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Henrik Öhrström writes:<br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">><br>
> (*) The futility of trying to live in this country has become<br>
> too discouraging and I might give up anyway. My
fiftieth-something<br>
> visit to the Polizia to try to get my permit-of-stay, yielded,
as<br>
> usual, nothing. </blockquote><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">According to one of my friends
who are half Italian the best course of<br>
action is friendship corruption, no one will go out of their way to help
you<br>
at the departments if they do not know you.<br>
Find someone who might be the right person or at least know someone,
then<br>
offer that person/s a lunch or dinner, talk about the weather, find
anything<br>
that you have in common and be a gentile and likeable acquaintance.<br>
Send some flowers or a box of chocolate.<br>
In short make sure that you are not just a face in the crowd, be someone
for<br>
them and all things will become much easier.<br>
And no, you don't have to know them well before attempting this, start
with<br>
any one you have meet more than once and work your way up, once anyone
makes<br>
a personal recommendation things will become easier.<br>
If a byrocratical problem is rare enough, odds are that no one ever
will<br>
formulate any rules since the problem either gives up and leaves or
resort<br>
to the friendly method.<br>
(This method works everywhere, even in otherwise corruption profe
places<br>
like Sweden.)</blockquote><br>
When I lived in Italy, I felt alienated much of the time. If it had
not been for other students at the Academy, I would not have
succeeded. There were five of us, including me, attending the
university graduate program. We stuck together when it came to
legal issues for non-Italians visiting the country. Also, I
developed friendships with professional Italian artists, chiefs,
musicians, and writers in Ravenna and they helped me. the
University did not help me. Even this past year, I needed to get my
transcripts sent from Ravenna to Houston for the Graduate program and I
had to call a dozen times and it was only when I screamed
"HELP!" that they replied.<br><br>
Yet, Ravenna was more accommodating than Livorno, where I spent one
summer. <br><br>
Because I had connections with the shipping companies in Italy, I was
able to learn some of the ins and outs of the Mafia, and one time we had
to pass off the Port Captain to enter the dock, where I was a stowaway on
a ship. We had chocolates, liquor and cigarettes that we provided
him to get into the port. But that is another story ...<br><br>
Cannot your company/university/boss, etc. help you? <br><br>
Natasha<br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">/Henrik Öhrström<br><br>
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<x-sigsep><p></x-sigsep>
<dl>
<dd><font face="Tahoma" size=2 color="#808080">Natasha Vita-More
<dl>
<dd><a href="http://www.natasha.cc/" eudora="autourl">
http://www.natasha.cc</a>
</dl>
<dd>[_______________________________________________
<dl>
<dd>President, Extropy Institute
<a href="http://www.extropy.org/" eudora="autourl">
http://www.extropy.org</a>
<dd>[_____________________________________________________</font>
<font color="#808080"> </font>
<dd><font face="Tahoma" size=2 color="#808080">Founder, Transhumanist
Arts & Culture
</font><a href="http://www.transhumanist.biz/" eudora="autourl">
<font face="Tahoma" size=2 color="#C0C0C0">
http://www.transhumanist.biz</a></font><font color="#C0C0C0"> <br><br>
</dl>
</dl><i>Knowledge is the most democratic source of power.</i>
Toffler<br>
<i>If Aristotle were alive today he'd have a talk show.
</i>Leary<br><br>
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