First Week

So i am going to copy what my friend did last semester for my blog because I'm not a huge writer but you know my mom wants updates on the trip. (She wanted me to do a morning, afternoon, and evening blog..... Guess you could say she misses me?) That being said, I am going to do a top 10 of each week with many many details... so here we go! Hopefully this works out.

1. Got to Milan safely after 24+ hours of traveling. The first flight I was surrounded by babies crying which means I listened to my music quite loudly. The second flight (the 8 hour flight) I was able to meet up with some people from the U of Illinois to take the next two flights with. I got two seats to myself, a personal TV to watch movies (of course I chose Harry Potter) and two blankets/two pillows since I had no one sitting next to me. Third flight I got moved to sit by the girls I was traveling with which was nice.

2. Got my passport stolen within 20 minutes of being in Milan.

3. Helpful/wonderful/nice people. The thing about Milan is yes there are a lot of bad people, like pick pocketing or trying to rip you off, but the good news is that the amount of bad people are outweighed by the amount of good people here. When I got to my dorm (which they told us is an old hotel that’s been renovated into a residence hall) and checked in, the front desk guy said he would help me with everything having to do with getting a new passport. He drove me to the police station after his shift. Once we got to the police station we had to wait an hour and a half to talk to someone. Once we got to talk to the police the front desk guy was my translator and helped me with all the forms.

4. The gelato. Thats all I have to say

5. The Duomo. That night everyone was so supportive of what had happened and since we were all jet lagged we went down town to the Duomo which is this huge cathedral church in the center of Milan and pictures don't do it justice. We had these amazing sandwiches and walked around the center square. In the middle of the galleria, a shopping center filled with high end stores such as Prada, Louis Vuitton, there is a painting of a bull. It is good luck and safe travels to spin on your heel three times on the bulls balls (so of course I was the first one since I needed some good luck.)

6. Mastering public transportation. As you can see the first day was a struggle but ever since then it kept going uphill. The second day I went to Bocconi (The university I am studying at) and checked in to get my student card and welcome packet. They spent a long time explaining how to get to the US embassy since I had to get a new passport. That being said...... I GOT THERE AND BACK BY MYSELF. Granted I had to stop and ask people every few minutes. There was a mom and daughter that helped make sure I got to the embassy and showed me how to use the underground (which is the subway). To reward myself I stopped at this cafe and had a warm croissant filled with chocolate and a cappuccino that didn't even taste like coffee (since I'm not a coffee fan).

7. The Pizza. Thursday night we went to the Navigli district which is extremely popular for its canals with many cafes, bars and restaurants surrounding it. We went to this amazing pizza place called Pizzeria and then went for some drinks afterward at Spritz. Let me tell you though.... the pizza here is better than even the best pizza in the States. And yes it is true, it is cheaper to buy wine then water.

8.  My internship. I am interning this semester with a start up company and working with them on their online marketing and social media. This being said, I will have to spend about 10 hours a week working for them but I know I'm going to learn so much from this opportunity.

9. The Mall. There is a huge mall about 10 min from my dorm and it has this AMAZING SUPER STORE. I got a pillow for 5 Euros and so many other things for cheap (of course a huge bottle of wine for only 2.5 Euros).

10. My Friday night..... Italians have this thing called an aperitivo which is where you pay for one drink from 5 to 10 Euros and then you get a huge full buffet of Italian cuisine like pizza, pasta, sandwiches, and a ton of fried things (maybe equivalent to America Happy Hour?) . Our aperitivo   was on a boat in the Navigli district. Now most Italians have like one plate... but of course this girl had four and then took some bruschetta to go on our walk to our next destination which was a pub called La Fontanella. This place is unreal. This pub has all kinds of crazy contraptions that pour out beer from an octopus to a train with real smoke creeping out of it. After that we went to this club called Limelight which was where all the Bocconi students were meeting up and it was so much fun. Of course we went at "bar time" American time and they were not open (out of all the times we stuck out as Americans this had to be our worst).... so we came back when it was open and it was packed! Some of us girls snuck into the VIP section for about an hour till we were kicked out. The Italian men really do love the American girls and my hair is a real indicator of where I'm from (and of course my red shirt since everyone else was wearing black or cream.) We didn't get home till around 4:00 am which is normal for Italians but to us Americans.... We were pooped .

That was my week and I promise this will get better next time. We have started planning out some trips. Venice, Budapest, and Interlaken Switzerland will all be within the next month. But until next time check out these photos!

Arrivederci!

Gelato

Beer from La Fontanella

Appretivo

Limelight club

Pizza place and then the pizza below

Dumo is behind