Grazie

Ciao! 

I don't even know where to begin...I've taken in so much in just 4 days.  To sum it up quickly (for people who don't really read everything like myself), Milan is AMAZING.  Italy is AMAZING. 

I wish I could have written an entry earlier but alas I didn't have an adapter so my computer has been on it's own mini vacation.  I'll try my best to remember all the highlights starting with my journey over here...

Sunday: Milan is amazing, traveling with United Airlines not so much.  I've traveled with several US airlines throughout the years and here is my final conclusion: they suck.  For international flights especially....it's funny because they always have these commercials about "more leg room" to accomodate their guests.  When in reality, people's leg room is pretty much equivalent to the amount of space chickens have in a KFC chicken farm.  Not to mention when flying from DC to Munich, most of the people there are European and have different standards and expectations.  Our plane took an extra 20 minutes or so to depart after everyone was settled because of this one German man who refused to put his computer bag under his seat where his legs would be.  He was walking around the whole plane looking for a place to shove his bag, when finally a flight attendant asked him kindly if he had room under his seat, to which, of course he replied no.  The flight attendant takes a look and says sir you have nothing under the seat, could you please put your bag under the seat so we can take off.  German man becomes more and more furious and says NO I CANNOT.  Flight attendant becomes less and less patient to which he replies SIR everyone has something underneath their seats, we cannot make special accomodations for you.  Long story short the German man had a hissyfit and the flight attendant thought about quitting his job.  But I digress...so traveling on United was a pain, after 24 hours I finally arrived in Milan :)

Monday:  When I landed in Milan I wasn't exactly sure of what I had picture Europe/Italy/Milan to be like.  I guess in some ways America is more modern than Milan, but then again Milan is in some ways more modern than America.  The architecture is definitely more rustic, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  Each and every building that I have seen thus far is unique and intricate.  It's not your New York sky high flat and thus far I have not seen any houses in the sense that we are familiar with.  My apartment has a wonderful location right in the middle of the city and pretty close to school, many other people have to take the subway to get to class.  My room is kind of small, beds are small, and closet space is limited, but it's super adorable and artsy.  Also I am 1 minute away from the beautiful Santa Maria delle Grazie, also known as the place where the famous "Last Supper" is kept.  Yep, it's pretty amazing.

Tuesday: We had more orientation during the day and explored more of the campus.  The highlight of Tuesday was the spa that we went to.  I've never been to a spa before and have never considered doing so, but after that I definitely think spas are worth the money, at least once a year... The place was beautiful and they had a variety of different "Baths" such as saunas, waterfall type of things, fancy jaccuzzis, etc.  2nd highlight of the day was gelatto.  After coming back from the spa, some friends and I decided that the spa wasn't enough of self indulgence so we decided to treat ourselves to some Italian gelatto...for 2.50 euros, heck I'd eat that everyday, twice a day.

Wednesday: More orientation.  Highlight of the day was the Aperitivo.  An aperitivo is basically a bar where you can buy one drink for about 10 euros and have all you can eat free food.  It's an overall pretty good deal.  The food isn't exactly dinner, more appetizer like, but I've noticed that dinners in Italy aren't really big. 

Today:  We had a tour of Milan starting from it's central point: the Duomo.  The splendor of the Duomo cannot be captured in photos.  It is such an intricate, delicate, and massive masterpiece that for one to truly see how magnificent it is, one would have to see it in person (aka come to Milan and visit me :D).  Milan is not as pretty as many of the other cities in Italy, but it is definitely nice to look at.  We went the core of the city and looked at other monumental landmarks.  Along those landmarks were tons of designer shops filled with spectacular clothing that I could only one day dream to wear and hopefully design. 

In summary, the beginning is slightly overwhelming.  Like people say, it's freshman year all over again.  I won't lie and say I didn't miss home and Emory for the 1st two days because I did.  I missed the familiarity and the routine, but I'm missing it less and less....haha.  I can't wait for everything to be set up, for classes to start, for trips to be planned, for making a new routine here :)  I just can't wrap around my head that I'll be here for the next 4 months.  I mean, I just recently realized that I was in Milan. 

For noww, Ciao!

o btw, grazie means thank you...and it is the word that I most commonly use, as well as Italians.