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