Greetings from Rome, Italy.
I’m an idiot! I fully admit it. When a good friend who used to live in Rome told us we mustn’t skip this grand city during our visit to Italy, I scoffed. I told her we probably wouldn’t have the time — after having spent eight days in Umbria/Tuscany, a week on the road that included Sorrento, Capri and the Amalfi Coast, and five enjoyable weeks in a more-drizzly-than-expected Palermo, Sicily — and that Rome would be too cold for us to fully enjoy, anyway. Because she’s a very kind person, she didn’t call me out on my stupidity. But I really think she could not possibly fathom my idiocy. She did politely mention Rome to me a few more times when I was talking to her about our trip, casually mentioning what a great place it is and how much she thought we would like it. So here’s to you “J” for your persistance.
Yet even with my friend’s proding, we only came to Rome for one reason: To visit the Mexican Embassy. Due to some recent changes in the amount of time one can stay in Mexico on a tourist visa (everyone used to get stamped for 180 days, no questions asked, but now that’s far from guaranteed, and many people are getting way less time) we decided to apply to Mexico for temporary residency. You have to start the process at a Mexican embassy outside of Mexico, and most people do that in the U.S., but with loads of people now wanting to apply, appointments have been impossible to come by. So I got the idea to check if we could apply in Italy, and I found out we could do it at the Mexican Embassy in Rome — and then, just like that, we had an appointment for Monday, Dec. 6! After compiling some 60-80 pages of financial documents, proving that we won’t be a financial liability to the Mexican government, we were on the train from the island of Sicily to Italy (they actually tote the train across the strait on a ship, though we got off and took a faster ferry). The plan in Rome was to stay for a weekend, get our visas on that Monday, maybe stay one or two more days, and then fly to Zihuatanejo, Mexico. I was very, very wrong. The embassy said they needed up to 15 business days to process our visas! Hence, we have become stranded in Rome … “stranded” for two weeks since the day of our appointment.
Stranded in Rome … Holy moly! What an incredible place to be shipwrecked. We’re staying one block from the Colosseum in a lovely, one-bedroom Airbnb. Thank goodness it was still available after our initial four-night booking; we were able extend by 15 nights! And now we’ve extended again (sort of). We’ve taken a another Airbnb unit in our same building (ours was rented), for another week. It’s not easy to find places to stay in Rome during the holidays, because many Italians love to come here to see the holiday lights and the amazing sites, and shop on the quaint streets and alleyways. Here’s a link to our unit if you want to see it. It’s got everything we need and has incredible Wifi, to boot, which has been fantastic change for us after four months of crappy Wifi in San Cristobal de Las Casas, Chiapas.
There’s so much to say about Rome! It’s incredibly beautiful. Historical sites are around every corner. We never tire of seeing the Colosseum or the incredible old buildings, or the fountains. Additionally, the Christmas decorations are fantastic. I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced the spirit of Christmas so fully in other large cities. Getting lost in Rome’s alleyways leads to pure joy, the restaurants are great, and the prices are reasonable. It’s not quite as cheap as the South of Italy, but we’ve found the prices to be on par with a moderately priced American city: Cleveland, perhaps?
What about Covid?
Friends and family in the U.S. and Mexico ask me if I am worried because Italy recently went up to Level 4 “do not travel” as determined by the CDC, although things in Italy are generally good compared to many European cities, and things in Rome are even a bit better. I am worried, but Andy and I plan to leave Italy either immediately after the paperwork comes through, or maybe a few days after that. To reduce our exposure to Covid, we do not go to bars or concerts or any closed-in spaces. We rarely eat inside at restaurants, and now, we probably won’t do that at all (restaurants are suppoed to check EU Green Passes, equivalent of a CDC vaccination card). When asked to show ours, we’ve been simply showing our CDC cards, and we’ve never been turned away (a bit more on that later). Some restaurants are pretty lax, so we don’t go inside those places, nor do we go to inside pastry counter, for example, if a place is crowded or is cramped with low ceilings. Luckily, a lot of places in Rome have outdoor cafes with heat lamps so we can stay outside even in the cold.
Need a boost?
In June 2021, Andy and I traveled from Chiapas to California to get our Covid-19 vaccines. We picked Johnson & Johnson because their one-dose regime seemed easiest on our time schedule. Of course, with all the uninspiring updates on J&J, we decided to try to get booster shots as soon as we could — in Italy! That was not our original plan, but with our potentially waning immunity, we wanted a Moderna or Pfizer booster. We started to hunt one down weeks ago in Palermo, then in Rome, then Omicron surfaced. Then we really wanted it.
Let me be clear. I never expected we would receive boosters in Italy! I don’t have that sense of entitlement. I would never, ever take shots away from people that really need it. But in Italy, there are plenty of vaccines available for its population. I never felt entitled to get vaccinated here — but at the same time, I was prepared do everything I possibly could to make it happen. Getting turned away a few times wasn’t going to dissuade me from trying and trying again. But what would be the best way to find out the information we needed, especially because we don’t speak Italian?
Meet Ex-pats of Rome
In every city we live in for more than a few weeks, I join their ex-pat Facebook group. I’ve met some really nice people this way, and I find out a lot of good information on all sorts of topics. When I first posted my question about getting vaccinated as tourists, we were in Palermo, and group members recommended two communal vaccine centers. The first place, across town, told us sorry, but boosters at that point were only for 60-and-overs who had received their second shot (or J&J) at least six months ago. Strike 1 and strike 2 against us, and we didn’t even get to strike 3 (no Italian health number). We left dejected, but not deterred. A week later, people under-60 were now eligible. We walked to a hospital-type place that Andy espied on a walk as a possible vax place, but it was the wrong day. They told us to walk to the train station about 20 minutes away. We wandered. Nothing. They sent us to a nearby pharmacy. No dice. No vaxes there.
One day I decided to reach out to the American Embassy in Italy for help. They just sent us back a form letter. It sucked and provided no additional information.
On our train ride to Rome, we stopped over in a small coastal town, Scalea, for two nights. Our lodging manager told me of a huge vaccine tent a few blocks away. We found it easily! We walked in confidently! Alas, it was only a Covid testing site, not a vaccine clinic. There was a clinic in town, but not on the days we were there. Two U.S. expats who had just moved to this town told us about a foreigner-friendly vaccine clinic an hour away, but we were off for Rome. Many had something to say, especially Facebook users of course, about how to make it happen, but most of the info didn’t pan out.
In Rome, we happened to be walking past the main train station after our Mexican Embassy visit. Outside in the parking lot was a huge vax center in a series of tents. The entrance was packed, with someone checking health-code numbers. We walked all the way around and a door was open. We strode in, and I even made it to one of the check-in desks. Things looked promising, perhaps. But they turned us away – no Italian health card number, no Italian fiscale code. Go to the Italian health care executive offices, they told me, scribbling down an address. Damn. Another failure.
The ex-pats of Rome Facebook board helped. People directed me to a vax registration website, where maybe I could sign up without Italian documents. Andy and I tried filling out the form (in Italian) several times, but we constantly got unspecified error messages. Then one day Andy entered the phone number of our Airbnb host. Bingo! We had made vax appointments. Just to make sure we’d qualify, I messaged the NGO offering the shots, Sant’Egidio. Someone told me in no uncertain terms to not show up! As tourists, we would be turned away. But a different Sant’Egidio person via a different Facebook message said to show up, even though I explained our tourist status, so we gave it a go. But we weren’t optimistic.
Off to the Trastevere neighborhood we went, to the complex of Sant’Egidio, a worldwide organization that generally serves the indigent and homeless. At the clinic, we saw hundreds of people, a lot of recent immigrants, students studying abroad and what seemed to be well-heeled, average Italians, but no one looked homeless or indigent. I had a great conversation, mainly in Spanish, with someone from Mexico City studying in Rome. They were giving first, second and booster shots.
Our appointment was for a first/second jab, a risky move on Andy’s part because the earliest booster signup slots weren’t until late December. Then another risky move, or bold. At the check-in point for our appointment, they were handing out numbers: for first/second jabs and for boosters. Andy asked if we could have booster numbers instead of the other one, and the guy seemed confused, but he went of it. That was very important. An hour later, one hour later than our appointment time, we made it inside and were shuffled to a desk for some basic questions (when/where did we get our earlier vax? how long did we plan to stay in Italy). The man there spoke good English and jokingly told me he had lived in America, but didn’t like Americans! He said we’d qualify because we had our first booster and planned to stay in Italy at least three months. OMG could it be happening?
But wait. There we were, being shuffled off to another desk. First we had to get assigned Italian health card numbers. A few computer clicks later, we each had the vital numbers that would allow us to get booster shots! So back to the first desk, to complete that phase of the registration, then off to another area and another desk to get interviewed by a doctor. Then into the semi-private space, and the needle! Hooray!
Navigating Italian bureaucracy was the nightmare that everybody told us it would be. It took about 11 hours of doing research, plus three hours of visiting vaccine centers which didn’t pan out. There are many, many details about just how difficult the proces that I am not including in this piece. Suffice it to say that this is a time in which perseverance really paid off. We asked for and received a lot of vital help and support, notably from the Rome ex-pats Facebook group. We are also extremely grateful to the Italian government for providing us with an health number. And we are very grateful to the community of Sant’Egidio for hosting a vaccine clinic (We’ve made a donation to say thanks).
Getting boosted in Italy protects us and Italians from Covid. Now that we are boosted, we even have EU Green Passes! In a sea of Italian bureaucracy, it seemed like it might take miracle to make it happen. We needed this (didn’t have it), and we needed that. But after some research by Andy and some figuring out of some more forms in Italian, we were issued by the Italian health ministry a QR code that we import into a Green Pass app, which we can begin showing as needed. No more need to show our CDC vax cards anywhere in Europe!
Now we wait
The Mexican Embassy in Rome is closing soon for Christmas. We’re still waiting for them to tell us when our paperwork will be completed. But now we have an Airbnb in Monti (one block from the Colosseum) through the 30th, so we can be a little more chill. Staying that extra time in Rome we also allow us to play it extra safe and smart while Omicron rises and our Moderna boosters kick in (it’s been a week as I write this). After that, will come travel, to Mexico, if travel is still a thing by then. If not, then perhaps I’ll have to write “Stranded in Rome, Part II.”
BelieveitOhrNot 