The Way Things Were (Internet, Anyone?, 4)

Meet my Pocket.

I'll be the first to admit that my computer skills are far from savvy.  But I do think it might all be a little easier if I had a reliable internet connection.  I often blame myself when a picture doesn't load or what I'm typing simply disappears and can't be found again, but it's not always my fault.  DSL doesn't exist where I live so my options are a big, expensive antenna on the roof or this little black thing called a "pocket" that I can take wherever I go.  Like me, the "pocket" seems to prefer life away from home.  When we go into town it's as happy as can be!  But if it has to work at home, it doesn't always work.  The fact that I live on "Via Valli" (Valley Road) has its ups and downs.  It's great for country runs and olive groves, but not so great for Skype (pronounced "sky-pee" in Italian) and Netflix.   So for now I still pay for international calls and buy DVDs at the secondhand store.  Maybe we can talk about the 2018 Oscars from a pay phone in a few years when the DVDs show up in my local thrift shop.


The Beginning of The Way Things Were
Call me what you will, but I call myself an emigrant....an emigrant who should stop talking about her homeland every day.  (Expat has too many rich, white person connotations and immigrant is what my Italian friends call me.)  Many years ago, my foreign (expat) friends in Chicago continually pointed out the differences between life in their countries and life in Chicago.  I might be mistaken, but their use of the word 'different' often sounded a bit like 'better'. 

Not long after moving to Italy (about three hours) I started doing the same thing.  It has finally dawned on me that if my friends in Italy think like I used to think (if it's better in your country why don't you go home?) it might be wise to keep my American mouth shut in Italy and share my thoughts with the other side of the world.  Hereafter, when I notice something different, be it better or just different, I'll (try to) hold my tongue and add it to my list of The Way Things Were.

My goal is to keep it simple with a few words and a photo,  giving the readers the choice of better...or just different.   With more reflection I'll probably realize that some of the "betters" are here and some of the "betters" are there.  In the end maybe they really are just "differences."