I DID IT. I REALLY REALLY DID IT.
I managed to get my last permit to wait for my citizenship to process and I have the snapchat to prove it. :D
Can you believe it?
I could not have done it without the help of so many nice Italians, helping me along the way. Considering the plans I have for my future I am not able to send gifts to thank them all, but I want to at least mention them.
First off, the Comune of Grottolella. That would be the town hall of where my family originated. I began calling them to start the quest of collecting every one of my ancestor's documents in May of 2014. Grottolella is a tiny town located in the region of Avellino, close to Naples. This means they speak a different dialect of Italian. All the Milanesi (people from Milan) warned me that I would not understand a thing but I did not listen. I had to try.
I ended up calling them at least every other week to check up on the search, and they got to know me fast. I spoke slowly, they followed along, and we had no problems with communicating. :)
I cannot wait to visit the town one day and show up with a huge bottle of wine for them. Then I will start my new adventure of finding out if I have any relatives there!
Next, my American family. I LOVE YOU ALL! Dad, Mom, Nonni, Uncle Michael, Tina B. (my Pap's cousin and my only family member in the U.S. that still speaks Italian), Grammy, Aunt Mary, Bianca, and Catherine. You guys did everything I asked and I hope I will get to thank you properly one day. <3
The staff at the foreigner's office at the Comune of Milano was so patient with me. One week I went to them every single day and they were STILL not tired of helping me. They had pity on me and overlooked discrepancies in the documents and are the ones currently processing my citizenship!!!
Next shout out goes to my host parents. Every night, no matter if they had a pesante (hard) day at work, they would ask me how I am progressing and share with me whatever advice they could. They do not know how much that meant to me.
I cannot forget the American teacher I met through Daria's friend at our church. Her name is Michele S. and she was willing to meet me two times and even let me bother her at home on a Sunday, to answer my endless questions on how she obtained her citizenship through her Italian ancestors. She was great!
I want to thank the Carabinieri at Via Novara (via = street). Especially my friend I made, Domenico! He personally guided me through renewing my permit both times and let me skip so many annoying little steps in the process. He even allowed me to text him during his vacation with my random questions.
And for the record, we are indeed just friends. I will admit he did invite me for a coffee but, in Italy, that means absolutely nothing! Haha they simply prefer having a friend tag along.
The translation place I used was so fast and cooperative! I was required to present the original document, the Apostille, the translation of the document, and a copy of all that to the Comune of Milano in order to apply for citizenship. The day I picked up the documents from the translation place and took them to present to the Comune, they could not accept them because it was too disorganized (keep in mind I had twelve documents to present) so I ran back to the translators and in two hours they had helped me to put it all in order. The next day the Comune accepted them!
And finally, Buddy, my Philippine friend from a small traveling company that also deals with citizenship. He gave me all kinds of great advice and was genuinely trying to help me out..even with finding work!
I want to remind you of my greatest discovery throughout my reasearch; that our last name was actually Spiniello until my great-great-grandfather, Domenico, arrived at Ellis Island in 1896 and, with the overwhelming amount of passengers, did not have time to spell it out correctly. The funny thing is that Spinelli is one of the most classic Italian last names, still to this day and I have to admit having my last name helped me out the most. All was meant to be. It is as if someone had this already programmed for me. Grazie mille to whoever that may be. ;)
Please get in touch with me if you want more details! My email is imspinelli@yahoo.com
Un bacione. XOXO.
No comments:
Post a Comment