Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Blood tests and breakfast
With just two weeks left before the Christmas holidays, it's all go-go-go.
This morning I was up extra early as I had to get routine blood tests done. The lab, on the other side of town, opens at 7.30am and if you don't get there beforehand, you'll find at least a dozen people in the queue in front of you.
I turned up at 07.45 and was number 33.
While the blood test was harmless enough, the price certainly wasn't. Because of the continuing saga over my 'tessera sanitaria', I had to pay out EUR150 plus an extra 50 cents for the benefit of picking up my results on line.
Still, because you can't eat before the tests, the thoughtful people at the lab have a bar area where breakfast (juice, coffee, water and my all-time favourite brioche oozing apricot jam) is laid on for free.
Suddenly getting up early didn't seem quite as bad.
On a different note, I've been networking a lot lately and have met up with some really talented expats in Italy, who I'll be telling you more about soon. One in particular was so determined to live and work in Italy without having an EU passport that she overcame all kinds of hurdles in order to achieve her dream. She secured a 10-month contract working at the Olympic Games in Turin.
At www.howtoitaly.com in the New Year, I'll be revealing how grit and determination secured her a 10-month contract working at the Olympic Games in Turin. So make sure you log on to find out more.
This morning I was up extra early as I had to get routine blood tests done. The lab, on the other side of town, opens at 7.30am and if you don't get there beforehand, you'll find at least a dozen people in the queue in front of you.
I turned up at 07.45 and was number 33.
While the blood test was harmless enough, the price certainly wasn't. Because of the continuing saga over my 'tessera sanitaria', I had to pay out EUR150 plus an extra 50 cents for the benefit of picking up my results on line.
Still, because you can't eat before the tests, the thoughtful people at the lab have a bar area where breakfast (juice, coffee, water and my all-time favourite brioche oozing apricot jam) is laid on for free.
Suddenly getting up early didn't seem quite as bad.
On a different note, I've been networking a lot lately and have met up with some really talented expats in Italy, who I'll be telling you more about soon. One in particular was so determined to live and work in Italy without having an EU passport that she overcame all kinds of hurdles in order to achieve her dream. She secured a 10-month contract working at the Olympic Games in Turin.
At www.howtoitaly.com in the New Year, I'll be revealing how grit and determination secured her a 10-month contract working at the Olympic Games in Turin. So make sure you log on to find out more.
