Docu-Drama Update:

We went to the doctor on Monday 20.8. First off, my buddy in Boston who set us up with the endocrinologist neglected to pay any attention to my request for a PEDIATRIC endo. Dr Zavaroni may well be one of the best in Italy, but she doesn’t do pediatrics. Plus, I had forgotten that we still needed to get our national health cards, so we arrived at the doctor’s office with no insurance cards, plus I had forgotten to pack the school orders from Dr Wolfsdorf. Fortunately the pediatric endo was wiling to see us briefly, get us some syringes and strips (the boxes are still in customs), and reschedule us for later this week, but we HAVE to have national health cards. When I told her we already had codici fiscali (Italian social security numbers), she said, “Oh, no problem then! Just go to the health office and show them the codici fiscali and they’ll be able to issue the cards!” This should have been my first clue that this would, in fact, be a problem.

 Tuesday I finally got the letter from Matt authorizing me to bring the girls to Italy in the first place (we had one before but no one, including me, had noticed that the dates were July 2013 to July 2013 ☹ ), which completed our packet for the request for a residenza permit (so that we would be permitted to RESIDE in Italy but not to SOJOURN. It may be Christmas before we are permitted to sojourn) and so I decided to hit the post office and the Health Services office in Salsomaggiore at the same time. At Health Services they told me that the cards couldn’t be issued without the receipt from the Post Office for the residenza mailing. Oooookaaaaay. But it turns out the Post Office is mere steps away! We will go to the post office, get the receipt for the residenza mailing, and come back. (And incidentally pay the parking ticket I got in Parma the day before, because you can do that at Post Offices in Italy.)

At the Post Office I paid my ticket, no problem, then asked to mail my packet. “You need an appointment. We have to review the packet before we can send it for you. Plus you haven’t stamped it or paid the 107E for it.” Stamped WHAT? Paid WHAT? Fulvia didn't tell me any of this crap! “You can get a stamp for it at the tobacconist’s across the street. But we don’t have any appointments till Friday.” Uh, I need this before Friday. “Can’t help you. But the stamp is at the tobacconist’s.” Why is the stamp at the tobacconist’s and not at the freakin’ POST OFFICE? Oh Italy.

So we went to the tobacconist’s. And it was NOT scratched, for those of you who care about that sort of thing. ☺ But apparently this particular stamp (14.62E – why 14.62, we ask ourselves to no avail) is very popular, as I walked in and said, “I need a revenue stamp,” and she rang up 14.62 before I finished speaking. So I got the stamp. But still had no appointment at the post office, and so had to give up in despair on the day. At least the parking ticket got paid on time (you only have 10 days in Italy to pay them or they start doubling, eek).

 So today, I took my duly stamped packet to the post office in Pellegrino, which has the advantage of being tiny and thus not overbooked with appointments – I did have to wait almost 15 minutes, but that was about it. The man there initially said my packet was no good because I didn’t have apostilles on the birth certs, but then he read the letter that our beloved Fulvia wrote back at the Foreigners Information office and said it was ok. He gave me many things to sign. I signed. I gave him the 107E and he gave me a very elaborate series of papers all stapled together. A paperwork assignment finally successfully completed! I took this multi-part receipt across the street to the Comune.

 Is. This. What. I need. For the residenza. “YES! IT IS! And we’ll get you the actual residenza permit next Wednesday.”

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

 Please. Please have it ready for tomorrow. I have a doctor’s appointment on Friday and I HAVE to get the Sanitaria tomorrow. PLEASE. “Oh, well, okay, we can have it for tomorrow.”

I’m so proud. I didn’t faint or do a happy dance or anything. I just said, “Molte, MOLTE grazie signore,” and came home.

But the question still remains: Will the paper be ready in time for the Sanitaria, and will the Sanitaria REALLY give us the cards just on the basis of the residenza and the codici fiscali? TUNE IN TOMORROW!