Italy's bureaucracy

It may be a surprise to some, but Italy is one of the countries that brims with rules and regulations. And no surprise that these rules are hardly given a sniff. One of these rules that is more tricky to get around (at least for immigrants like me) is a sporting certificate. If you want to join a gym, you need to go to the doctor and get the medical once over. If you want to get a PADI license, you need another medical once over. Same with getting a pilot's license - although this I can understand.

So I'll finally get around to sending the bits and pieces off for the PADI license after coughing while . Then with any luck, I'll be using it down in the red sea next. A mission to Belize is in the distant future, but probably not till 2008.

The itinerary for this weekend includes a trip down to Florence followed by a couple of days in Cinque Terre. After seeing plenty of Europe, I get to see a bit of Italy for a change.

In other news, I've enrolled for a degree in politics and other things. It starts in the next few weeks. It's one of the most flexible university degrees (not out of a cereal packet) I've seen. No assignments and no required attendance at university except to do the subject exam. Even that can be done overseas. And the best part? You can drag it out for up to 8 years.

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