up together and is like one family. They all have welcomed me so warmly. I am lucky to have met them!

And off we go!

Fishermen lined up along the creek on an early Saturday morning

The tomb of St. Augustine, in Pavia

Chiesa di San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro (Church of St. Peter in the Golden Sky)

An unexpectedly charming city

It was the first visit to Pavia, for us all!

Il Duomo

The university of Pavia, known for it's medicine field

La Certosa di Pavia

It was a perfect day.

Pasqua

Long time no write!  I have been busy editing an English book, preparing for my course, tutoring, and enjoying the wonders of this country.  We had a lovely Easter break.  Unfortunately I do not have time to give you details but we spent it in the Tuscan countryside of Livorno, Bolgheri, Castagneto, and Casale Marittimmo.  Enough said, enjoy the pictures!  :)

Blessing of the palms (they use olive branches because they are more common here)

Procession around the church plaza

Visiting a villa in Livorno

The ancient town of Bolgheri, where Giosuè Carducci wrote his poem about the cyprus trees lining the street, leading to the church of San Guido.

 

Bormio

Well, I am feeling like a true Italian.  

The Davini's took me to the mountains with them, for a long weekend, to celebrate Carnevale (aka Mardi Gras, aka the beginning of Lent).  Most Italians spend their summers at the beach and their winters in the mountains.  That is just how it is.  Usually my host family goes to the famous Dolomiti, but this time there was not enough room so they settled for Bormio.  It is a small town in Valtellina, which is a large valley in the region of Lombardia.  It is known for its spas, natural thermal baths, wine, and bresaola (an air-dried, salted beef that has a sweet scent).

Now, if any of you know me you would know I cannot handle the cold..but with a view like this you can withstand anything!  Enjoy the pictures!  I only wish you could also breathe the fresh, pure air along with it.

Bormio

Matteo, hitching a ride to the top

Energy break!  We spent the vacation with the Davini's good family friends.

Closing le piste (the slopes)

 On the first day we had quite an adventure!  I was not skiing so I took the funicular up to 3,000 mt. to take in the beautiful scenery.  When I came back down it was 4:45 and the slopes were about to close in fifteen minutes.

At exactly 5pm Simone calls me and says "Isabel, I need a favor.  We took the wrong path.." and my phone died. 

I kept my cool and asked to use the bar's phone.  They were closing so they pointed me to the police, who were getting ready to head out too!  I marched in and said "C'e una famiglia ancora nelle montagne!" ("There's a family still in the mountains!").  So two officers hopped on their snowmobiles and sped off.  They arrived ten minutes later with Simone and Fabio (Simone's good friend).  What had happened was they had accidentally taken a wrong turn and ended up going down a black slope, which is the most difficult!  Matteo had to lie flat to make it safely down and Daria rolled!  No one got hurt so we can laugh about it now.  We had driven up the mountain and they had skiied further down than where we parked, so the dads and I drove down to gather everyone else.  Those are memories right there.

Ancient houses

I spotted this woman in the window and she gave me a perfect Italian moment to capture, from her handkerchief to the little shrine to Mary.

Where do you want to go?

An old shoe shop

Hotel Baita Clementi

Such a cozy place even with the snow!

We got to spend our last day at the thermal spa.  We returned to Milan yesterday evening and you can only imagine how I am missing that clean air!  It was an absolutely marvelous vacation and I really really hope I can do it again.