International DX Convention

So much for having Internet access often.  That isn't a problem though because I am obviously not in Italy just to put stuff online to the people I just left at home.  Anyways, since I missed my flight back home from Rome and I don't have enough energy to go explore the city by myself at night here are some thoughts I had about the DX Convention.  It was after all the reason I came.

Saturday, April 18, 2009
Paestum, Italy

 After an initial hiccup in my flight plans, I made it to Naples in time to meet Oreste, my guide and host for the weekend and the excitement hasn’t let up any from there. The International DX Convention is being held at a five star hotel near the beach in Paestum but myself and the other guests of the event are staying at Oreste’s beautiful three-story summer home. In total, there were about 19 of us eating pizza and buffalo mozzarella together last night but I believe only about 8 stayed here at his home. I was the first to disappear off to bed since I had been up for at least 35 of the previous 40 hours. And boy did I sleep well! Airplanes and I just don’t get along well enough to sleep.
 To this point the group I have met is broad and far reaching around the world but I know once the actual convention gets underway today that I will be even more amazed at how far hams will come to get together. There were folks from Italy, Poland, Venezuela, and the US here last night alone. Even though I came for the fun and the adventure of other cultures it was definitely nice this time having other Americans around to communicate with get to know.

Sunday, April 19, 2009
Paestum, Italy

To start off with things have been a little chillier than what I expected and a jacket would have an excellent thing to pack. I have been dealing the best I can but luckily it hasn't gotten much below 50 degrees so its not like I am going to freeze. So much for trying to pack less.

I hoped to but this entry up on Sunday but I missed the chance to post it. We had a big gala on Saturday night that included a five-course meal, musical entertainment, including a little opera by my host Oreste and some old-school American "dance" music. That's right. The YMCA and the macarena. They seemed confused when a couple Americans began to form the letters above their heads for the YMCA so they got out in the middle of the dance floor to teach everyone. Check out my videos of it and you will definitely get a kick out of it.

The convention ended yesterday and it truly was a blast. A little too much social time for me considering I didn’t really know anyone or know how to communicate with them. However, my Spanish skills are still coming in handy and I definitely enjoyed speaking with a guy from Venezuela about ham radio.

Take a look at my pictures of the Roman ruins at Paestum. They are over two thousand years old and are well intact for the amount of time that has elapsed. I would love to know what they knew to be able to do such amazing things.

Mostly everyone is leaving tomorrow so I will have a chance to spend a lot of time with Oreste. He is a very interesting guy who loves the convention and loves to embellish others in things that he enjoys. To this point, I have only had to pay for one meal and that is in since I have been in Italy. Amazing hospitality!!