I think that there was a thread on this a while back but I couldn't find it. I have been here for over 3 years now and finally the rose colored glasses are off! That disturbs me. What happened was that we moved to a new apartment and though I have complimented Fastweb many times I still don't have service and I notified them of the move in May! Of course it had to be in writing and then they lost it and blah,blah,blah. My language skills are passable now but the better I get the more frustrating it is to try and communicate above a pleasant conversation. Doing business is just driving me crazy. And then the owner of our previous apartment has ripped us off for many, many euros of deposit money. I don't want to go home (US) and actually there is no where else I would rather be than here in Italy but I rather liked the rose colored glasses when everything here seemed like heaven. I know it wasn't perfect but it was nice for 3 years to feel that way.

It's known as the end of the honeymoon and it's perfectly normal! You're just experiencing that nasty bump when you come back to earth: eventually you get used to the fact that Italy is a country pretty much like any other, except the food is better.

Can. Of. Worms.
It's true - Italy is a country like any other. I think three years is the end of the average honeymoon period - I'm in my fifth year and whilst I wouldn't go home now, I see the place for what it really is: a beautiful country which could do much better than it does if only it made the effort....

Emma

http://www.emmina-milano.blogspot.com