The Impegnativa, one very important Italian document

Perhaps a better title for this post is The Italian Medical system, part XXX .  Seems I could write on this topic endlessly!  It's a subject I get asked about frequently in emails and in conversations with tourists from almost every country imaginable, but mostly from Americans wanting to hear first hand what I think about the differences between medical services here and back home.

I spent a bit of time this rainy morning over at Ospedale Civile while waiting for an appointment with an ear specialist, and that got me to remembering a previous visit to an ear specialist back about 6 years ago.  It was my famous visit to ex-Ospedale Giustinian, over in Dorsoduro, the afternoon I got lost and locked in the bowels of that huge, dark, scary Venetian building and ran into the worker wearing only his underwear. An afternoon I would like to be able to forget, but unfortunately that image is forever etched in my brain.

Last week when I was making this appointment, I flatly refused any and all possible appointment times offered at Giustinian. No, never again. Trust me. Never again. I'll go anywhere else, even to Mestre on the mainland, but not Giustinian. Thankfully this morning finds me at Ospedale Civile in Campo San Giovanni e Paolo.

I couldn't help but do a re-play of that horrifying afternoon in my head while passing time in the waiting room this morning. When my turn was called, I took my place at the sportello (counter) where the intake nurse processed my paperwork. Finished with all that, I asked if she could help me with one other matter.  I've been having a real run around trying to get appointments for injections in my knee for months now, and since Orthopedics share the same office space here I thought I'd just try my luck one more time. I already had an impegnativa (see photo above) for the injections, but for unknown reasons every time I tried to make the appointments, I was given another reason why they could not make an appointment on this doctor's calendar. It has been months, and still nothing. 

I'd discussed this problem with my regular doctor the week before, and she gave me yet another impegnativa for the injections with the advise to try again at the hospital appointment desk. I did try, but was told only my Orthopedic dr. could give this prescription, and I must wait on him.  Yes, I've been waiting. Months. And now the knee has decided this isn't fun any more.  So today, I explain that I now have 2 impegnativas and still no appointments. My regular doctor had also advised me that if I still didn't get an appointment to go take the matter up with the woman who runs the Office of Public Relations. That woman was my next stop this morning, after the ear dr. finished up with me.

The second secretary in the office, who was listening to my explanation of the multi-impegnativas,  turned from her computer screen to face me and told me to come see her when I had finished up with the ear doctor.

Back in the waiting area, I waited for my turn for the doctor. When my number was called, I was
introduced to a fairly young Ear, Nose and Throat specialist. Instead of asking me what brought me to him this morning, he asks what brought me to Italy. I should have been prepared, as this is a very common question, especially in any medical office. I proceed to give him the brief history of Karen becoming an Italian. Why is this so curious?

Next question from the dr. , " Is it true American doctors are all rich? My friend told me this. "
My response: "Doctors in the US do make more than most doctors in Italy, I am sure of this." He turns to his nurse and begins a fairly lengthy discourse on how medical services here in Italy are free or so inexpensive compared to in the US. He seemed quite unhappy with the whole scenario.

As he is examining me, he relays his family story of how his nonno (grandfather) immigrated after the war, how one uncle ended up in the US, another eventually in Germany. The examination conversation took a few more turns, ending with the doctor writing another impegnativa for yet a different examination. As you may have deduced by now, the impegnativa (see photo above)  is like the Willy Wonka Golden Ticket.  This gets you appointments with specialists; blood tests, x-rays and ekg's etc.; and prescriptions. It's a crucial document.

I remembered to stop by that secretary's desk on my way out. She took both of the impegnativa's for the knee injections, looked them over, hit a few keys on her computer and asked me if next Thursday at noon worked for me.  Absolutely yes. No matter what I might have planned for next Thursday, I will be cancelling. There was no way I'd miss an opportunity to get these shots. I asked her about the other 2 dates. She responded, "Don't worry. Get here on Thursday and we'll work all the rest of that out."  I thanked her profusely. She adds, "I remembered you from when you had your knee operated on. The American woman. "

Yes, the American woman. I must seem like a freak show to these Venetians.

Last night's Venice Night Trail

Venice isn't a city designed for long distance runners. Or even short distance runners. Any runners,  for that matter. It's a walking city. That's how we get around.

However, a local running group, Venice Running Days, in association with the Venice Marathon, organized a 15 k night run through the city. Brilliant idea, to do a run at night when all the streets are empty. The link below is a video of the course mapped out, beginning at the port on the Zattere and winding it's way throughout the city.  Do take a look.

Venice Night Trail Course through the city

Along the course, somewhere between 10-11 k, the runners would be going right by our house! I noted the event on my calendar and was prepared to watch from my vantage point on the terrace. 

 Yesterday was not the best weather day here in Venice. We had a nasty thunderstorm in the morning, then it cleared up mid-day, with another storm hitting late afternoon. Fortunately for all the race participants, the skies cleared up by night time and the temperature was also perfect for running in shorts and t-shirts. 

I knew the race was slated to begin at 9pm, so I figured the fastest runners might be already at the 10k mark around 9:30. About 9:15 I stepped outside, looked down and noticed a white haired  gentleman on the street below me, dressed in a neon green high visibility vest. He had a flashing light strapped to his arm, and he was waving a lit-up orange wand, similar to something an airport traffic person on the tarmac at an airport would use. No, an aircraft was not coming in for a landing on our sidewalk.  He  was busy practicing his hand motions to direct traffic.  The original race course was set to run past us, straight down the edge of the street to the waterfront, then along the waterfront all the way to the bridge over towards Giardini.  However, with all the rain the path along the waterfront was more like a stream. Obviously someone at race headquarters had decided to change up the route to keep feet dry. 

 The volunteer down on the street practiced his arm motions for 15 minutes or so. Every once in a while he'd say something out loud, as if he were having a conversation with someone.  But there was no one else but him down there. Then I noticed who he was conversing with.  A cat.  The cat, lying   on the sidewalk or walking around a bit,  was keeping the man company as he swung his arm with the wand back and forth. 

The first runner was past our house just a few minutes before 9:30.  Our traffic controller yelled out a cherry "Ciao!" and then proceeded to give directions , " Sinistra, poi destra, poi lungo viale" 

The second runner followed seconds behind, and got the same greeting and instructions. 

In another five minutes  runners started arriving down the street in packs.  Our guy downstairs was swinging his orange wand, and greeted each and every group with the same happy "Ciao!". For some he yelled out "Bravi, Dai!"  (Good, go on!) Every once in a while he'd not only give the directions in Italian, but also in English. "Left-a, right-a, then-a straight-a down-a  da street-a".  This went on for well over an hour, as a couple thousand runners made their way through our little corner of Venice. 

All the runners were wearing head lamps, some had red blinking lights on their backs, some even had shoes with blue lights in the heels.  

While the friendly volunteer downstairs was directing runners, the cat was getting into the action. Every once in a while we'd hear the man yell "No, Milo, vieni qua"  (Come here) or he'd run a few feet from his post and scoot the cat out of the way. He and Milo greeted every runner that past our corner of Sant'Elena. Runners were  yelling back to him "Buona sera" or "Grazie". 

I can only imagine how joyful this event was for the participants.To be able to run through this spectacular city on a clear spring night must have been something so unique and memorable. If only I could run, I am pretty sure I'd have been out there with them. Even from my non-runner perspective,  I know how happy I was looking down at them.  And this guy on our corner made it even more special. 

Photo of runners on the sidewalk straight below our terrace. ( My husband has a fascination with these night time light streams)  Thanks to Mike Henderson for the photos. 

Blame it on my mother!

Recently, while eating at one of my new favorites on Via Garibaldi, I had a lovely little conversation with one of the owners.  Towards the end of our chat, I introduced myself with "My name is Karen".  He says "Nice to meet you, Carol."  I wasn't surprised, that's a very common response here. No one can pronounce Karen.  I repeated my name to him a second time, to which he replied, " Yes, Carolina, like my girlfriend's name."  At that point I gave it up as a lost cause and went back to eating my meal.

Two days later, at the same little place, the same man greeted me with "Ciao, Carol."  I just grinned and gave him a "ciao" back.

I routinely get the "Ciao, Carol" all over town. I suppose I should just be happy to be acknowledged. It's not their fault they can't pronounce Karen. It's all my mother's fault for not giving me an Italian name!

My mother, Giuliana (now isn't that a beautiful Italian name?) was born and raised in Italy. She moved to the US when she was 19 after marrying my father, who was an American soldier stationed in Naples during the end of WWII.  When my mother had us kids, she named us American names so we would fit in.  Charlotte, Karen, Denise and Charles could have been Carlotta, Camilla, Daniela and Carlo, but no, we had to  have American names!

And so I suffer with most people not being able to say my name. I'd even answer to "Hey, you", I think.

PS.  Mom- I really just want to fit in now!  Is it ok with you if I change my name to Camilla, or Carmella, or Carolina?

Armed bandits rob money courier boat near Piazzale Roma. 1.3 million Euros stolen!

Yesterday around 7am near the vaporetto stop at Sant'Andrea (in the vicinity of Piazzale Roma), a money courier boat was robbed at gunpoint. The three robbers made off with  1.3 million Euros cash, most of which was monthly pension payments on it's way to the Italian Post Office where pensioners pick up their allotments at the beginning of each month. Reports say the heist took around 30 seconds to pull off. I think the Italian government will start thinking about how to implement direct deposits of those pension funds from now on! Unbelievable! It's the stuff you see in movies! 

The Italian Election

In all of the larger campos in Venice you will find these metal placards holding political campaign posters. Ugly buggers, but at least it keeps the posters off of buildings and trees. They won't be eyesores for very long, as shortly after the election workers will begin deconstructing them. Packing them away until the next election.

Today and tomorrow all over the country, Italians will be voting in the 2013 parliamentary election, where not only senate and delegates will be elected, but also a new Prime Minister.  The former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi resigned in 2011. Mario Monti took over the role as an interim government.

Italian politics are complicated. Candidates don't run, a party or coalition runs. The entire parliament is voted on at the same time, both Chamber of Delegates and the Senate. Whichever coalition gets the most popular vote nationwide receives 54% of the seats in the Chamber. The second highest coalition regionally gets 55% of the seats in the Senate for that region. things get trickier after this, there is no way I can give an adequate explanation of the process, I don't fully understand it myself.

To make things even more complex, there are over 20 different coalitions and parties participating in this election. Only three coalitions are the main competition, with a few other smaller parties also in the mix. Who are the contenders?

In order of the recnet poles, the three top contenders are :

Pier Luigi Bersani, head of the Democratic Party (PD)

Silvio Berlusconi, head of the People of Freedom

Mario Monti, head of Scelta Civica (Civic Choice)

 Beppe Grillo, head of the 5 Star Movement

 It's just too hard to believe that Berlusconi is running again, and even harder to comprehend that he is running very closely behind Bersani. So closely that Berlusconi could actually become Prime Minister for a fourth term. Yes, even after all of his scandals and legal entanglements.  His campaign promises of repealing  the property tax law that was enacted under Monti and refunding those taxes paid in 2012 is a very popular topic with Italians. This could possibly get him the votes.

It seems Bersani's only claim to fame is that he has been in politics forever. Hmm. The lesser of 4 evils??

Monti has done an adequate job of handling his interim post. But is that enough?

And, if there could possibly be anything even more comical than that, there actually is. Beppe Grillo, a comedian, has been running very high in the current polls, and could potentially be the winner.

It's anybody's guess what the outcome will be. We'll know that tomorrow night.  It's an important vote for Italy. Let's just hope we get it right.

More controversy on the Calatrava bridge

The Calatrava bridge is making headlines once more in Venice. This time it's the delay in the scheduled inauguration on Saturday of the "Ovovia"  (translation=gondola)  which has been installed on the side of the bridge to transport handicapped people from one side to the other. The problem is the ovovia has not yet passed all of  it's functional  tests. What's absolutely laughable about this is this Pod-like thing has been in the works for around 2 years already, and is estimated to be around 80 percent over budget, according to local papers.


                                               


This bridge, also known as the Ponte della Costituzione (Constitution Bridge) opened to the public on September 11, 2008 amidst massive controversy. Firstly, the bridge was not constructed for handicap accessibility. Secondly, many felt this bridge was not necessary as it is so closely located to the existing Ponte degli Scalzi. Thirdly, the bridge's very contemporary design is not in keeping with any of Venice's architecture. All three of these issues get my dander up.

I would love to know what these bridge designers were thinking when they came up with this pod as a solution for handling wheelchairs. The pod hangs over the side of the bridge. What handicapped person in their right mind would get into this contraption for a ride hanging over the Grand Canal???? It's  more like an amusement park ride. Seriously. Who is going to get in it?  And then there is the question of whether the pod will be accessible 24/7.  Do they have to hire Pod operators who are specially trained to run the thing?  Seems to me they could have hired a whole staff of porters to push anyone in a wheelchair across the bridge for a whole lot less than constructing this non-functional pod.

Not withstanding this new pod thing and the issues surrounding it's viability and costs, the bridge has other issues. In cold weather, ice forms on the steps which make it hazardous and barely passable.  On normal days, the steps themselves are dangerous because of the abnormal height and length of the each one. It's impossible to walk over the bridge using a normal gait, thus if you aren't extremely careful you will trip and fall down.  And, this one is the best in my opinion, the steps that are made of glass are broken frequently.  Why have glass steps when you have to cover them up with temporary metal sheets ?  I wonder how much each glass step costs to replace?

My "quasi" Venetian-ness rears it's ugly head whenever I think about this bridge.  Venice has many other critical issues to deal with, probably most important is the problem of rapidly declining population.

Happy Valentine's Day- Venice Style

Beginning with our first cappuccino at a local cafe this morning, we were feeling the love, Venice Style!

We set off in search of a particular local legend very much related to a love story- the heart shaped stone. We'd been to this spot years ago, it was time to revisit it. And what better day than today. 

Most of the stories you read about this spot in Castello say simply that if you are here as a couple and both touch the stone, your love will last forever. If you are alone and make a wish about love while touching the stone, then that wish will come true within a year. 

We've read another version of this legend that goes like this: 

 A young Venetian  fisherman who fished in the waters at Malamocca heard a voice calling to him one night while he was out fishing. He heard a girl begging to be freed, and then he saw a beautiful girl, however she was a mermaid.  They fell in love and she agreed to marry him, on the condition that he not come to see her ever on a Saturday.  He promised, but after a short while could not keep his promise, he went to see her on a Saturday, but all he found was a large serpent in the water. The snake said she had told him not to come, that because of a curse she was condemned to be a serpent every Saturday. However, if he married her, she would always be as beautiful as he had seen her. 

They did get married and had 3 children. The beautiful girl got very sick and died, and the young man returned her body to the sea as she had asked. The young father with 3 small children was very distressed, not sure he could manage a job and the children himself. Every day upon returning home from work he found the house spotlessly clean. One day he came home earlier than usual and discovered a serpent in the house. He killed the snake,  and from that time on, the house was no longer cleaned. He realized the snake he killed had to have been his beautiful wife. 

In remembrance of this love story the brick heart was placed at their house at the Sotoportego dei Preti in Castello. 

Next time you find yourself in Castello, find the heart shaped stone and make your own wish. It doesn't have to be on San Valentino day.

More Carnevale photos

Bright sun, blue skies- perfect ingredients for my mission of the day - get some more Carnevale costume photos. I was not disappointed!!  I came home with over 100 fantastic shots, and just couldn't decide how to pare that down to just a few for a blog post today.

Join me as I stroll through St. Mark's....

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