La Vita Bella

Study Abroad is Not for the Faint of Heart

First off, let’s not kid ourselves: L’Italia e BELLISSIMA! It’s incredible here. Whoever said the Milano is the slums should probably reevaluate the quality of their optometrist because they were obviously not seeing properly. Many streets are made of stone, the architecture is regal, and the fashion is elegantly effortless. I mean, Milano is the home of the Duomo, a church that takes over 300 years to build, for God’s sake! This city is far more than just the city you fly into.

Getting to this country was quite the hassle. Forget about the multiple trees that were cut down in order to create the thousands of pages of paperwork I had to sign; forget about the hours that were spent on the additional paperwork that was online; forget about the Visa application and the fact that it got sent back to us multiple times claiming that we did it incorrectly, despite the fact that the directions on the document itself even admitted that there was no standard rule for parts. One of the most stressful parts of getting into this country was literally planning on how I was going to get myself, my luggage, and my medications into this country.

After all the fuss I’ve heard about luggage weight and size requirements, getting doctor’s permission to bring in certain medications, and properly storing my liquids, both airports were so relaxed it was almost disturbing. They didn’t peer inside my carry-on, they didn’t inquire about liquids which I had taken the time to properly store, and although I mentioned it to the woman who lazily glanced at the documents for 4 seconds that my mother nearly tore her hair out over working on for 4 months, I don’t even think they knew I had an Epi-Pen in my carry-on. Why they wouldn’t notice or wouldn’t care I have a 3-inch, sharp needle full of pure adrenaline but were concerned that my duffle bag was 3 inches too long is beyond me. I thought that surely, Italian customs would be more diligent about what goes into their country. Flase. No checks, a quick glance at my passport and a lazy, weak stamp.

I was on the same flight as my friend from Providence College who is also studying abroad in Milano. Gabby had 4 bags with her which weighed approximately 140 lbs. Needless to say, she was not about to take a metro for an hour, so we hopped into a taxi and I ended up paying 40 euro (the full price to my apartamento alone was 83 euro) to get dropped off in the incorrect place because my program gave me the wrong address. (Thanks, IES.) Luckily, the apartment I ended up at was the boys’ housing on my street and they brought me back to my apartment down the road and I had the opportunity to meet the boys that have become our best friends here.

My apartment is bello bello BELLO! Marble floors in the common rooms, hardwood floors in the bedrooms. My bedroom has about 15 ft ceilings, beautiful closets that could handle the clothing of an entire floor of dorms, a chandelier, and a 6^th story balcony. Oh ya – I’m really slummin’ it.

My roommates, community assistant and I went to the grocery store and that’s when it really hit me: holy cow- I’m in Italy. I’ve never been to a grocery store with an escalator. Going down to the lower level, if I were in a movie, a choir of angels would have sang. There was a huge variety of fresh deli meats, pastries, and more pasta than I’ve ever seen in one place. You can buy everything, from a liter of boxed wine for a euro to an actual motorcycle. I bought my first bottle of alcohol – a more expensive bottle of sparkling white wine… it was the same price as my toothpaste.

In the cafeteria at the school, with your meal comes a drink; you can choose between water, water with gas, soda, or – I kid you not – white wine, red wine, or beer. Right out of the soda fountain. On the tables, rather than salt and pepper, they have vinegar and olive oil. I had veal (vitello) for lunch along with pasta with honest to goodness fresh tomato sauce and fresh bread plus a salad… for 4.50 euro.

There is a ton ton ton more I could share, but I’ve got places to go and sights to see. Until next time!