The previous post on Lake Tanganyika was the last dealing with our first spell in Africa that, at the time, we did not know if it was the only one! The field programme I was working on came to a renewal time so it was time to leave Zambia.

As the technical officer in charge of ticks and tickborne diseases at FAO headquarters retired, I was assigned to cover that post in Rome.

From the field I saw this as a wise move in order to take a new, albeit difficult, professional challenge, particularly to follow Paul, one of my main mentors. However, that is life and someone had to do the job. I still remember his words when discussing the move: “remember that it is more important to listen than to talk!”.

So it was that we sold household items and we packed the rest for our stay in Rome that, in principle, would be for three months but that, with hard work and a bit of luck could be extended beyond that time. In restrospective, I was so excited about the move that the thought of my contract stopping after 3 months in Rome did not cross my mind!

Apart from the work aspect, it was also a good time to move to Italy for other reasons: the education of our children (then 3 and 2 years old respectively), . Our kids´education was of prime importance as well as to fulfill Mabel´s wishes to come to Italy, the country of her ancestors!

So, full of enthusiasm, we embarked in this new stage in our lives that I will be referring to in the next few posts.