Oh Hey, It's Love

If you hadn't been able to tell by the title of this post, I'm sort of in one of those absolutely amazing moods right now. I woke up this morning, while earlier than I had liked (what up 8:45 am class), on the right side of the couch. I was optimistic that it was bound to be a good day. The girls were sleeping and decided to skip out on class but I was up, ready to go, and out the door.

Class was interesting and I contributed quite a bit so that was good. I also finalized the group I will be in for my big group project. Once I had taken care of the necessary, I decided to enjoy the brisk air and walk home rather than take the tram. I made it home quickly but came to find that our elevator was broken yet again. Oh well! Nothing was going to phase me.

I hopped into the apartment and made myself some lunch before getting on my computer to see if I could get some trips organized. I'm thinking about going somewhere in Lombardia this weekend. I wanted to check out the weather forecast and check the train rates to see what might offer the most worthwhile trip. I didn't have too much time, however, because I had class again at 1 pm and needed to jet back to Bocconi. The girls left behind me but we all know I'm a rather speedy walker so I got there before they did by tram. haha Go figure!

I had Management of Fashion and Design, which had been canceled the first week of courses. Therefore it was my first lecture. Let's just say the class was worth the wait. I loved the aspect of combining fashion with business and taking a more strategic stance on the topic. I have a feeling that my love for the fashion industry and my business experience could leave me with a direction in terms of career. Look out Milan, I just might be back to take you by storm!

Unfortunately, the class was double the usual time so I had to sit in lecture for 3 hours. Long, yes, but I was gaining copious amounts of information and that's sort of what class is all about so I didn't complain. After class ended, I bumped into Max and chit chatted with him for a bit before heading back to the apartment. I opted for walking again because I was simply in the mood to be outside enjoying this city and the people around me. Unfortunately it had been raining all day and the sprinkles were still coming down.

By the time I got home, I was a little hungry so I grabbed a quick snack before taking off for some exploring. If there is one thing I plan on doing here in Milan, it is getting to know this city backward and forward. While there are numerous areas not worth seeing, there are plenty that I want to discover, even if it simply means just walking down a street once. I love to venture. I usually go by myself because the girls tend to be doing something together on their own but I don't mind the wandering in and out of little alleys all on my own. It's fascinating to see how you might think you're going in one direction but before you know it, you recognize exactly where you are yet you're in a place you never thought you'd be heading. The streets twist and turn, bend and bow all directions and its not unusual to find yourself right back where you started or close to it. Although it was cold and still sprinkling outside, I was more than happy to be on my own, finding hidden restaurants, and admiring the old buildings and barren trees scattered in between.

I arrived back to the apartment a bit tired and ready to plop down to go to sleep. My girl Mandy P, however, had sent me a service from the Rock that she wanted me to watch so I figured what better time than the present?! The service was incredible. The focus was on pain and its reality in our lives. Having gone through the tumultuous year that I did last year, it was a topic that rang quite true and rather loudly for me. I listened intently. Pain is the inevitable. There isn't a single individual that lives a life without pain. Pain, however, is a message to learn about our present and arrive to conclusions. We go through those painful times to arrive with the answers of what to avoid in life. We're meant to figure out what types of people, things, events, etc. will be better left behind. And rather than dwelling in our times of pain, we have to look towards the future. When we don't, we end up hiding behind fear. That's not what life is about. Life is about living and its about making the best of every minute. If there is one thing I know to be true, it's that happiness is the key to life. When the light goes out inside and happiness has left you, life loses all value.

Enough of my rambling, back to the day. After I rested it was time to hop to and get ready for aperitivo. My beloved Francesco, who studied at USC last semester, had invited me to join for aperitivo with him and some friends. He, of course, invited the girls to come along too. So around 7:15 pm we got on the tram and found our way to Porta Romana. I was more than pleasantly surprised to see a group of my favorite people! Joe, Brian, Anna, Ada, Francesco and Stefano (4 Italians who studied at USC last semester) along with some of their friend. I was beyond ecstatic!

We took off towards Palo Alto for drinks and aperitivo. The food was delicious but the company was even yummier. For those that know me well (which is pretty much any person who cares enough to read this), you know that I am quite the conversationalist. I could easily choose a night over dinner than going out clubbing. That's just me. So as you can imagine, sitting around a big table making conversation with people you adore was pure bliss. The only negative was that this bar had a ton of people smoking in the "outside" area. By outside, I mean attached to the inside that really didn't have much distinction from the "outside." In other words it was a cig box and I was dying. I ignored it though because a) no need to make a scene and b) I was happy to have my friends with me.

After we finished eating, chatting and all that good stuff, Ada decided that we MUST get gelato. Obviously I wasn't going to turn that one down. It was raining harder now so some people went in Anna's car while myself and some of the others walked to the tram. The tram we took was soooo crazy. That driver must have been to his own aperitivo beforehand because we were flying all over the place. I definitely almost ate it a good 2-3 times. Seriously akwardness on my behalf.

The gelateria Ada took us to is her favorite in Milan. They are known for having special flavors unique to their gelateria. I have to admit that the gelato was delicious and definitely rivals GROM and we all know GROM sort of has a special place in my heart. The girls decided to head home earlier than I did because Anna was willing to drive them. I, on the other hand, wanted to stick around and continue to enjoy the amazing company. I was especially glad I did because I got a ton of great tips on where to visit in Italy and how to combine all the places I wanted to go into weekend trips. Exciting.

It started getting a little late and people were dispersing. I was the only one going in my direction so I said I'd head home on my own. Every boy said "oh no, you can't! Someone must accompany you" I laughed and told them they were being silly and that I'd be fine. Joe took his tram one stop to where I would get off to walk home and then it was me, myself, and I.

At this point the rain had started to fall harder and puddles were forming left and right. I started to walk and with each stride, I realized an additional ounce of happiness. I'm here in Milan. I'm 20 years old. I'm ready for the experience of a lifetime. I'm free and hell, I'm going to take advantage of every opportunity lingering in front of me.

As the rain poured down on me, I ignored my sopping feet, frosted hands, and glistening face to simply fall in love with the moment. I'm excited for what's ahead. Foot against pavement, I felt like I could walk forever. A smile creeped up on me and I couldn't help but basque in the simplicity of happiness.

I came home drenched but content on every level. I was just excited to be here in Europe, making memories, gaining culture, and growing as an individual. I'm in love with where I am and what I'm about to do. But even with all that, I couldn't help but think with excitement for what I'll come home to. I look ahead and imagine landing in Cali, knowing what absolutely amazing things await.

With that, I'm out.
xoxo
Me

The Rest of My Week (02/17-02/21)

First off, thank you thank you thank you to those who have been reading my Blog. I cannot even tell you how much that means to me! I know that I’m a bit of a detailed writer (which if you know me in person I am when it comes to stories as well…just ask my family) so reading this does take some time but I just want to share every last minute with all the people I care about and love so much. If I had it my way, you’d all be here with me! But really, I am SO blessed to have all of you wonderful people in my life, thinking about me while I’m miles away. I’m here missing you crazy amounts!

I also want to thank those special people who made the effort to check up with me given that my last post was a bit more somber than usual. Thank you for making sure I was okay…you know who you are and I love ya!

Wednesday 02/17: Okay soooo onto my life in Milan. After Tuesday’s serious dose of the blues, I was excited for a new day. I slept in and then headed off to school on my own for my first class. I hadn’t yet been to Comparative Business Law but was pleasantly surprised by how interesting and engaging the course was. While the terminology is difficult and complex, the importance of the subject matter will serve me wonders as I embark into the business world. The general focus of the course is to look at laws between two different nations, jurisdictions, systems, etc. The point is to see where the differences lie and why. As our teacher has made VERY clear, “comparing brings us to knowledge, which in turn delivers us to our aim.” As I’m sure you are all thinking, yes this course will be difficult but then again beneficial to my future so I’m looking forward to what I can take away from it.

Once class ended, I made my way to another building for my second class of the day: Organizational Networks and Entrepreneurship. For those of you who read along earlier this week, you will recall that this is my most BORING class. The teacher is incredibly lame and she teaches the material horrifically. Straight up, I could do better than this lady. Luckily my friends, Antonio and Max, are both in it so I have distraction. I’m pretty sure I am going to switch out though, despite the fact that I have the two of them to keep company. I have heard rave reviews about another course from my friend Rachel…apparently that other professor is phenomenal and the topics brought up in class are really interesting.

After class, Max and I talked about getting together for aperitivo that night but seeing that he is still apartment hunting, we didn’t finalize anything. Antonio and I took off in hopes of trying to get internet keys for our computers. Yes, I am FINALLY about to get internet. I’ve given all hope up for my landlord and am taking things into my hands, even if that means spending more than I’d hoped. I’ve waiting long enough people. Long enough. Unfortunately, Antonio had plans with a friend so I walked home and made lunch before beginning my Internet adventure solo-status.

There are 3 major cellular providers in Milan: Wind, Vodaphone, and TIM. They all offer Internet services as well. You purchase what is known as a “chiavette”, which looks like a USB stick. You insert that little guy into your USB port and bingo, you have connection. Sounds easy, right? Not exactly. I decided to explore all three because I figured it would be best to have options. My friends had told me about their experience with TIM so I ventured there first.

TIM: I walked into the store and spoke to the man in Italian until I got to a point where I wasn’t sure how to explain myself anymore. Luckily he spoke a small amount of English and could understand some of the things I needed. I told him that I was looking for a key with as much service as possible. He told me that they had a key for 79 Euro and I would get 100 hours a month for 10 Euro or 30 hours for 8 Euro. But with 100 hours, I could only use the computer for 3 hours a day. Information Round 1: helpful. I left and headed to Vodaphone.

Vodaphone: I walked in and tried to explain what I was looking for. Seeing that I look nothing like an Italian, the woman asked me if I spoke English. While I hate when people spring that question on me (I would rather attempt to practice my Italian), I figured that talking about Internet issues would best be handled in my native tongue. I explained to her what I needed and she showed me the options. Generally, people take on contracts for a year or longer. That wouldn’t work for me so I would need a pay on a pay-as-you-go policy. The key I would need was apparently 49 Euro and I could either get 150 hours a month for 25 Euro or 30 hours a month for 10 Euro. Major gap between the hours they provide but I guess Italians do things weirdly.

Wind: The woman at Wind didn’t speak the best of English but she made a valid attempt to explain. Unfortunately, she didn’t really help much except for telling me that I could get 50 hours for 9 Euro or 100 hours for 15 Euro.

While I may have gotten a few good tidbits of information here and there, I most definitely didn’t have all the pieces to my puzzle. So what was I to do? Round 2.

TIM Round 2: There was another store close to the Wind I had just visited so I headed in. It was much bigger than TIM #1 and I had to take a number from a little machine that would then call me for my appointment. Too bad that didn’t happen. After 15 minutes of waiting, I finally went up to the counter to ask why I hadn’t been helped yet. The people spoke rapid fire back and forth to one another in Italian and finally said they would take me. I asked questions and tried to get as much out of this guy as possible so that I would be a little more up to date on what I needed to do. Here is what he tells me: The key costs 59 Euro (funny because guy #1 said 79) and I can get 30 hours a month or 100 hours a month. Obviously 30 hours is way too little so I asked how much 100 hours was. Answer: 10 Euro a month. Okay so not bad at all. But wait, isn’t there always a catch with good deals? Yup. Any hour over 100 a month is 4 Euro per hour. Insanity. What’s even worse is that your log-on is counted quarterly. So, if you go on for 5 minutes, it charges you 15 minutes. Apparently this is true of all mobile providers in Italy. Oh and the stick only costs 59 Euro if you sign up for a plan. Ahh.

Wind Round 2: I went back to the same Wind I had gone to before and met with a guy rather than girl #1. While this guy was really nice and more helpful, he hardly spoke any English. He gave me the same rates as the woman had given me and explained that the key was 59 Euro. The 15-minute thing was true as well. Then he said something about a plan and signing up and blah blah blah, so I peaced.

Vodaphone Round 2: I met with the same woman who I had met with before. We covered all the bases. I asked for hourly options: 30 or 150 hours. I asked about price: 10 Euro per month versus 25 Euro per month. I asked about hours over (not as if you would ever go over 150 hours but still): 2 Euro per hour. I asked about the megabytes per second: 3.6 or 7.2? She ASSURES me that the 49 Euro key is 7.2 See the issue with having a 7.2 mbps versus a 3.6 mbps is that you can’t Skype. A faster Internet connection provides you with the tools to make video chatting possible. Obviously that was the only option I was even considering.

I ended up leaving without making any decisions because I wanted to think on it. I headed home and thoughts things out. I explained what I had discovered to B and she said that she wanted to go take care of it right now. So much for resting. I got right back up and we rushed out, into the rain, to make it to Vodaphone before they closed in 15 minutes.

Disaster strikes. A flood of new information leaves me drowned and frustrated. The dude tells me that the woman, Giulia, who had helped me before had told me that the 49 Euro card was 7.2 mbps. Wrongo. It was 3.6 and the 7.2 costs 79 Euro. Are you serious?! I spent 30 fricken minutes in your store and you give me the wrong information? He felt badly so he tried to give us a deal by allowing us to buy the card for 49 Euro but with some plan. I was over him and the Internet and the rain and it all. We left.

Luckily I had plans with my friend Aanchal to grab aperitivo. We met up at a little place called Portnoy right near my apartment. I love this place because the aperitivo is great and only 6 Euro. We shared amazing conversation and I learned all about her boyfriend and her experience in Lyon last semester. Aanchal is form Delhi but is doing a back-to-back study abroad. She spent last semester in Lyon and this semester in Milan. So cool.

After we ate, we headed to Grom for some of their delicious gelato. When we finished, I took her back to the apartment to show her my place and to grab some things before heading back home with her. Why spend the night:? Oh that’s right, I haven’t told you about the hell that has been Via Santa Maria Valle 7. Here it goes…

Our landlord/neighbor decided to go out of town and didn’t bother to tell us. Come day 2 of her being mia, I notice that all the heaters aren’t working. Apparently, because the heater system works throughout the entire apartment, including her ¾, when she leaves, it gets turned off. End result: freezing K. Wile. Oh but just you wait…it gets better. Later on during that same day, I notice that none of the hot water is working. That’s right; freezing-ass-cold water was my only means of sanitation. That day my hair had been dirty and had to be washed so I decided to wash it in the sink with the cold water. Horrible idea. The water was so cold that my head ached for a solid hour afterward. Kill me.

So yes, no hot water, no heat, and I was officially hating life. It was just a bad week…one thing after the next. Thank goodness Aanchal wanted me to come stay the night with her so that we could hang out and so that she could provide me with warmth and a hot shower. That girl is an angel.

We packed up our stuff and headed back to her place. Holy crap! Her apartment was amazing. I am talking such a sick, eclectic, totally amazing set up. The owner had really cool taste. There was this antique dentist’s chest and a safe from a ship. Not to mention that the main sleeping area was set up high in a loft and you had to walk up a staired bookcase to get to it. I was oohing and aahing the entire time I was there. That was until I passed out and left the poor thing awake to do who knows what.

Thursday 02/18: I had to wake up bright and early because I had to finish that whole permit of stay process. I left Aanchal’s around 08 am in order to make it to the police station by 08:30. My appointment was scheduled for 08:50 but I wanted to be early and meet up with Ava and B since they had their appointments as well.

All I have to say is that I HATE the Italian police. My appointment was for 08:50 am and those people didn’t take me until 11:25 a.m. and that was only after I complained about needing to get to school. The process was ridiculous, the guy who took my fingerprints was crazy, and I have to go back again in March. Fortunately I made friends with two really awesome guys from Mexico who were also waiting to take care of their permits of stay. Thank goodness for the sliver lining that exists in all icky situations.

By the time I got home (the girls left way before me), I made myself some breakfast since I hadn’t eaten and was dying of hunger, got ready to go, and left for Bocconi in order to hop on my computer and prepare for class. I had Comparative Business Law again and needed to do the reading assignment and class exercises. They were pretty interesting but fully loaded with information. I have a feeling that the reading is going to be excessive at Bocconi.

After class, I had planned on stopping by some of the mobile stores again to finalize the Internet decision. I told the girls and they decided that based on everything I had told them, they just wanted to go to Vodaphone and do it now. I decided to come with. The girls both purchased their sticks and I thought it through and realized that this was the best offer. This was especially true because for the first 3 months we get 24 hours of Internet a day for only 1 Euro per day. This is epic because usually you have a limit on the amount of web usage you have per day. Italy is seriously so whack when it comes to technological rules.

We were all so ready to go home to get on our computers until the guy at Vodaphone tells us that we wont have access until we get a text on our phones within the next 48 hours giving approval. WTF?! These rules are sooooo lame. And the guy was lame too, thinking of it. He closed the store because we were the last customers and then started uploading the program onto my computer during which he lit up a cig. For those who know me, this was NOT OKAY. I shot him one hell of a dirty look and he went to the back room to put his cig down until we left. No one better be touching my computer with cig hands, thank you.

So we head home and we’re all ready to just chill. The girls took a nap but I was in need of food so I headed to the grocery store to pick up what I needed for the week. By the time I was home, I was more than ready for dinner and relaxation.

An hour or so later, my friend Joe hit me up. Joe and I know each other from San Diego and we both go to USC. He’s absolutely amazing and I was beyond thrilled to hear from him. He invited me out to go bar hopping with him and his roommate, Cesare. While I was still down from the shear crapyness of the week, I picked myself up and went out. I ended up having the best time and it felt so good to be with people that you know love being around you. It was a perfect night.

Friday 02/19: No class so I slept in pretty late (1 pm) and just sort of vegged, watching Entourage. It was a super grey and ugly day and it felt nice to do nothing in bed. I also received my text about the Internet so I was finally up and running. Pure bliss.

I finally got myself up to do something and walked around a little. I found a PAM, which is a big grocery store like Vons or Ralphs, and found a few things that I was both looking for and in need of. When I got home, I changed quickly because Joe had invited me to aperitivo with Cesare and his Italian friend, Federica. The place we went to wasn’t your typical aperitivo but was a Japanese restaurant so all of the aperitivo was Japanese food. Amazingggggg. Sushi, tons and tons of Edamame, a chicken and veggie dish, some chow mien, and something else were all consumed by yours truly. That, and some green tea, of course.

Friday had been one heck of a rough day so having those boys around was exactly what I needed. Sometimes just a hug and some laughs is all you need. It was also great to meet Federica because she doesn’t speak much English and was able to help me with my Italian.

After dinner at Kawa, I joined the crew for bar hopping. First we went to Hora Feliz, where Cesare ordered some crazy blue drink and we all danced to the YMCA. Then we jumped on over to Cuore, where we had been the night before, only to be placed at the world’s smallest table. My legs were entangled all up in Cesare and Joe’s personal space. Sorry boys! It ended up being really fun, though.

I got home around 1 am and met the girls who were getting ready to go out. I was in need of washing my hair again but had a different plan of attack this time. I put some water on the stove in a giant pot and pulled up a chair to the kitchen sink. I then put B to work by having her help pour the warmed water onto my head. It went a little something like this: rinse, shampoo and wash, rinse, rinse again, heat more water, condition, rinse, one last time, and done. My neck killed from trying to keep it up but uuuu did it feel good to have clean hair. After the girls left, I decided to get really creative and make the heated water thing work for a shower. That’s right. I heated a huge pot of water and took it into the shower to then use a pitcher to dump water all over me. Interesting process but it worked. I was clean and ready for bed. The boys and I were headed to Bergamo for a day trip in the morning so I needed to look presentable and smell nice, right?

Saturday 02/20: I woke up early, got ready to go, ate breakfast, and took off to find Joe’s apartment. When I got off the right Metro stop, I tried to call to double check which direction I was supposed to go. FAIL!!! My phone was out of credit so no texts and no calls could be made at all. I had 10 minutes to meet them before we needed to leave for the train station and I was tripping out. I scurried to ask random people on the street how to get to their Via and finally someone pointed me in the right direction. The walk alone took 10 minutes and I was frantic that I might miss them. Thank goodness I found the place after asking 8000 million people. Of course, they weren’t ready to go so I was all-good.

Cesare and Joe decided that instead of Bergamo, we would go visit a little town called Monza. It was only 25 minutes away and the train ticket cost 1.65 Euro. I was in. One of the boys’ other roommates, Greg, tagged along. We made it to the train station just in time and even got lucky because it was 5 minutes late to arrive.

The day was absolutely perfect for an excursion. The sky was blue and the sun was shining. I cant even being to explain how good it felt to just basque in the sun, soaking up every tiny ray that delivered an ounce of warmth.

When we arrived in Monza, we just waked around, exploring different little areas of the city. The boys were pretty hungry, though, so it wasn’t long before we sat down for lunch. After we finished, we wandered over towards a park and the old royal villa. While it wasn’t what we had expected to come to see, it was absolutely beautiful. Vast fields of green grass, magnificent old buildings, and a beautiful lagoon with crazy rock features all around it. We walked for hours but it was worth every minute.

Once we got tired of the park area, we headed towards to the Manza Duomo, which houses a rather famous royal crown. The Iron Crown of Lombardy marks both serious religious and royal importance in Europe. Charlemagne, along with a vast list of other emperors, was crowned with it. The crown is specifically known for being rimmed with one of the nails used at Jesus’ crucifixion. We paid 3 Euro each to see it up close and personal. While I didn’t understand much of what the docent was saying, the crown was incredibly well preserved and pretty cool to see. I found it especially interesting to see the beaten nail, creating the ring of which maintains the crown’s shape.

It had hit afternoon and we were all ready to head back to Milan. I picked up some gelato on my way out and we made the train just in time. I said goodbye to the boys when we got back to Milan and decided to tour around on my own. I love finding new areas of the city to explore.

When I got home, I was totally beat. I had been walking around for hours and I was exhausted. I climbed into bed and napped for a good while before watching a little TV on my computer. The girls had been out the past couple of nights and went shopping during the day so I didn’t see them until they got home later. Ava was going to dinner with a friend of ours so B and I just kicked it in our sweats and made dinner.

When Ava got home, B got ready to go out. The two of them had planned to meet up with Ava’s friend, Oren, and go to Le Banque for drinks and clubbing. They took off together around 1 am and I was left at home with no plans. Oh well. Max ended up contacting me but at this point I was about to pass out. And that’s exactly what I did.

Sunday 02/21: Today is Sunday and while most people just rest and relax, I had other plans. I woke up around 11 am but realized that I had fallen asleep last night in my clothes and without having washed my face or brushing my teeth. Oops! So I decided to hop in the shower and start my day off fresh…literally. Hot water was back and oh did it feel SO good. Once clean and rejuvenated, it was breakfast time.

After I had my little R&R dose, it was work time. For those who know me, clean and organized are kind of my forte. As you can imagine, I like my apartment put together, especially since the girls don’t exactly constitute the definition of organized. I started with the bathroom and swept, beat out the mats, rearranged my things, and cleaned up the sink area. I then got down and dirty by cleaning out the shower drain. Shedding is a major pet peeve of mine but its one of those things some people cant help. I happen to be lucky and have blonde hair that doesn’t shed all over the place. The girls, however, not so much. The shower drain had been clogging so I volunteered myself to fix it. Lets just say gross.

After I finished with the bathroom, I did some hand washing of socks, underwear, tights, and all that fun stuff. I figure laundry will be way easier to do if I don’t have lots of it. Thus, I have resorted to hand washing a few things every week or so. It’s a good system.

Once the few items I had were washed, I moved onto the kitchen. I washed all the dishes, swept the floors, cleaned the rugs, made my bed, took out the trash, put new trash bags in, and dusted some of the common area. Serious Cinderella action over here.

I then got myself ready to go out, had a bite to eat, and set off for exploring. It was a beautiful day again and I wanted to take advantage of it. While I feel like I have seen the majority of the really great parts of Milan, I still want to get to know the nooks and crannies, scrapes and scars of this city. I set off in a random direction and walked for hours. I found some really interesting places and noted a number of different restaurants and cafes I’d be interested in re-visiting.

The day was pretty entertaining I have to admit. I was getting “elevatored” left and right. For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, that’s when someone does the up and down stare from head to toe, toe to head. I forgot that when I wear leggings and no boots, just my vans, that my legs appear extra long. Since I was wearing a coat, hoodie and scarf but just leggings and black vans down below, I must have looked lanky by all means. The looks being shot my way were seriously funny. One guy almost stumbled over something in front of him because he was staring so awkwardly. People!

Best part of the day, however, was the guy I spotted begging for money. Most of the beggars have dogs with them to get people to feel badly for them. This guy was a total g and had a bunny!!! Yes a furry little bunny in a bag. This bunny was sitting in a bag filled with weeds and shrubbery, eating a carrot. I took a picture, of course, and the guy was making conversation with me. Too good to be true.

I’m home now and have been for a while. Just been hanging out, catching up with my Blog and remembering the past few days. I’m going to meet up with my friend, Nicolas, in a while so it should be a fun night.

Love and miss you all!
Xoxo
Me

Weekend With The Family

Friday 02/12: Today my sister is coming!!! Ava and B were going to Venice for Carnivale, which I so sadly couldn’t make because of my family arrival to Milano. As disappointed as I was to be missing out on the infamous Carnivale, my family means the world to me so I had something special coming my way.

The girls left early and I woke up later knowing I wouldn’t be hearing from my sister until about 11 or so. When she called me, I had just finished getting ready and we both decided it would be better for her to come to me than vice versa. She’s city savvy having lived in NYC for the last 5 years so I wasn’t worried about her getting lost.

I hadn’t seen my sister since Christmas so I was beyond excited to see her gorgeous face! She had a little trouble getting into my apartment, though, because remember that whole thing about the 7th floor and the private elevator? Yeah that sort of deterred her ability to get up. Eventually the doorman brought her to me and we were finally reunited.

Alli was hungry from the hours of travel so we headed to a little café nearby in order to get a little bite to tie her over. After we finished chatting and munching, we headed off to shop in and out of the millions of stores that line Via Torino, which we concluded with a viewing of the one and only Duomo. We then walked northward to the castle and sat in a park taking silly pictures and enjoying the sun that I was SO happy had come out for her. We walked into Brera and I showed her around until we realized that hunger had hit and we needed lunch. We stumbled across a really cute little pizzeria and shared delicious food and excellent conversation. Sister bonding is the best.

After lunch we headed outside and I spotted this beautiful girl with an exceptionally well-dressed guy by her side. Recognizing whom it was, I yelled, “Chantal!!!” It was she indeed and I was beyond stoked to see her. Chantal is a girl from San Diego who I knew through mutual friends. We had met a bunch of times here and there throughout the years and I had always thought she was amazing. Fashionable, outgoing, and incredibly fun. We had discovered that we were both headed to Milan when I bumped into her at Nordstrom one day. It was kind of exciting news. So anyway, this was the first time we had seen each other in the city and it was rather ironic given that she had contacted me for the first time since being here, the night before. I couldn’t go out with her only because I was dead from the laundry experience (remember that fun?) but I had told her that we needed to meet up ASAP. I guess ASAP was an understatement. She was with her roommate and friend Vincent. The two of them both go to USF and decided to live together since they were friends from home and were going to the same school here in Milan. My sister and I talked with the two of them for a while and I was beyond excited to have seen them. Feeling a little lonely and what not, it felt so amazing to instantly connect and feel so welcomed by them. I had no reservations about whether or not we’d become best friends. Definitely happening.

Alli and I said goodbye since they were trying to get to lunch and the two of us wanted to continue our city exploring. I couldn’t get over the coincidence of the meet up because my sister and I had just been at lunch talking about making friends here and finding those people that really make you feel included and happy to be with you. Thus I found it to be a little Godsend that I had stumbled across them.

So we set off and headed towards the best shopping and, of course, the insanely large Zara. Zara ended up being a major success because I found 2 pairs of boots that were originally 140 Euro for only 29 Euro. Score. Best part is that one pair is a heeled pair of black studded boots. Badass to say the least. While I may be exceptionally tall in them, I have no shame. Gotta embrace what God gave me, right?

After shopping ended, I needed to stop by the post office to send off a few things and a special little something I had put together. America better be getting my witty package pronto otherwise I’ll be an unhappy girl in Milan. That will be especially true seeing that I had been searching the entire day to find this one thing to finalize the package but hadn’t found it anywhere. I’m talking searching in some 15 different places trying to find the damn thing I was looking for. Thank goodness I found one 10 minutes before I had to send the stuff out.

By the time errands and shopping had been accomplished, Alli and I were ready for showers, rest, and just general downtime. I headed back to the hotel with her so she could unpack and get situated before my parents flew in the next day. She showered and I just kicked it until the two of us headed back to my place so I could get ready. When I had bumped into Chantal and Vincent, I had invited them to aperitivo. Apparently they had NEVER been and I wasn’t about to let them go another day without it, not to mention I wanted their company. My sister had been dying for aperitivo too so it was a perfect plan. My friend Chris had called me to see if I wanted to go with him to aperitivo so I asked him if he’d like to join us instead and he did. So around 7:45 pm my sister and I headed back to my place so I could change and then we walked the couple of blocks to a bar called Cheese, in order to meet the group.

We all had a great time and the aperitivo was incredible. The company, however, took the cake in terms of the highlight of the night. Chantal and Vincent couldn’t believe they had been missing out on something so amazing! I told them not to worry because we’d be making it a regular weekly occurrence. After we ate, I told them about Grom. Grom is known as the best gelateria in the city. We are talking some seriously life changing gelato. Grom is really well known for its signature flavor, Crema di Grom…a creamy vanilla with graham crackers and chocolate chip shavings. The second I mentioned it, every single person at the table was begging to go. Luckily there is one of the two Groms in the city right near my apartment. We headed over and I was so excited because I got to use my Italian to order for each person. Jaws dropped and there was silence. No one could believe how incredible the gelato was. I warned them!

Once it got a little later, we all said goodbyes and headed in different directions. My sister and I were pretty tired so we went to the hotel for sleep. I was still so happy from the day and genuinely so excited to have found Chantal and Vincent and to finally have my sister with me. It was an amazing start to my weekend.

Saturday 02/13: I woke up with a splitting headache and hope that tea and breakfast would help make me feel a little better. My family was staying at the same hotel I had stayed in when I arrived in the city so I was more than ready to be reunited with my beloved breakfast room and that yummy yogurt. And it was just as I remembered. My sister and I sat and talked until we both agreed bed sounded really good again. She slept for a few more hours having needed it from the travel and I managed to get a pretty decent amount of stuff done on my computer. Yes the hotel had internet. Felt like I was in heaven. By the time Alli woke up, it was 12 pm and she was freaked out that we had missed so much of the day. We hopped to and headed out to explore. We walked up and around some new areas of the city and found ourselves in Navigli.

The weather was impeccable. I am talking absolutely stunning blue skies and sun. As we walked up and down the canal, I was so excited to see outside seating. That was a first thus far. We tried to find a place that could accommodate us outside but everyone was thinking on our same level. Who wouldn’t want to take advantage of this ideal weather when its still super nipply outside? We finally found a cute little restaurant and sat in the window with the sun shining in. Perfection.

After we finished, we explored some more until my mom called to say that she and Faj (nickname for my dad) had finally landed and were at the hotel waiting eagerly! Alli and I busted our butts back to my apartment so I could change for dinner and then we decided to stop by the grocery store to pick up some snacks to surprise the parentals…bread, cheese, fresh meats, apples and pears, and some good Italian wine.

When we showed up, it was lots of loves and hugs and kisses. My parents hadn’t seen me since I left and hadn’t seen my sissy since she had gone back to NYC for work after Christmas. We all snuggled on the bed just talking and catching up. I honestly have the most incredible family in the world. Poor mommacita was pretty sick, though. She had just been in Mexico with her girlfriends and had picked up a really nasty cough and cold. My mom is an all-star and DOES NOT get sick so to see her hacking up a lung made me so sad. Thank goodness she had some serious cough medicine to suppress the bark.

When it got time to get ready for dinner, we all put ourselves together and headed off. My friend Danielle had studied in Milan during the summer and told me about a restaurant called Oficina 12. Based on her recommendation, I had made reservations and that’s exactly where we were headed. The restaurant had great ambience and had a beautiful dining room. It wasn’t your typical little Italian restaurant but was a bit more upscale. We had a nice dinner and opted for a walk up to the Duomo. Funny story, though. My sister was wearing a brand new pair of gorgeous Prada boots she had treated herself to…my sister is a badass who works for Merrill Lynch Bank of America. Talk about setting the bar high...I have some serious big shoes to fill. So yeah, the poor thing hadn’t worn them yet so her feet were killing her. Too bad all the trams had something like 15-minute waits, which meant we needed to keep walking. I was impressed with her pain endurance because she made it all the way up to the Duomo, which is a decent walk from Navigli. As a family, we decided that gelato was the perfect remedy to cure the situation. Unfortunately, Grom was closed so we found some other random place close to the Metro so they mom, dad, and Alli could just hop right on. We sat and enjoyed each other’s company until it got late and everyone needed to head home. I decided to just come back with them and sleep at the hotel. It would be a tight squeeze but hey, we’re family, we can make it work.

Sunday 02/14: Happy Valentine’s Day!!! We all woke up, had a loving valentines breakfast and then got a move on to the train station. I thought that Lake Como would be such a perfect place for us to celebrate the day together. Lake Como is kind of like the Hamptons for the Milanese. Because Milan epitomizes your typical urban metropolitan city, a very large percentage of its residents have apartments or houses outside the city in the lake regions in order to get away for weekends or during the summer time. Lake Como happens to be a particularly beautiful lake with gorgeous houses and residential areas lining the water’s edge. George Clooney has a huge mansion that sits right on the water. If he thinks Lake Como is legit, I figured we would.

We ended up missing the first train that left at 10:40 am but selected a train that was leaving at 11:10 instead. This is where our adventure begins. We bought the tickets and I found it strange that they were as expensive as they were. From what I had been told by locals, the trip to Como was about 6 Euro or less by train. The tickets we had just bought were double that. My dad was confident that we had picked a good train because it was “Eurocity” and that meant a faster travel because it didn’t make tons of urban stops. I was still a little confused because our tickets also said Como San Giovanni and we wanted Como Nord, which takes you directly to the center of the town. My parents thought it would be a good job for me to figure out the issue. I wandered around until I found what looked like an information desk. There were these glass doors, however, that wouldn’t open. I started knocking on them and a woman comes to yell at me to take my hands off the “Club” doors. Oops! I deserted that area and finally found an actual information desk. Apparently we were headed in the right direction but would have to get to Nord from San Giovanni. I figured no big deal.

We hopped on the train to find ourselves in reserved seating. It was both cozy and comfortable. We enjoyed the scenery before coming to our first stop: Como San Giovanni. I thought, “Hmm we should probably get off here or at least ask someone if this is the right place to connect.” My dad, however, was adamant that if we stayed on for one more stop that we would get to Como Nord. Wrong. Come the next stop, we get off to ask someone and guess where we are? Switzerland! Haha Yup, we most definitely missed our stop. Best part was that we now had to buy 4 more tickets to go the one stop back. The tickets were really cheap but that’s because the train was a POS (piece of shit). I’m talking seriously dirty, stained, danky seats.

When we finally got to San Giovanni, I made sure we all got off. I practiced my Italian and talked to a magazine vendor about the lake and the best way to get into the center. He gave me directions and we were off. Como is stunning and tons of houses sit on the hills surrounding the lake. Colors of burnt orange, Tuscan yellows, and faded red splashed the water’s borders. It’s pretty spectacular. We just walked around and admired the architecture and quaint buildings. We decided that we would take a little boat tour around the lake but because of the timing schedule, would grab lunch first. We walked around the lake until we found a really cute restaurant with an impressive menu. The food was delicious and it was filled with tons of fun Italians. I think it may be impossible to have a bad meal in this country.

When lunch finished, we made our way back to the ferry. During the boat ride, we decided as a family to pick out the houses that we’re eventually going to move into. To be honest, we’re actually thinking about renting a lake house one summer. Can you imagine how ridiculously amazing that would be?

After our quick tour of the lake, we came ashore to find a big Carnivale concert going on in the center square. Tons of little kids were dressed in costumes, dancing, and throwing confetti into the air. Carnivale, while a festival that’s characterized by mask wearing, is kind of like Halloween for children. I saw little Winnie the Poohs, a turtle, a princess, a spider man, and a bunch of other characters running around.

While the Carnivale chaos continued, we all went to check out the main church. Simply stunning. It’s honestly so fascinating what people used to be able to do with their hands. The detail on the ceiling alone was mind baffling. It just amazes me that people were so crafty and gave such time and dedication to the construction of these buildings. Looking at the stone carvings, you notice such precise detail and talent. I can only imagine the copious amounts of time that went into creating such masterpieces.

After the church admiring, we realized we had missed the train we wanted to take back so we headed to a café for tea and coffee. Before we made it to the café, however, some guy decided to deck me with silly string. Major fail by the man. His bottle was almost empty so it was down to that liquid, nasty smelling stuff. Yeah well it got all up in my hair and all down my jacket and stained the sleeves. Coat is off to the dry cleaners in hopes of fixing this minor booboo. Come 5:00 pm, we made our way towards the proper train station and waited until we could finally get on. The train ride was long…much longer than the one it had taken to get there. Thus, it was very clear as to why our tickets had been 2x the price. You either spend less money and spend more time or spend more money and less time.

By the time we finally got back, everyone was in need of rest. I headed to my apartment for a shower and some napping and my sister and parents did the same back at the hotel. We planned on meeting at restaurant #2 about 10 minutes before I had set the reservation. I was taking my parents to Trattoria Toscana, the restaurant I had been with Koltin twice before and the restaurant I officially called my favorite in the city. I was really excited for them to share in what I had been so crazy about since my arrival.

I showed up at the restaurant around 8:50 pm seeing our reservation was for 9:00. I waited. And waited. And waited. Come on Wiles, I know you tend to be late but 25 minutes late?! I excused it as a lack of understanding the city.

My parents LOVED the restaurant as I had expected. The food there is so well done and the waitress we had was beyond helpful and sweet. What’s best about this restaurant is how hidden it is. I love that you don’t really know it’s there until you discover it. Not to mention the vibe is comfortable and fun, yet romantic. Anyone who comes to visit me, we’re going!!!

After dinner, my sister was going to meet up with a friend who was studying for his masters at Bocconi. Goran and Alli had met when he took a semester at NYU a few years back. While we waited, mom and dad were in need of some gelato so I took them to another A-grade spot near my apartment. Once Goran showed up, my parents and I made our way back to my apartment and I then sent them in the direction of their hotel. I was starting my first day of true Bocconi classes so I needed to get in bed earlier rather than later. 8:45 am class and the 15-20 minutes it took to get there meant for an early wake up call.

Monday 02/15: Last day with my family and my first day of class…not the best combination. As I headed off to school I got to make a pretty awesome call home. The crowded ride to school, the wandering around campus attempting to find my classes and the frigid cold were all completely ignored due to my undivided attention to my A++ conversation. Start to day 1 of Bocconi: pretty dang good.

I finally found myself in the right class and made my way into one of the benches. Unlike USC lecture halls where you sit in individual seats, the Bocconi lecture halls are set up so that the students sit in bench arrangements with long desks that match the length of the benches. Interesting yet effective. My first class was Intro to Management Consulting. The teacher spoke good English and was enthusiastic about the topic matter. From what he spoke on, seems like the class is going to be a really engaging one. Granted we do have a really huge project in front of the class but business entails a lot of that, so I might as well get more comfortable with presentations.

After my 8:45 am class finished, I jetted back to my parents hotel to meet up with them. I was hoping that we might be able to do something together before my next class at 1 pm. I figured I’d call before I got there so that everyone would be up and ready to go…or so I thought. I call and my sister is in bed half asleep while my parents are in the breakfast room. I figured that by the time I stopped to surprise my sister with a chocolate croissant and I got there that all would be good. Wrong again. I show up and my sister is still in bed, sheets over her head, my parents are watching the Olympics and I’m laughing to myself because go figure they wouldn’t be ready. Oh family! I joined on the bed but hopped on my computer instead since having internet is just so enticing these days. Yup, still NOOOOOO internet in our apartment.

No one managed to get up to go or do anything until I finally said, “Come on people, let’s get a move on!” Finally the crew was ready and we headed off towards Bocconi. My parents wanted to see the “campus,” which I warned them wasn’t really a campus. See Bocconi is more like a few buildings where kids go to school. Nothing, and I mean nothing, like USC. Well apparently that didn’t matter to my parents and they still wanted to see it. The tour literally lasted 5 maybe 10 minutes. As I warned them, it was just a few buildings and that’s it.

I was hungry so we stopped for lunch at Taxi Blues and I bumped into the waitress from the first time I had gone. She invited me to some international happy hour on Thursday. My parents and sister weren’t hungry so they just kept me company. When the time came for me to head back to class, I sent them off to do touristy stuff and to go shopping near the Duomo. I was totally jealous but it was what it was. Plus I just wanted them to have a great time so as long as all was good with them, all was good with me.

So I said goodbye and made my way towards class. Too bad my class was canceled for the first week. Seriously Bocconi? I was so irritated because I hadn’t received an email and I could’ve spent more time with my parents. I just utilized the time by getting on the computer and uploading pictures!!! That’s right, pictures are up. I’m not going to be posting them on my blog because there are too many so check my Facebook.

Despite having my 1 pm class canceled, my 02:30 pm class was still on. Too bad it was the world’s most boring class. The course is called Organizational Networks and Entrepreneurships; a topic I thought might be interesting. Well my professor takes that potential away. She is sooooooooooooooo dang boring. I’m talking monotone voice, poor English, and she reads directly from the slides. Sucks. And on top of it, she kept pronouncing entrepreneur as interpreter. Haha My friends, Eddie, Ryan, and I were dying. Max is in my class, too, so afterward the four of us kicked it for a while before leaving campus. I ended up walking with Ryan and Eddie to the tram and after telling them about my weekend adventures with the family, managed to convince them to try Grom. Based on my description they wanted it right then and there so I lead the way. They absolutely loved it. It’s pretty much a given that as soon as you try it, you fall in love.

Anyway, I chilled with them and we talked about plans for the week. Pretty sure we’re going to get together and grab dinner and go out to a club or something. These boys are the best. They want me to come to Amsterdam with them the weekend of my 21st birthday (they’ve had plans to go for a few weeks). I’m thinking I’m going to go. Me and 8 boys sounds like way too much fun. Granted they think they are going to get me hammered (wrong) but I’ll probably do them the satisfaction of a drink at my birthday dinner. For tradition’s sake of course!

The boys took off for the tram to get home and I was supposed to be meeting my family in front of the Duomo. My sister, being amazing, was waiting for me. My parents, on the other hand, decided that I wouldn’t be there on time and chose to walk around. My sister and I sat huddled and freezing until 15 minutes had passed and they showed up. We were all supposed to climb to the top of the Duomo to see the view together. I had waited when the roommates went up because I wanted to save it for my family. Looks like I’ll be waiting for someone else. We walked over to the stairs to buy our tickets and they had just closed. It was 5:03 pm and they closed at 5 pm! I begged in Italian to have the man let us come up but he wouldn’t budge. Major bummer. My parents decided to head back to the apartment so they could get ready for dinner thus I was going back to my apartment.

After a hot shower, I got all dolled up and headed down to the restaurant I had chosen for our last dinner. There is this little neighborhood restaurant right on the corner of a little street right near my apartment. Every time I pass by, the place is packed. It’s impeccably set up and all the windows are adorned with giant wine bottles. My dad, being a wine connoisseur, was bound to like the place.

I showed up right on time but had to wait for the late ones. While I waited, however, I made friends with our waitress, Sofia. She has to be, without a doubt, one of the sweetest women I have ever met. She had a warm face and an even warmer heart. She kept laughing at our difference because she was quite tiny and well, we all know I’m not. She realized that I was working on my Italian because I kept asking for certain explanations about the menu. She, too, was working on language but in her case, English. It was a match made in heaven between the two of us! I would talk to her in Italian and she would try to respond in English. When my parents arrived, she spoke all of the Italian to me so that I could then explain in English. My dad, who speaks some Italian, was butting in, of course, but I know he just loves to practice his languages. Anyway, Sofia was amazing and helped add to what an incredible night it was. The menu was rather small and hard to understand because it was all in pure old Italian. This usually means that the food is going to be that much better. And it was. Everything from the bread on the table to the appetizers and salads to the main dishes were extraordinary. It was without question that this restaurant ranked super high in my book.

In addition to good food, the company couldn’t have been any better…well it would have been nice to have my brother there (love you Machu Pichu). We took pictures, cracking up one after the other because either my mom had crazy eyes, dad was laughing, Alli looked Asian or I was just heinous. I’m sure everyone around us wanted to take my camera away but we didn’t care because we were having too much fun. We sat around reminiscing on old vacations and funny memories, poking fun at our goofy times. I think we all went around the table sharing some story or another and ended up laughing hysterically story after story. Looking back at our past and all of the fun, amazing, and silly things that have gone down makes me truly count my blessings. I forget how incredibly lucky I am to share such a beautiful relationship with some of the world’s greatest people (at least I think so). We just know how to have a good time together. Nothing has to be too serious because life is too short to take it so seriously.

After dinner, I really wanted to make sure that my parents met the roommates. We hadn’t been able to do dinner together because the girls originally had plans to be gone all weekend so I made reservations early with that in mind. I decided that Grom, which my parents hadn’t tasted yet, would be the perfect answer! We all met at 10 pm and enjoyed the bliss that is Grom. My family and the girls and I talked for a while inside until we decided to head back to the apartment so that my parents could see my set up and then say our goodbyes.

As expected, my parents loved the apartment! Although the living situation is an interesting one, the apartment truly is a gem and the location is so flawless that every minor “uh oh” about the place is eradicated. My mom, who defines the word creative, kept thinking up all these cool things to do. Had the place been mine, I would have hired her to do the job. After they got to see the apartment and feel comfortable with my living arrangements for the next few months, it was time to say goodbye. I was sad to give hugs and kisses but I remembered that it’s all part of the adventure I signed up for. I know what its like to be on my own for long periods of time so its nothing new. But then again, I just love having my family around so its never fun to say “see you later.”

Tuesday 02/16: Round 2 of classes. Thank goodness they didn’t start until 04:15 pm. That meant for some serious sleeping in. I didn’t wake up until about 12 pm but I needed the sleep. Something was rubbing me the wrong way and rest is always the best remedy. I got up and had breakfast but hopped right back in bed because I really wasn’t feeling too great. I did lots of stuff on my computer writing wise and did a little reading. By the time I actually got up and ready it was getting close to the time I needed to leave. I got out the door just in time to make the tram and get to school before class started. To my surprise and contentment, I found out my friend Rachel was in the class and was sitting with an empty seat next to her. Yay! On top of that, two minutes later, our mutual friend, Cherie, came in and sat right with us. Lecture was interesting and at the end we had to figure out our teams for the big class project. The three of us plus Cherie’s friend, Luke, from Australia agreed to make a team. We still needed 2 people and while we asked Gaetano and Renato, they had two other guys they wanted to be with so it was a no go. We are currently in the search for our last two team members.

After class, I wanted to get on the internet because I knew I wouldn’t be able to when I got home. I took care of the necessary but while doing so stumbled across the good, the bad, and the ugly. It took my day from a no good one to an “I just got the wind knocked out of me” kind of day. All I wanted was to head home for music and sleep.

I was supposed to go out with the girls but I was beyond over it plus there was an issue with space in the car so I took it as a sign not to go. I’m currently sitting in bed, BBMing with some of the world’s most wonderful people, listening to music, and watching Entourage. Tomorrow is a new day and time to start things fresh.

2+ Weeks of Updates: THIS IS LONG!!! SUPER LONG! ...but worth it!

Blog Update: This is the longest thing ever so thank you in advance for reading all the way through!!!

I know I suck. I haven’t updated in ages. Oh that’s right, I haven’t had Internet access for the last 80 years. FML. Ohh and pictures will be loaded to facebook as an album so if you want photos, check me there.

Monday 01/25: So where did we take off? Okay so we moved from Hotel 1 to Hotel 2 because we couldn’t move into our apartment yet. When we arrived, the concierge looked at us like some crazy foreigners due to the copious amounts of luggage that trailed behind. Dude, we’re staying for 6 months and its freezing cold outside, we BETTER have a lot of stuff! Besides the awkward looks, they were pretty accommodating. We bumped into some trouble at first because they had originally promised us free dinner AND breakfast for booking the room. Lies. They claimed they had never done such a thing because they didn’t truly serve dinner at the hotel. Thanks to Ava’s feistiness, we managed to hook ourselves up with free din.

After getting ourselves situated in the new room, we headed out to Bocconi in order to register with the school and pick up all of our international student information and school ids. We were early so we hit up this super cute café called Taxi Blues. Apparently it’s the “it” place at Bocconi and they have three separate locations around the campus. The food was amazing and the waitress was a really sweet French student who invited us to some international student mixer. Once lunch was finished, we headed back to the main building for our little campus tour. Our tour guide looked like a Chinese version of Chuck Bass…absolutely amazing. He took us around to the main buildings and gave us literally 2-minute rundowns on each one. Pretty funny.

So the Bocconi welcome stuff ended and being without sheets and towels for the apartment, we went hunting. Of course we got sidetracked while walking down the streets and found ourselves in a little boutique where we struck serious gold and found tons of great stuff for 10 Euro each. I was especially excited because I found fleece-lined tights and Lord knows I was in major need of anything that delivered extra warmth here. I’m adjusting to the cold but that does not mean I’m ever going to love it. I ended up with two pashminas, a hat, and the tights. Success.

We get back on track and find ourselves at some place called Upim. What do we find?! SHEETS AND BEDDING! We were beyond excited because had we not found them, we would end up in our apartment sleeping under jackets and drying off with shirts. No thanks. So Upim had a bunch of discounted stuff and we did our best to put something together. I, of course, had to make sure that I could try to make a bed that looked nice and could feel “homey” for the next 5+ months. I went for neutral and chic. I picked up some tan sheets, towels and an insanely soft dark brown fur blanket. It has some giraffe-like imprinting on it, so it’s got a sexy vibe. We ended up being there for so long, though, and were crazy delirious by the time we left. Ava and Blakeney were laughing at anything and I was so hungry I think I’d lost brain function. Thank goodness we knew we were heading back to the hotel for free dinner. Or so we thought…

We get back to the hotel and we learn that everything they have to feed us is frozen food. I did not come to Italy to get some frozen-whatever for satiation’s sake. We all looked at each other and said no way, we’ll pass on the free dinner. (Side note: the following day the concierge asked me why we hadn’t eaten at the hotel and I told him that we had felt bad about making a fuss… my answer got us an extra discount on the hotel rooms) We went out looking for food and found some cute little bar. I had a huge salad and an even larger panino (that’s what they call their sandwiches here). The tum was happy. After dinner we were all exhausted and went back to the hotel to pass out. Italian classes started at 10:30 the next morning and we knew that sleeping-in wouldn’t be an option because a) we wanted to hit up the free breakfast, b) we needed to get all the way from our hotel to Bocconi on time, and c) we needed to put all 8 billion bags of ours from the 8th to the lobby floor in the tiny little elevators (think 2 huge suitcases per person plus 2 carry-ons per person, plus all the huge bags of sheets and towels…It was a good 5-6 trips). Thus sleep was a major necessity.

Tuesday 01/26: We started our day off with a bang and stuffed our face with breakfast. The yogurt is epically good here. I eat 2 every morning plus bread with jam, cereal, fruit, etc.…people definitely throw some interesting looks my way.

Off to school. All three of us were in different classes and dispersed accordingly. I’m in Italian Beginner 5 and ended up meeting a number of interesting people from around the world. Let’s see…there’s Nicolas from Brussels, Aanchal from India, Najiah from Singapore, Denise from Chicago, Kendall from Wisconsin, Stephanie from Toronto, Brian from USC, Michael from Australia and the list goes on. It’s a sick class and our teacher, Barbara, is the greatest. Apparently a lot of the other teachers are sort of butt-holes so I’m quite content with my insignante (Italian for professor). She’s so cute and always says “Allora!” which means well/so/anyway in Italian. It’s the best!

Italian class is cool but SOOOO long. 5 hours of a brand new language, 5 days a week is intensity at its finest. Granted I’m excited to be learning the language so that I can be conversational and what not but its still way too long. I end up zoning out after the first 3 hours and just turn into a blank-stared zombie. Not too cute. Thank goodness we get a small lunch break where we can go down to the cafeteria or bar as they call it. The food is pretty legit and cheaper than a lot of the other places where we dine. Props to Bocconi for that tidbit of coolness.

After class, I met up with Ava and Blakeney to “take a coffee.” In Italy, it’s extremely common to drink coffee throughout the day. All of our English-speaking Italian friends call it “taking a coffee” when they want to stop for a quick drink and perhaps a bite to eat. I haven’t had any coffee here yet but I’m sure I’ll get around to trying it. Apparently its super duper strong and I have a feeling that would give me one heck of a caffeine buzz. Yeah so back to my story. So I met up with the girls and had the pleasure of meeting their new friends as well. I met the Sarahs, one from New Zealand and one from Sweden along with another sweet girl from New Zealand and two others from Sweden. Unfortunately I was pooped so I was rather a boring person to hang out with.

After class, we headed back to the hotel (of which we no longer had a room because we had to check out) in order to get our bags to take to our apartment. YES we were finally moving into a place! Oh but wait a second, don’t get too pumped yet. Our landlord wasn’t going to be home for another 2 hours. Kill me. Our friend Renatto, the saint of our ventures thus far, came to help us move in and we all waited together getting coffee and tea. Once time had passed, we went back to the hotel and collected all some-odd bajillion of our bags and piled them into cabs to take us the super long 4 blocks to our new place.

The moving in process was a bit interesting. There are two elevators in our building. One that goes to the first 6 floors and a private elevator that goes to all the floors and the 7th. Yep, you guessed it. We live on the 7th floor. The private elevator is in the back behind the security desk and is super duper tiny. Needless to say, it took way too many trips up and down the elevator to get all of our stuff up. Oh and don’t forget that it was freezing butt cold and we were exhausted.

Finally all of our bags were in the apartment and the two girls took the bedroom and I hopped onto the couch. Oh yah baby, I’m sleeping on a couch. But hey it’s an adventure and a decently comfortable couch! So yes, we moved in and our landlord/neighbor/madre had made us dinner. She is this sweet older woman who works as an architect and has this really interesting flat on the 7th floor. Too bad she is a pack rat and has more stuff than anyone could possibly imagine. We’ve all gotten to the point where we just laugh at how many random things we end up finding in our wing of the flat. But that’s beside the point. She made us dinner and while I had no idea what it was, I was beyond hungry and it tasted good so no complaints here. Renatto acted as our translator for the evening and we figured out all of the arrangements for our stay. I was freezing/falling asleep at the table…not my best moment. Also note that she has this ridiculously weird/hilarious laugh and started at Ava in about the weirdest way I had ever seen all dinner long. Ava obviously loved it.

After din-din, we thanked and thanked and thanked her for everything and piled into our little “apartment.” The three of us were soo tired and dirty so one after the other we showered and went to bed.

Wednesday 01/27: Day 2 of Italian class. We were sort of running late because we forgot that the tram doesn’t go off of our schedule and isn’t always at our stop when we need it to be. Oops! Class was great again but long. I’m definitely learning and it will be extremely beneficial to finally converse with people more comfortably once I get a little more Italian under my belt.

After class, we went grocery shopping. SUCH an experience! Of course I over did it and bought way too much to carry. Seeing that we have to walk everywhere here, it wasn’t like we could use some cart. It was just down and dirty heavy lifting. Another interesting fact about Italy is that they charge you for all of your grocery bags. I knew this and planned ahead of time. Wrong. I brought bags but not enough and not large enough. Fail. The three of us looked like clowns trying to get all of our stuff back to the apartment. At least we picked up some of that delicious yogurt…on sale might I add.

Once we got stuff in the fridge, the girls and I got ready to go to dinner with Renatto. We ended up at a sushi restaurant called Nami. It’s apparently one of the best in the city. Yes the idea of sushi in Italy probably sounds super weird but it was really good and I’ll be going back there at some point.

After dinner, the girls were planning on going out but I was lame and didn’t feel up to it. I had been a bit down in the dumps and just needed to catch up on some sleep and what not. That and I had been living out of suitcases for days and was over it so the thought of unpacking was rather intriguing. I parted ways with my darling roomies and Renatto and ventured back to the apartment, where I unpacked, cleaned, washed dishes, took a super hot amazing shower, and hopped into bed. I was a happy camper.

Thursday 01/28: Italian class has changed from starting at 10:30 a.m. to 09:30 a.m. Epic fail on Bocconi’s behalf. Class was class again but I learned il verbi (verbs) and how to conjugate them so that made me happy. Now I don’t have to sound like some dumb American making an attempt to communicate through gestures (think miming one feeding them self when asking for a spoon.)

After class, we had the world’s longest permit of stay meeting. We all had to sit in a giant room filled with tons of other international students waiting to fill out forms to then bring to the post office for approval. Staying in this country is such a process and expensive too. It’s going to cost 90 Euro to register these darn papers! That’s precious mula I could be spending on food and traveling fun.

Finally the boring meeting ended and the three girls and I stayed around to chat it up with Brian and Usman, the two boys in the USC program. We also met their friend Chris, who is a student from ASU. It felt good to just kick it for a bit and laugh about back home. After reminiscing, Ava, B, and I all headed back towards our apartment. We ended up walking because the tram wait was 15 minutes and we were over waiting. Luckily we found a key shop on our way back to replicate the keys, which our landlord had so kindly not done yet. Even better, however, was the little bar we spotted that had the most incredible aperitivo displayed in the window.

So let me explain aperitivo. In Italy, especially Milan, they have what’s called an aperitivo, or as we know it “happy hour.” Essentially you buy a drink and get some food. Unlike in the states, however, you purchase a drink and get all the food on display for free. They have fruit, bruschetta, little sandwiches, classic Italian salad (lettuce, tomatoes, mozzarella, corn, and tuna), grilled zucchini and eggplant (yummmm), fresh bread, cheese, hot dishes, etc, etc. It changes every location you go but no matter where, you’re always in for some down right deliciousness. What’s super awesome about the whole thing is that its really affordable and you can go back for as many plates as you want!!! We’re talking anywhere from 6-10 Euro, depending on location and scale of bar, and 3,4,5,10 plates if you want. I don’t hate it.

But back to our spotting. We all looked at each other and immediately agreed that we were indeed going to be making aperitivo our dinner plans. We decided that some napping would need to take place beforehand so it was back to the apartment.

Once naptime had ended and the girls had showered and gotten ready (they were going out to another club), we (well more like I) bundled up and headed to the bar for aperitivo. The girls ordered drinks and I managed to convince the bartender to let me order tea instead of alcohol, seeing that I don’t drink. Thank goodness he obliged…the food looked way too good to pass up. And it was. I tried most everything and ended up with something like 4 plates by the time we left. Granted they aren’t regular sized plates but I was starving and the food was good. We all agreed that this place was AMAZING and that we’d be coming back again. The bartender was this super cool little Cuban guy who kept turning the music louder and dancing around the place. Before we left, the girls spotted croissants and wondered if those were included in the food selection. I did my best to ask in Italian and he gave the thumbs up…it was utter bliss for the two of them!

So I headed back to the apartment because a) I was really tired, b) I was adamant about finishing unpacking and making my little couch area my own, and c) I was still a bit down in the dumps. The girls met up with Renatto and Gaetano who took them out for another night on the town. While I was bummed not to be partaking in the fun, I wasn’t disappointed by any means. I needed down time and I FINALLY got my area complete. Clothes were all unpacked, folded, and hung. My toiletries all found a spot, little extras had found places for storage, and I reorganized everything to suit my liking.

Before I describe my little region in the apartment, I’ll give you a quick rundown on the place. As I had said before, we are staying in the left wing of this woman’s 7th floor flat. In other words, there are doors that go from our place into hers. She is really respectful, though, and always knocks or writes little notes and sends them under the door. So yes, our little section opens from the terrace and we walk into a decently sized room that immediately has a little table attached to the wall with seats (a.k.a. our dining area). Next to that is a kitchenette that has a portable gas stove (super tiny), sink, and some storage for dishes. Across from the kitchenette is a big chest with drawers. Everything in the apartment is filled with her ridiculous amounts of stuff but thank goodness she cleared out a few areas for storing our own things. Next to the chest is our little fridge region and above that, shelves for pantry items. Kitty corner from the fridge is a couch and two love seats, a table (made up of 4 little ones), and a lamp. This is also known as my bedroom. Then you go through an opening and turn a corner into the real bedroom, which then leads into the bathroom. This, in a nutshell, is our apartment.

The girls stay in the bedroom and share a bed that is separated only by the mattresses, not the frame. In other words, those two loves birds get to snuggle somewhat close at night. They love it. They use all the storage in the bedroom, with exception to two small drawers, which I use for holding my makeup and hair stuff. We all share the bathroom and have designated little regions for our things. It works great.

Now back to my “unit.” I sleep in that first large room. I used a small cleared-out area in the chest for storing my foldable clothes and used a clothing rack to hang all my other items. In regards to sleeping, I decided to get down to work and rearrange things in order to actually look legit. I started by moving the couch off the wall and pushing the two love seats up against it, side by side. I then took the couch and pushed it up into the love seats to form a bed. Unfortunately the couch is longer than the two love seats together so I took the table and separated it into the 4 parts and took 2 of them to put in the gaps where the couch was longer than the seats. This way, I would have little nightstands for keeping things on. One at the end of my feet for not-so-important stuff and one right near my head for my phones, computer, water, etc. I then did my best to fit the sheets on the bed. I succeeded…well, decently so. My “bed” sort of looks like a little den, so we call it the sex lounge, mostly due to the fur animal throw that I have going on on top. Last but not least, I moved the lamp (which kind of looks like a creepy tree) to a more useful location and found a large painting that had been hidden behind the couch and hung it up above the loveseats for some decoration. Oh and I took the other 2 tables and shoved them up against the couch so that it would keep it pretty snug against the loveseats. I was beyond satisfied once it was done because it finally felt like mine. I was comfortable and what’s more important than being comfortable in a foreign place? Nada baby, nada.

So yes, I had just pulled a designer makeover on our apartment and finished the ever-so enjoyable process of unpacking. I was beyond tired, hopped in the shower, during which I almost fell asleep, and crawled into my little den. The sleep was perfection.

Friday 01/20: I woke up to my alarm, super well rested and started to get ready. I packed a lunch for school in hopes of saving some money, made my bed, and got ready to go. The two girls were passed out from the night before and had no intentions of going to school. I’ll go ahead and say they needed the sleep.

After I finished up a delicious little breakfast, I was off to catch the tram and get to class. The day was long again but not as bad, seeing that I was rested and the sun was out somewhat. There has been NO sun whatsoever since we’ve been here so seeing sunlight was like a miracle. Blissful if you will.

After class, the girls and I had signed up for a Fashion Tour of the city. Bocconi had set up a couple different options for English-guided tours for its international students. While the process of trying to get into the tour was a pain in the butt (imagine running around to 8 million places trying to get a form to fill out and then having to go and wait forever at the Bocconi bank to get it authorized and pay the 5 Euro), it was well worth it. We learned a little history about Milan and a lot about its fashion background. Our guide told us about the fashion week that was coming up and showed us the major couture streets. Milan has TONS and TONS and TONS of designer stores lining these major streets (Via Montenapoleone and Via Della Spigga). Gucci, Prada, Armani, Cavalli, Hermes, Lanvin, etc, etc, etc. It’s pretty impressive.

During our tour, we got to stop at Armani’s café. Very chic and classy. I had tea, Ava ordered a marrochino (a very popular Italian coffee), and B wasn’t feeling too great. My two new friends, Eloise and Mariana, also joined. Eloise is this amazing girl from Australia who worked for the past 2-3 years saving up money to come to Bocconi for the semester. How amazing! I’m definitely a lucky duck to have such generous and wonderful parents. Thanks mommy and daddy! Mariana is the sweetest girl from Peru and she is quite full of life, spunk, and personality.

After 2 hours of the tour, which was meant to be 3, B and I looked at each other and agreed that it was way too cold to continue. Ava decided she wanted to finish so we said goodbye and headed back towards our apartment. Not. We got distracted on the way and popped our head into the largest Zara in all of Milan. It’s 3 stories and filled, filled, filled with everything you can possibly imagine. We were there for forever. Ironically, we ended up bumping into Ava and Eloise who had also stopped in for some Zara loving. I ended up getting a sweater and a great going out bag. B bought a faux-leather jacket and Ava picked up an overcoat type thing. When the 3 of us walked out, it was snowing! Not just little baby snowflakes but major snowflakes! We tried to stay under awnings in order to stay dry but that wasn’t as successful as hoped. So we just opted for popping in and out of stores to see if we could find anything else that suited our liking. We did. I found 2 really great warm sweaters and the girls found a few other things.

Stores started to close and we were all super hungry. Too bad it was snowing harder now and almost everything was closed. We searched up and down Via Torino, which is the main street that runs from il Duomo and runs perpendicular from our apartment street. Still nothing. We were beginning to get wet from all the snow when we spotted this crowded bar called 20, super close to the apartment. Aperitivo time! The food was amazing, the energy incredible, and the music great.

After lots of chitchat, food, and wine for the two girls (water for me), we headed back to the apartment for showers and unpacking of purchases. In all, it was a great day!

Saturday 01/30: I woke up earlier than pleased and found a plumber coming into our apartment. The heater in my part of the apartment was broken (I had been freezing the past few days!) and the sink and toilet needed some small repairs. All three girls sat in the kitchen like tired zombies while plumber boy went to work. We decided going back to sleep would be an impossibility and opted for breakfast. I was starving. What’s new.

We ate breakfast and got ready to go. We had been planning on going to see a really popular street market and we needed to get moving. Bundled up, we headed out into the cold to find our way to the market. We got a little lost but ended up finding it. It was SOOO crowded. The Italian people don’t believe in saying excuse me, either. They just push you out of the way. I was getting ready to bust out my sharp little elbows and throw some basketball moves.

The market was cool but not as impressive as hoped. The girls bought some amazing scarves and pashminas and I found a pair of highly needed earmuffs and a warm fleece. As much as I don’t want to be buying snow clothes during my excursions here, I also don’t want to be shipped back to America frozen in place. The weather yesterday was frigid, too. All three of us no longer had feeling in our toes, fingers, or nose by the time we had finished walking through the market. We immediately found a café for thawing and defrosting. I wasn’t hungry due to an excessively large breakfast I had consumed earlier but the girls were hungry so they got a quick snack. I just kept ordering tons of hot water in attempt to warm up. We sat inside for a good hour or so before finding the courage to enter the cold again and head home.

On our walk back, we wound in and out of little shops to see what we could find. Ava hit the jackpot. She found the most incredibly gorgeous sapphire blue pumps that look just like Loubitins. They’re flawless and she looks impeccable in them. It was a match made in heaven.

We hit up the supermarket for a few things on our way back, as well. I got what? Yogurt, of course. That and some fruit, veggies, soup, bread, and something else. Stores are closed Sunday so we wanted to make sure we had enough to survive. No round 2 of McDonalds, thanks.

We were tired so it was naptime again. The girls had to go refill their cell phones with minutes so I made myself some lunch and then climbed into bed. The girls came back later and had some food and then slept. After we all woke up and felt rejuvenated, we each made our first dinner at home. It was quite nice.

After dinner, we all started to get ready to go out. Ava had heard about some place called Just Cavalli, Roberto Cavalli’s lounge. Renatto wanted to come too so he met us at the apartment around 11:30 to take us there.

The club was really cool but absolutely hilarious. There were SOOOOO many older people there! When you think of a club, you generally imagine a younger crowd…19 to late twenties. Not here. There were men in their 50’s and 60’s dancing all over the place and dipping women left and right. The people were dressed impeccably, though. There were, of course, younger people as well but it was mostly models and rich, socialite kids. It was definitely an interesting crowd and made for some seriously good people watching. Their dancing was an absolute crack up and one of the bartenders was insane, moving around at light speed. The music, however, was phenomenal. I am talking the best music I have ever heard. The DJ was so bomb. It’s the kind of music that moves through your entire body and you can’t stand still. I just kept moving and dancing the whole night. I did reach a point where my batteries started to die and I needed a place to sit. But hey I kept dancing while seated so props to me please. By 3 am, I was ready for food and sleep. The girls agreed and we caught a cab home.

Piling into the apartment, we all reached for yogurt and some other snacks. Then it was face washing, teeth brushing, and pajama wearing bedtime.

Sunday 01/31: It’s Sunday and guess what time all three of us woke up? 03:40 p.m.!!! Yup, we were just that lazy and slept for the entire day. But hey, the rest was needed and Milan seems to be an exhausting place so I was having no problems with it.

We got up and made breakfast and then hopped right back into bed to draft emails and all that fun stuff. We still don’t have Internet action so we just write our emails in word documents to send once we’re blessed with technology again. I pray it happens sooner than later.

We ended up doing nothing until we talked to Brian and Usman, who suggested we all grab aperitivo. Obviously we were down. They met us near our apartment because we’re lucky and have tons of great places nearby. We chose a place called Iguana that actually had iguana decorations all over the place. There was a live DJ there who had one of those insanely deep voices and would laugh aloud constantly. He reminded me of that voice in those Malibu Rum commercials. Does anyone know what I’m talking about?

Ya, so anyway, we ate, and ate, and ate. 5 plates on my behalf, thank you. I also ordered some fruit juice thing that consisted of passion fruit juice, pineapple juice, blood orange juice, and some other juice. Pretty good.

Afterward, we said our goodbyes and headed back to the apartment for homework and more sleep. Yes more sleep.

Monday 02/01: First day of February and the second week of Italian class. I really like learning Italian but I totally mix up my Spanish every once in a while. I’ll be in the midst of trying to form a sentence in Italian and end up shooting out words in Spanish. But hey I’m learning.

School is always sort of the same ordeal…you come, sit, listen, learn, write, do exercises, take a quick lunch break in the cafeteria, come back to class and do it all over again until we end at 02:30 p.m. Joyous fun.

After class, the girls and I decided to hop on the school computers in an attempt to civilize ourselves again with technology. Hallelujah! It was nice to be able to use a keyboard to write out an email rather than via blackberry (still love my blackberry through and through, though). I ended up finishing before the girls did and headed off with my newly made friend, Antonio (an exchange student from Arizona who is originally from Honduras) to the metro station at il Duomo with hopes of getting our metro passes. The best way to use the public transportation system is to get a monthly pass that grants you unlimited usage per month. Once you get a card with your picture on it, you’re good to go.

Ya, so we go to the metro card place and the wait is ridiculous. 2 hours for a freaking card! I said screw that, I’m coming back when this stuff is going to be quick and easy. Not to mention the girls and I had plans with Renatto and all his closest friends for his birthday. I didn’t think it’d be so cool of me to show up late.

Renatto was having his birthday get-together at this bar and lounge called Martini. We ended up realizing that it was the Dolce & Gabbana lounge because oh ya, it was inside the Dolce & Gabbana store. We came with the intention of thinking we were having aperitivo and our stomachs would be happily satisfied. Wrong. All they brought were little bits of this and that; nothing substantial to hold over my stomach. I did, however, get to meet a ton of nice Italians and had the pleasure of spending time with the one and only Stefano. He is my darling topino!

After Martini and realizing how hungry the three girls were, Renatto suggested he take us to dinner with some of his friends. Blakeney wasn’t feeling too well and none of us really felt like going out. He obviously continued to insist that we go somewhere. We tried to explain that home deemed most appealing but that didn’t seem to fare so well. They ended up taking us to some food shack in the middle of nowhere that serves sandwiches. We all just laughed and told them it was totally fine and that we’d just make something to eat at home. The gentleman that they are, they obliged and kindly dropped us off upon which, all three of us ran upstairs and ate. No big deal that it was 11:30 pm.

Tuesday 02/02: Routine starts again. Wake up. Get ready. Large breakfast consumption. Bundle up. Look like a snowman. Walk to tram. Get on tram. Walk to school. School happens.

After class, Ava, B, and I realized that we were all in need of getting our Permits of Stay completed. The process is a pain in my butt, let me tell you. First of all, we had to go to that long meeting, then we had to fill out all these forms in CAPITALS only (made that mistake the first time), then we had to go get a special stamp that cost almost 15 Euro (seriously?!), followed by the need to make a copy of EVERY page of our passport (and yes that includes the blank ones), plus a copy of everything that was included in our visa submission. Let’s just say I was at the Italian version of Kinko’s for a while.

Once we had all the papers and the proper info, we headed off in search of a post office that would finish the second to last procedure in this mess of staying in Italy. The search remained a search. We went to three different post offices, all of which were decently spaced apart by walking, and every single one told us that they couldn’t take care of our permit. Annoying! After some odd amount of time, we all agreed to give up. We thought we might do a little bit of shopping instead but we then realized that exhaustion had consumed our bodies and that even shopping couldn’t tempt us. Home was where it was at.

We napped and relaxed and then realized that we were supposed to go to some international aperitivo night at a place called Paulo Alto in Porta Romana. We were under the impression that we could find it pretty easily from the Metro station at Porta Romana but man were we wrong. When we got off the metro, I first asked for directions from a guy in a uniform of some sort. He pointed us in one direction and told us to turn left, then right, and then go to the first stop light and turn left. Lie. We ended up in some random place. So I asked another lady. She told us to go back down the street we came and turn left and then left. Lie 2. Still not right. Then we asked the owner of some restaurant where to go and he said to go back towards the metro station and continue onward. Lie 3. Now I’m just annoyed, cold, and starving my butt off. FINALLY we talk to a younger girl and she tells us exactly where to go and what happens? We show up and there is no food. We lasted about 4 minutes before turning around and peacing out of that place. At this point, I am famished and ready to grovel for food, especially seeing we had walked all over kingdom come. I opted for the first place I found and ordered a salad and a pizza. I ate everything. And yes I took pictures of the pizza because it was that big.

With a full stomach and legs dead from walking, I was super ready for bed. So back to bed it was.

Wednesday 02/03: 07:45 am I’m up as usual and starting to get ready for the day. B didn’t feel too great so she stayed in bed and rested up. Ava was a little behind me so I headed off to school solo status.

The day was the usual day but I had to make a trip to the post office during my lunch break. The only post office that seems to take care of these permits is about 6-7 blocks from campus. They close at 2 pm, however, and I don’t get out of class until 02:30 pm. Thus I opted for lunch period to get things taken care of. I was smart enough to pack a lunch so that I could eat it on the fast paced walk to and from the post office. Worked out just great. My permit of stay is in the mail and the last step left is the police station at the crack of dawn in a week or so. Once that is taken care of, I am officially “allowed” to be a resident of Milan.

The girls had taken care of their permits earlier that day so after class, we all split up and did our own things. It was great because I just got to city explore. I first walked into Piazza 24 Maggio, where I stumbled upon a very interesting market. It was a little inside walk-around market with fresh meats, cheeses, breads, fruits, vegetables, you name it. I definitely saw some interesting things, though…I know everyone is just dying to try horse an/or a cows tongue. Not.

After that, I walked in and around the Navigli, which was great. The Navigli area is Milan’s canal region. The canals are lined with cool old buildings, restaurants, and bars galore. I found the restaurant I’m going to take my parents and sister to and discovered a bunch of great little places to try out in the future. When the weather finally begins to warm up, the cobble stone streets are blocked off to cars and become covered with dedicated areas to outside seating. I’m excited to say the least.

I came home and plopped onto the “sex lounge” to take a nap. All the walking around here totally wears you out. It’s so nice, though, to just take some time to yourself for napping. For all those who just keep going and going and going, try it. I promise you won’t regret it.

After I woke up, I decided to walk around a bit more to see what I could find. I wandered in and out of the stores just window-shopping. Still haven’t found anything that screams, “Have me!” I’m sure that time will come sometime down the road. They don’t call Milan the fashion capital of the world for nothing.

The girls and I decided to have a night of home cooking and so we did. Everyone whipped up something of his or her own and we all sat down as a “family” for din din. It was really nice. I was feeling a little under the weather and tired (as if that isn’t new) so the idea of going out was a not-so-cool one. B and Ava were stoked on going to a club called Old Fashion so I helped them get ready and kicked it in my pjs until they left. Then I did some Italian homework and passed out. Old lady much? I think maybe.

Thursday 02/04: The girls didn’t end up getting home until pretty late and slept in so I was off to school solo. School was really fun, though, because I ended up bettering my relationships with a few people in the class. Nicolas (the guy from Belgium) and Max (short for Maximus), who is from Munich and arrived late to the crash course due to examinations, are two of the nicest guys I’ve come across thus far. I had lunch with them and they’re both so interesting and just genuinely really nice guys. We talked about all the traveling we each had in mind and I have a feeling, or at least a hope, that we might do some city hopping together. Should be sick.

Yeah so school was great and I had learned past tense (thank goodness!), which made attempting to converse with the Milanese much more doable. My love for language was certainly satisfied with the day’s lesson.

After class, I stopped by the bookstore to pick up an English/Italian dictionary and a notebook. Being the organized freak that I am, I needed to re-copy everything I had in my first set of notes in order to categorize my Italian lessons. 1). Present, Past, and Future, 2). Verbs, 3). Vocab, 4). Preposition, etc, etc, etc.

Once my dork-solidifying materials had been purchased I did a couple market stops to pick up some much needed food (yogurt included) for the apartment. I ended up going into two different places to get everything I needed. That’s Italy for you, though.

That night it started raining and the girls and I decided that doing any sort of going out was a no go. So it was a stay in night again and we loved it.

Friday 02/05: In most places, when it rains before you go to bed, it usually has stopped by the time you wake up. Not in Italy. I got up and went through the usual routine only to be so warmly greeted by the rain on my way to school. I made it just in time before it started to get serious but either way, wet is wet.

The weather apparently pulled a number on the students. Class had 1 other person in it for the first 15 minutes. Thank goodness Max showed up and made it 3. As time passed by, more and more people started to trickle in. I think the combination of it being Friday (everyone rages on Thursday here) and the rain, deterred most from making an appearance at Bocconi. The class ended up being SOOO much better with lesser people though, or so I thought. It went by quicker and we had a better opportunity to go through important concepts more specifically based on individual questions. I felt like I learned more that day than a lot of the others and felt more comfortable conversing amongst the students.

So back to the weather…if you thought the rain was bad, guess what started coming? SNOW! It had snowed twice here already but pretty lightly. This appearance of snow was not so light. It just kept dumping and dumping and dumping so that by the time class was over, the cars were covered and you were walking through a sexy layer of slush.

I stayed after class for a little, hoping that the snow would stop and that trekking home wouldn’t be such a task. Aanchal and Sabrina (the most incredible girl from Taiwan) and I all sat together and talked about life for an hour or so. It was SO amazing getting to know them better and we all agreed that we would be spending a ton of time together. We planned out some trips we’d all like to take and by the end of our chit chatting sesh, we were beyond excited for the upcoming months. You will certainly be hearing more about them later.

When I finally said my goodbyes and summoned the courage to get back out into the harsh weather, I realized I needed some means of protection. I bartered with some guy on the street for an umbrella and walked away with 4 euros gone. Success. Or so I thought. While Uggs may be super warm, amazing shoes, they SUCK for snowy slush. What was once a pair of fur-lined, foot-loving boots were now aqua socks filled with freezing cold water. The feeling in my toes had disappeared and I felt like I was walking through an icy river. By the time I made my way home, which took forever because the tram took 8000 years to finally get to me, I looked like a frozen popsicle with numb nose, fingers, and toes. I sat in my kitchen with my blow dryer aimed at my water-soaked feet trying to regain circulation in them. 25 minutes later and we had some feeling again.

I decided that I needed to shower, eat, and nap after my snowy adventure. So I did just that. When I woke up, I had received the most amazing text message ever. My friend, Koltin, a really great guy from USC who studied at Bocconi through Marshall two years ago, was coming into Milan for the weekend for business. We had spoken a while before so I knew that he had plans of coming. When he told me that he had finally landed in Milan I was ecstatic. There is nothing like seeing a familiar face in a foreign city.

The two of us met up later in the evening after he had some time to get settled and to walk around his once inhabited city. He took me to his favorite restaurant in all of Milan and let me tell you, I can understand why. Trattoria Toscana is this hidden little place that upon seeing from the street, you would have NO idea was a restaurant. You walk into a somewhat empty room and bar and have to walk all the way back past the kitchen before entering a majestic dining area filled with twinkle lights, seating and a giant fountain. I was in love.

We sat at dinner for hours, groveling over the absolutely delicious food and the perfect company. Koltin said that the food was just as delicious as he remembered and that he couldn’t believe he was back in the city again. He shared all of his stories and gave me tips and recommendations galore. This kid is a saint I tell you! I had the most incredible time.

After dinner, he insisted he take me to his second most favorite dessert place in Milan. He ordered and before I knew it there was a Nutella filled crepe steaming in front of me with a scoop of gelato on the side. (you can wipe the drool off your face now) Delicious? Yes.

He walked me home and we agreed to meet up the next morning for city touring all day long. I couldn’t wait to go to bed so I could wake up and explore!

Saturday 02/06: I went to meet Koltin at the Duomo so that we could start our day of excursions. He started by giving me a tour of the inside of the Duomo and impressed me with his wealth of knowledge about the magnificent building. It was like having my own person tour guide for free.

We then walked through the Galleria and took a little detour into Grom, Milan’s best gelateria, for some of Koltin’s beloved Crema De Grom gelato. Yummm! Then the walking resumed. We literally walked throughout the majority of Milan’s worth-seeing areas. We went up to the castle, through the park, around Brera, back towards the Duomo, all down Via Torino, down Ticinese, through the Navigli, and so and so on. After we had walked through the castle and the park, which were both covered in snow, we headed over to find Brera. Brera is this quaint little neighborhood in Milan that really embodies traditional Italy. It’s lined with cobble-stoned streets and little shops. Restaurants with awnings sit on every corner and the splashes of color and architecture are phenomenal. I loved every minute of it. By the end of our walking around, however, I was frozen in place. I could no longer feel my toes or fingers (once again) so I asked Koltin if we could please stop for a coffee and tea. Defrosting mode needed to be started pronto. We wound up in the Navigli at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant that neither of us had been to. It goes without saying that we had a great time and the food was delicious (no surprise there). The menus were only given to you through dictation, though, so instead of brining you a menu to order from, the waiter orally explained everything they had to serve. Not your traditional restaurant but it added to the experience.

After lunch, Koltin took me to his old apartment and showed me all of his dearly remembered stores, restaurants, bars and what not. I felt so honored to hear about his experience and all the amazing things he did. He was exactly where I was two years ago and I’m now in the position to continue the adventure. We proceeded to tour around and get ourselves tangled up in undiscovered streets. We did make our way to his favorite grocery store, however, which pretty much made my day. I cannot wait to go back and stock up my shelves with new finds.

By the time we had finished our day of fun exploring, we were both exhausted. We parted ways and agreed to nap it before meeting up later that evening. Once I got home, I opted for a snack and my lounge. The girls, who had been together, all did the same.

That night we were supposed to meet up with Koltin and a couple of B’s friends who were visiting Milan for the weekend. B’s best friend, Brianna, and Annie Levine (love her) both came in from Madrid to see the city. The previous night, Ava, B, and the other two went to aperitivo while I was at dinner with Koltin. We thought that Saturday would be a perfect night to bring everyone together and have aperitivo at one of our favorite spots, 20. Unfortunately, the girls got lost and then decided to bring their stuff to Koltin’s because he was staying right near the central train station and the girls needed to be there bright and early. In other words, the three of them didn’t make it to aperitivo so it just ended up being a dinner for the roomies. After we had finished, we three came home to change and get ready to go meet the rest of the crew, who had settled on same place for classic Italian pizza. We made our way down to meet them and they were certainly all in serious party mode. And with that, the night commenced.

It was freezing butt cold outside and Brianna and Annie were definitely not prepared for our Milano weather. We ended up in a bar/café where we could warm up until everyone was ready to get to the club. Apparently some place called Le Banque was throwing an international night and the girls were set on checking it out. Too bad we got lost on our way and roamed around the streets trying to find the place. Finally I spotted a girl in a slutty outfit and realized we were going in the right direction. I was right. We found ourselves outside and waited in line to get in.

The place was packed. I mean, people pushing you from every direction and having to wait in place for minutes at a time until you could regain mobility. Not to mention, the music they were playing was some ghetto, retarded stuff from the late 90’s. I did NOT come to Italy to listen to a bad remix of Usher. But ya, so the girls were dancing and getting crazy and enjoying the nightlife of Milan. I, however, was getting some genuinely dirty looks for being so tall. Not to mention, I seriously don’t think that the word deodorant exists here. Seeing that hot air rises, I was getting some nasty wafts of odor up in my area. I did, however, end up bumping into my Bocconi “buddy”, Mino, who was so sweet and talked to me for a while. By 3 pm, B needed to bounce and I was definitely on board. The club, in my opinion, was pretty lame so there was no opposition on my end.

We walked the others to a taxi stand and said our goodbyes then headed home for showers, snacks, and sleep. All in all, it was a successful day.

Sunday 02/07: Unlike last Sunday (recall the 4 pm wakeup), I woke up around 12:45 pm. Koltin and I had thought of trying to take the train up to Como for the day but I fail at life and woke up a little too late in order to make a day out of it. That didn’t stop me from making the best of a Sunday, though. I quickly got ready and ate breakfast so that I could go meet Koltin in Navigli. He was having lunch but I, of course, wanted to keep him company.

The day was absolutely beautiful. The sun was shining and while it was still cold, the weather was durable and pleasant. I met him at a cute pizzeria situated on the edge of the Navigli and we sat down to talk and what not. Right before getting ready to leave the restaurant, a guy came over to say hello to Koltin. Craziest thing ever. This kid, named Thomas, had been in Koltin’s class at Bocconi two years ago when he studied there. Thomas was in Milan doing research now and recognized Koltin from their exchange together. What are the odds that of all the restaurants in Milan and of all the times that Koltin comes to the city that he would run into a fellow exchange student from Bocconi?! Insane. Obviously, Koltin couldn’t get over it and I felt pretty honored to have witnessed something of the nature.

But anyway, the two of us spent the day wandering and exploring more of what this city has to offer. We found a gorgeous park and simply enjoyed the sun that so graciously made an appearance during his stay. By the time we reached his hotel, he and I were both pretty exhausted so we decided to go separate ways.

I headed back to the apartment but decided to meander in and out of the stores to see if I could find any rain boots for this crazy weather. No luck. I ended up just retreating to the apartment for some tea and reading. The girls came back shortly after and we all napped it for a bit.

When we woke up, the girls were starving and went out for aperitivo but I wasn’t feeling too hot so I slept a little longer. By the time they got back, we realized that we needed to get ready for the SUPERBOWL!!! I might be in Italy but that doesn’t mean I’m going to miss out on the biggest football game of the year. There is one bar in the city called Bar Magenta that streams the Superbowl by satellite. There was no question whether or not we were going. Too bad it started at 11:30 pm here due to the 9-hour time difference.

We got bundled up and headed out in attempt to find the bar. When we got there, tons of the international students were huddled around tables, beers in hand, watching the game. The mass majority of us were rooting for the Saints, myself included. It ended up being an amazing night…probably one of the best nights I can remember thus far in Milan. First off, I bumped into my buddy Eddie (a great guy in my Italian class), and he introduced me to one of the guys in his program named Ryan. Both of them came from BC so I asked them if they happened to know a Kirk Avery. I was most pleasantly surprised and stoked out of my mind when they screamed “Dude Kirkkkk! We fucking love that kid!” Apparently, they had a big group of buddies back at BC and were friends with Kirk. Eddie had even been to Kirk’s house in Rancho! We all reminisced about how much we love Kirk and how we have a date to Skype him all together.

In addition to my bonding with the boys, Max showed up and we spent the majority of our time at the bar watching the game together. I was thoroughly impressed that even as a German, he was so into our beloved football.

By the time it hit 3 a.m. we all agreed to head back to the apartment…9:30 am class lingered and we knew we’d have to get up early in order to be there on time. But I didn’t care about the lack of sleep because all in all, the night had been a perfect one for me.

Monday 02/08: I was late to class and wasn’t feeling too hot. Class just sucked because my eye was killing me and I wanted to go home. As soon as it was done, I jetted for the tram so that I could get to the apartment, eat, and sleep (does this sound familiar?)

When I woke up, I headed to the metro station so that I could purchase a pass. The people there were the nicest. There was a man and woman behind the counter that kept commenting on my blue eyes and telling me that they wanted to visit California. The woman told me that she, too, was born in March and made a comment about how it was thus a good month. I agree.

I left in a great mood and headed to La Standa to pick up laundry detergent because I was finally in the position to get some laundry done. There was a guy behind me in line who kept smiling at me. I realized that he was most definitely gay due to his shiny pleather jacket, floral scarf, and man purse. He was really sweet and kept helping me with random things. Before I left, he wished me a “happy day.” haha Best run in with an Italian gay guy yet.

When I got home, I recognized my lack of motivation for doing anything. Thus, laundry attempt failed. Once the girls got home, they both decided against making the trek to the Laundromat. It was a group fail.

B and A were pretty hungry and wanted aperitivo. I had just eaten but wanted to come with for the company. The place we ended up going to was pretty weird. It had a ghetto vibe and was playing Italian rap in the background. First experience with that one.

I came home and made dinner, which turned out to be really delicious. I showered, finished homework, and got ready for bed. Unfortunately, the sheets had been stripped off my bed due to the laundry attempt. As a result, it was just me and the sexy fur blanket rapped up in each other.

Tuesday 02/09: I woke up in the morning on the wrong side of the bed…well in my case the couch. I was sort of grouchy. Why? I don’t know. The morning took a turn for the MUCH better when I received a message from a certain someone. With that, I couldn’t be anything but happy so it was a perfect start off to my day. Special shout out to mystery person…you’re amazing.

Class was pretty much filled with preparation for our exam Wednesday. In other words, I was over it. Lunch break was great though because Eddie, Max, Nicolas and I all sat and talked about trips we want to take and potentially doing some stuff together. I’m really excited to kick-start this whole city hopping thing soon, especially if it means going with my new friends.

After class, I went to take care of the registration for my laptop at Bocconi. The thing took forever but I was beyond ecstatic to know that I could finally use MY computer in the university buildings. I finished and walked out to find a modeling shoot going on right outside the school. First one I’ve seen thus far. I felt bad for the models, though, because they weren’t dressed all that warmly and I on the other hand was decked out in a pair of leggings, jeans, two pairs of socks, boots, a long sleeve shirt, sweatshirt, giant scarf, and my parka. No big deal.

I departed the scene and hopped on the metro to head back to the apartment. Unfortunately, I was so lucky as to be cornered in the tram by a straight up lunatic. This guy had kooked out eyes, big frizzy grey hair, ratty old clothes, a rancid stank, and a whacked jack-o-lantern smile. Freaky! He kept screaming and walking up and down the part of the tram I was in. Let’s just say I didn’t make it to my final stop because I opted for walking the rest of the way.

Once I got back to the apartment, I opened the fridge to find that I didn’t have much going on. It was off to the supermarket. I opted for a new market I had seen a bit farther from my usual stop, La Standa. I liked the new place because it was big and had a larger selection of stuff but the distance made carrying back all my heavy stuff a total bitch. I also had to stop into 2 other stores (La Standa included) because I couldn’t find everything I like. I swear none of the markets here have everything you need. You always have to break it up. Drives me crazy.

I came home and immediately put away all my food and made something to eat. All that heavy lifting, walking, and grocery shopping had me famished. I sat down to a snack and got to work on studying for my exam. I got through a pretty decent portion before my eye started killing me and I needed to rest. For some reason, whenever I get tired my eye starts to throb. I feel like I should get an eye patch or something. haha I can see it now.

Around 8:00 pm, Koltin stopped by the apartment to pick all three of us up. It was his last night in Milan and he wanted to go back to his favorite restaurant, Trattoria Toscana. Although the two of us had just eaten there on Friday, I had no opposition because the food was simply to die for. Dinner was delicious again and I was so happy to share Koltin’s last dinner in the city. I felt bad because I had to leave a little early to head home to prepare an oral presentation I had to give the next day. It would have been great to walk to the Duomo or make the last couple hours of his trip that much better. (Hey Koltin, if you’re reading this, thank you for absolutely everything!)
I came home and got to work on exam prep and coming up with what I’d talk about in my oral presentation. I was about to give a 5-10 minute presentation in Italian about USC. I obviously knew I was going to throw in the row, football, and the USC vs. UCLA rivalry.

By 12:30 am, I was donezo. Lights out.

Wednesday 02/10: The last day of Italian class. I got there right on time. The exam wasn’t hard at all but the oral presentation was sort of blah. I ended up having to go second to last and was so over everything at that point that I had lost concentration. We had been stuck in a dark room for hours watching presentation after presentation about people’s countries and home states. Don’t get me wrong, it was really interesting to listen to, just super long. Not to mention that I was starvingggggggggggg and felt like I was about to die. Once it was my turn, I was so ready to be done that I think I sort of messed things up a bit. It’s so frustrating how I have absolutely no difficulty speaking to locals on a regular basis but when I get in that classroom, I stumble with my sentence formation and diction. Super frustrating to say the least.

The clock hits 02:30 and class is finally out. We all took pictures as a group and said our goodbyes. I stayed after to hang out with a few kids and to talk to Sabrina and Najiah. I think we may all go to the outlets tomorrow. The two of them are such sweethearts and I’ve really enjoyed getting to know them. Making friends from different countries is the best. I also talked to Max and Nicolas about meeting up later for aperitivo and a potential club outing.

Najiah and I headed out to wait for the tram to take us in the direction towards our apartments. After waiting for 20 minutes, I started getting irritated and said screw it, we’re going on the 15 (another tram). We had to wait another 7 min for that tram but at least it came before the 29/30, which must have gone on strike or something. The waiting continues. There was tons of traffic. See the trams run on the same streets that the cars do. Thus, if a car is at a stop sign then the tram waits behind that car until the light turns green. Yes, the trams are on tracks but they follow along with the cars. Crazy system.

So the tram is taking decades to move and then I miss the stop because this guy is in the way and I keep trying to move around him and say excuse me but nothing was working on this dude. Katie Wile: stuck on tram. Awesome. Please don’t forget I haven’t eaten in hours and am on the verge of starvation. I finally found a stop and wandered around until I found my way home. I jumped in the elevator as soon as possible and went upstairs to ravish.

WARNING: Massive food consumption about to be shared. Please don’t judge. 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, some sort of energy bar, 2 yogurt cups, a banana, a salad with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, carrots, corn, cannelloni beans, and tuna, and a handful of cereal.

In a serious food coma, I climbed into bed to sleep and watch a DVD on my computer. I ended up not sleeping and resorted to my blackberry. I may or may not be very much in love with it.

Later that evening, the girls and I made dinner after B got back from her day of hell. She was in desperate need of doing laundry so she, unlike Ava and I, found the will to go and finally do it. We have to stick all of our dirty clothes in suitcases and schlep them to a Laundromat we spotted while exploring one day. Ava and I lacked the energy or the motivation so we sent B off. Poor thing went and was there for hours because the dryers wouldn’t dry anything and all the washing machines were tiny. On top of that, the dryers would only run for 15 minutes before you had to pay for another cycle. Even after 2-3 cycles per load, she still had wet clothes. 30 Euro poorer she gave up and came home. Yes, the Laundromat cost 30 effing euros! Our apartment is now strewn with damp clothes in attempt to get them dry. It does smell Woolite-fresh though so there’s a plus. I vote that we’re NEVER going back to that place. Not a chance.

Of other fun things that happened tonight, B was attempting to light the stove and somehow managed to light the lighter on fire that she then threw down on the counter. I reached to help put it out and Ava, totally shocked upon seeing the inflamed lighter on the towel says, “don’t put it there!” Luckily the towel was soaking wet and the flame went out immediately. All we could do was laugh. The whole thing was hilarious but of course, we made sure that B was okay and she was. It made for a great story and the number one fail of the day.

B went out with our friend Mariana tonight and while I had originally planned on joining, I ended up washing my face to start getting ready and lost any aspiration of following through. I put a facemask on instead. I really am getting cooler by the minute.

Thursday 02/11: I woke up late this morning to rainy skies and cold. I sat in bed and watched some “Friends” before hopping up to make a nice big breakfast. I crawled right back into bed afterward to do some stuff on my computer. Still no internet but I’m literally on my knees praying that things will turn around for the better and we will finally get it soon.

It was a generally lazy day in bed, on the computer, until I finally got moving and ready to take care of my laundry. After three weeks of being in Milan without doing laundry (thank God I brought enough underwear and socks to last me this long) I voted it was time. Seeing that the day before had been hell for B and the bill equally as miserable, I decided that I would be going to Arco Boleno, the international dorms, to try to get it done. Apparently each machine, dryers included (which are a rarity in Milan) only costs 1 Euro. I was excited.

So here it goes. The most ridiculous laundry story you will ever hear. Get excited…
At 5:00 pm I leave with my suitcase stuffed full with my sheets, towels, sweatshirts, sweats, jeans, leggings galore, every long sleeve shirt I have here with me, etc, etc, etc. On top of that, I’m carrying two things of detergent that were rather heavy. I head out to the tram and endure the ever-so enjoyable bump bump bump of my suitcase on the cobblestone streets for the fun 10 minutes it takes to reach the closest stop. As you can imagine, the stupid thing kept twisting around and causing me to pick it up and put it back on track again. I looked like a blithering idiot. When I get to the tram stop, I realize I am in need of change for the machines so I head into a gelateria to have someone break a 10 for me. The women are looking at me like I’m some sort of alien-like creature, especially with my suitcase trailing behind. Luckily they obliged my request and I was off.

I waited for the tram for a few minutes, hands frozen from the cold because I’m a genius and forgot gloves. Good one Katie. The tram arrives and I hop on but only to find no seats. See the tram ride to Arco is about 25 maybe 30 minutes so getting a seat would have been nice. I didn’t care too much but holding that suitcase and attempting to keep from falling over at each stop was semi-embarrassing. On top of the shenanigans I was already experiencing, my mommy calls me to talk because THEY ARE COMING TOMORROW!!! I was so excited to hear from her but felt awful because she was sick. Anyway, being the angel she is, she called to make sure that she was bringing all the right stuff for me that I lacked here in Milan. She was on top of it all. I got to my stop and wandered around attempting to find the building. When I did, it sort of looked like a hotel so I peeked my head inside to ask a man at the desk if this was in fact Arco Boleno. He confirmed that it was but gave me some attitude while doing so. I was a bit scatter brained because I had my bag, was trying to figure out where to go, was being bombarded by front desk guy and was still on the phone with my mom. I had to hang up with her because I needed to concentrate and this guy was not having me ignore him. He started asking me what I was doing and why I was there, blah, blah, blah! I was getting annoyed and told him that I was coming to see a friend (and I was) and that I knew where to go (lie). I started to roll off with my suitcase when he starts shouting, “Miss, Miss! Come back here now! It is not that simple!!!” OMG SHUT UP! He is obviously not too happy with me and is demanding I tell him whom I am seeing. My friend Brian, who just moved out a day ago, was there visiting our friend Chris so I told him I was going to see Brian. That didn’t work. This guy, named Francesco, says, “Brian, who?” I responded, “Wiegand.” Of course, his rebuttal is that Brian moved out. So I call Brian. I explained to Brian on the phone that the guy at the front desk wouldn’t let me up and could he please come down to explain that it was okay I be there, especially seeing I am a Bocconi student and had my student id card on me.

So Brian and Chris are on their way down (Chris had to come because he still lives there). Francesco apparently didn’t like the “tude” I expressed in my phone call to Brian and says, “Excuse me but I did NOT tell you that you couldn’t come up. Please don’t be so ruudeeee. If you are having a bad day, do not take it out on me. Come on now!” Alright mister, why don’t you take a chill pill and we can all calm down. I was over him at this point and just wanted to get up into Chris’s room so that I could then start this laundry process.

The boys come down to rescue me and take me to Chris’s room. I was there for a couple minutes and then Chris brought me down to the laundry area. Keep in mind, however, that the laundry room is on the main floor located directly next to the front desk. In other words, I had to sneak around the back way EVERY time I needed to go down to that room just so that I could avoid Francesco.

The laundry room was big but freezing butt cold, empty, and had weird lighting. I was the only one there on top of it. I loaded my stuff into one of the machines but had to wait 15 minutes before another opened to put in my second load. I didn’t want to just leave the clothes that were in the machine before mine on top of the machine so I threw them in an open dryer. This way the person who had forgotten to come down in time could just push start on the dryer and be done. Well that didn’t go over so well. About another 15 minutes later, a guy comes down and asks me where are the clothes in the machine (that now has my clothes in it). I explained that I had waited but no one came and I really needed to start my other load so I put them in a dryer. He freaked and starts rummaging through the dryer to see if I got everything, which I did. Well I guess somehow another guy’s briefs got in with his stuff and he starts tripping out asking me why I would have put those underwear in with his stuff. I DIDN’T you weirdo! Why would I go around finding weird boys’ tighty whities to then put in some other guy’s laundry. Just wouldn’t happen.

After that weird run in, I realized what a huge retard I am when I discovered a towel and sweatshirt in the bottom compartment of my bag. DANGIT!!! The machines lock after you start them so that meant I would have to handwash them when I got home. Luckily I met this really nice girl from UNC, who so kindly offered to let me throw them in with her stuff. Amazingness. We got to chatting and I ended up finding out that she lives one door down from Chris but had never met him. Weird right?

Brittany and I head up to the first floor to get back to other things while we wait for laundry. I went to Chris’s room and she went to take a shower. I just kicked it with the boys for a while talking until I had to go down to take my laundry out and into the dryers. When I snuck back into the laundry room again, there was only one dryer available. So I said whatever and just threw it all in the one. I had to wait about 15 minutes until Brittany remembered to come back down. I didn’t want to rummage through her clothes just to get mine so I chose to wait. Once she and her roommate, Rachel who is also from UNC, came down, I stuffed every last thing in the one dryer and put it on a double load on the hottest temp. mode…the dryers in Italy sort of suck. So I had 99 minutes before my stuff would be done and nothing to do. I headed back up to the boys.

When I got there, Chris was skyping with his dad (I was jealous) and Brian was passed out on the bed. I pretty much did nothing until the boys decided they were going to head to Esselunga, a huge supermarket around the corner, in order to get what they needed to make dinner. They offered me to come but I decided that getting on Chris’s internet was a bit more appealing. I did miscellaneous things until they got back and then said my goodbyes and went back to the room to check my drying status. NOOOOOOOOOO! Some idiot changed my setting from the hottest one to delicate. So, what do you know? My laundry isn’t dry. 99 minutes and my laundry isn’t dry. It’s almost 9:45 pm by now and I am exhausted and starving. One more 50-minute cycle it was. Luckily, Rachel, Brittany’s roommate, had just come down and felt so badly about what happened. She generously invited me to come join her, Rachel, and their friend Lauren from New Zealand. I said yes without hesitation.

The girls were all so incredibly nice. It was really cool to meet some new faces and hang out. We did have a pretty funny conversation about circumcision, though. Random I know. We started talking about converting to faiths for loved ones and somehow got stuck on the topic of the Jewish procedure of circumcision, even at an adult age. This lead into fun fact time. Apparently, everywhere but America, the boys are pretty much uncircumcised. Lauren was saying that it was unheard of to be circumcised in New Zealand and that she only knew of one boy and he was Jewish. I laughed because being uncircumcised in the states is a rarity from what I’ve been told. It was an absurd conversation but so note worthy that I had to share.

Once I checked my clock, I recognized that my stuff was probably dry by now. I said goodbye to the girls and we all exchanged numbers and discussed a potential trip to Torino next weekend. I went back down to the laundry room and aggressively just shoved every last thing into my bag. While I usually like to fold everything before putting it in my bag, I was beyond over that step.

Upon leaving, I decided to befriend Francesco. I would have to come back for laundry again so might as well get this guy to like me, right? I sat down to pick up my id card and started making small talk. I apologized for any attitude I may have given him and explained all the chaos that had been earlier and what not. I was asking him questions about himself and sharing with him about my adventures in Milan thus far. Told him about our apartment and all that fun stuff. Well he started to get really chatty and very friendly so I knew that all was settled between us. I even admitted that I had come to do laundry because this was the only place that had legitimate dryers and I warned him that I’d be back. He responds, “Can’t wait! Come any time!” Serious mood change from take 1. I said goodbye and set off for the tram home.

It’s officially 10:43 pm and it is raining on me. I am standing at the tram stop in the rain, freezing cold, with laundry, hungry, and wanting to be home. I had missed out on the international aperitivo that my roommates went to and hadn’t been home in hours. I was kind of grouchy. After 15 minutes of waiting for the tram, I got on and plopped down. Took me 30 minutes to get back plus 10 to walk to my apartment. I got up the elevator and into the apartment only to check my watch. 11:27 pm. Longest laundry experience ever.

All I did was sit and make dinner. Oh but then I had to unload all that laundry and make my bed and get the towels out so that I could shower. The girls were going out despite the fact that they had to be up at the crack of dawn to go to Venice for Carnivale…I couldn’t go because my sissy flies in at 8 the next morning and then my parents soon afterward. I obviously wasn’t down for a club so I backed out. So while the girls partied it up, the rest of my night was spent cleaning, folding, making my bed, putting stuff away, showering, and passing out.

Moral of this story? Doing laundry in Milan sucks.