Author: Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Translations Done

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

We had an unexpected blessing today.

Julio finished all the translations and we met at the Tribunale. I had heard horror stories about how much it costs to certify translations. Every official document in Italy must be plastered with little holographic stickers known as “marca di bollo.” And yes, they’re expensive. You can buy them at any tobacco shop. There are two kinds that I know of (who knows, there may be more). The only distinction I understand between them is that one costs 1.5 euros and the other costs 14 euros. Guess which one people usually have to put on their translations.… Read more

Lockout

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

If we were to tell all the kind Italians who’ve helped the poor inept Americans do everything from buy bread to open a bank account, that we are actually responsible, competent people in our native country, I don’t know that they’d believe us. Yesterday, we locked ourselves out of our apartment.

It was a Saturday, and we were going out for our sacred weekly gelato. In the excitement, it slipped both our minds. We weren’t sure what to do. The door is like a fortress. It latches with four heavy pins, and then the dead bolt locks it like a hotel door chain.… Read more

Chocolates

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Tony went by himself to the comune yesterday, chocolates in hand. When he walked into the chocolate shop, there was a man in front of him in line who got a delectable sample platter, so Tony just ordered the same thing when he got to the front of the line. When he walked into the comune a few minutes later, he saw the same man, who is actually an employee at the anagrafe. When he saw Tony, he told everyone the funny story of the American who was behind him in line and copied his order.

Teresa was not impressed. She immediately pushed the chocolates aside and reached for Tony’s documents.… Read more

Lagasco on Foot

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

We took a little jaunt yesterday and walked the 5 kilometers to Lagasco with the children in their snuggle backpacks. It was a beautiful day, and the walk is charming–all neat rows of fruit trees and green fields with stray daisies and poppies. There was huge purple clover by the side of the road, too.

We took the letter from the Waldensian Church to show to the Priest in Lagnasco and ask him to write us up a similar one. Unfortunately, we chose a Monday, and it turned out to be some kind of holiday. A holiday peculiar to Lagnasco, evidently.… Read more

Playing to Win

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

We had a stroke of inspiration over the weekend. Teresa was unsatisfied with several documents in our collection. First of all (and seemingly, her most serious worry) were the two illegible documents (the death certificates for Louis and Domenico). Next, she wanted an actual birth or baptism certificate from his parish, not just the certified photocopy we had obtained of the actual birth record from the two-hundred-year-old book. Finally, she wanted actual certificates from the L.D.S. Church Archives of Domenico’s marriage and Louis’ birth, rather than just the official letters we had received.

We went back over our records and realized that the birth record for Henriette from the Waldensian Church in San Germano Chisone was probably the closest we could get to an actual certificate from the parish in Lagnasco.… Read more

Mother’s Day

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

It’s a beautiful morning, but my poor little baby is sick. He had a fever in the night, and was throwing up this morning. He’s so sweet, though. He smiles and wants to snuggle, even right after he throws up.

It has been four years since I became a mother. I date it from the time I first got pregnant, because that’s when I began to feel like one. I think about being pregnant sometimes. My baby will be a year next month. Not old enough for most people to think about having another, although some people already have another by now.… Read more

Saturday Market Networking

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Yesterday Tony was at the weekly market buying fresh zucchini from a local farmer, and looked over to see Teresa, our semi-nemesis in the stato civile/anagrafe, buying zucchini too. They exchanged pleasantries, and he thinks it was helpful for her to see him living here and not just shopping at the grocery store.

Alicia, my friend who works in the Center for Immigration in Cuneo, confirmed that all we need is a letter from the comune saying we’re applying for jure sanguinis, and the Center can get us our Permesso di Soggiorno from the Questura. But Silvia said she wasn’t sure if they could give us the letter unless our documents are perfectly in order.… Read more

Mis-Informed Informants

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

The plot thickens further, if possible. If Louis and Blaine were not already deceased, I would like to wring their necks. I hope Domenico has them working overtime right now on making sure we get jure sanguinis.

As informants on Domenico’s and Louis’ death certificates, they really messed things up. Louis put completely erroneous parents for Domenico. Chialto Bodrero and Marie Bodet. And then Blaine said that Louis’ parents, Domenico and Harriet, were born in France and Switzerland, respectively. I don’t know what was going on with Louis. Maybe he’d never met his grandparents and just got confused. But Blaine. Really.… Read more

Fun at the Comune

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Last week the appointed day finally came when the English-speaking person would be at the comune to discuss jure sanguinis with us. We went in with the impression we had received the previous week that they had never heard of jure sanguinis. Charmingly enough, the person who sent us away the previous week is the person in charge of jure sanguinis applications, and she has done several. I think she just hoped we’d go away. However, Silvia, the English-speaker (who does speak perfect English and is very nice also) is a definite ally. I handed our precious green binder to her, and she and the other employee began flipping through it.… Read more

First Time

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

We’ve just been staying at our hotel here in Saluzzo till the gas gets hooked up in our apartment. This takes a long time in Italy. We can’t apply for citizenship until we have a permanent place to live, but I wanted to learn whether the comune will accept translations done by a friend or if there needs to be a certified translator. We also thought they might give us the letter we need to take to the Questura to get our Permesso di Soggiorno per Attessa di Cittadinanza (permission to stay while applying for citizenship), even though we don’t move in till next week.… Read more