Hard to believe that 7 years ago, I began a new life. A life I never thought I’d live. I never imagined living in somewhere that wasn’t America but here I am. 7 years laters and still in this strange land I call home. Everything that seemed so weird is normal now.

The hubby and I often talk about our first few months here. How our house was so clean because it was EMPTY! We arrived with nothing except for the few items he already owned. We spent the first few weeks using the floor as our closet.

One of our favorite memories is our first night. Something I didn’t know about Italy is that heat is controlled. Each city is different but you basically have a date that the heat can be turned off/on. It’s usually from October to April and depending on your housing situation you either control it yourself or it’s controlled by someone else. My Mother in law has radiators in her house which is the best way to go. You control the temperature and can keep very warm. We however, have central heat which means the entire building is controlled. We’re on the 9th floor so there’s no one above us. So no matter how high we turn up our thermostat, it will always be cold. At night, the heat gets shut off. So from 10:30pm- 6:00am (varies depending on how cold it is) there is NO HEAT! Had I known this, I would have made sure to have thermals packed in my carry on!

In those first few days, it snowed a lot which isn’t normal for Torino. We actually don’t get a lot of snow. I had my first experience with having to run errands without a car. Walking 7 blocks in the snow is not my idea of fun but it’s one of my most favorite memories. Here’s hoping the next 7 are just as great!