First Day!

After three flights, many a layover, much worrying, a sleepless night, and not a single hitch, I am safe and sound in my dorm room at Residenza Arcobaleno! At the Paris airport, I met two fellow Bocconi ex-pats. Two Minnesota farm boys with straight-up duck boots and flannels on, who had no idea how to get to the res hall. With them following me like a bright blonde beacon, I led them to a car service I had previously researched about, where we arrived in style for about the same price as a nasty cab would have been. Even though we didnt know the exact address, and the driver, Bruno, didnt speak much English, everyone was warm, welcoming, and understanding.

It is about a 20-30 minute metro ride to campus, but I will get plenty of practice with the commute this coming week before classes begin. A plus side is I certainly will not be figuring it out on my own since everyone else staying in the three-story former-hotel we call home is taking the Italian crash course with me! I will get to know lots of people and hopefully make lots of friends!

My room is large and airy, with big French doors leading to a balcony. Also, a wardrobe, a three-by-four bookcase, a desk with matching chair and set of drawers, and a shelving unit along the length of my bed, make it really look like it came straight from an Ikea catalog. My jewelry and scarves lined up, AdLib banner, purple starry wrap, Harley leather jacket, allidile, and old book collection make it unmistakably mine. 

The dorm is just outside of Milan, in the middle of many other "super-condos" and apartment buildings. There isn't much in terms of restaurants, but there are plenty of "bars," what the Italians call cafés/convenience stores. I found a good one that is on the way to the train stop. Hopefully the crash course will help me order in Italian instead of getting it mixed up with French.

My roommate, Grace, is a sweet Korean-American girl from Berkeley California! Her good friend, Jill, is a bubbly and charming girl on a mission to get pizza. Together we all went grocery shopping at the big supermarket down the street, and you all will be pleased to hear I picked up breakfast for the week, my favorite fruits, sandwich-makings, and a week's worth of pasta/soup dinners, along with a small pot and some (required) reusable bags, for only 25 euros! Pictures of my home-made burro and mozzarella roll-sandwiches will be sure to follow.

Tomorrow I will see campus for the first time, and I can't wait! I am hoping it will continue to bolster my hopes that maybe I can figure out what I am doing. I also have the class on Saturday, so it is unlikely that I will be fully settled in until Monday, or later.

I need to pick up the following: slippers, extra pillow, washcloth, cheap silverware, a new adapter (the one I brought didnt have third prong for my laptop, thank goodness Grace saved the day!), laundry soap, pens & pencils, notebooks, index cards, and a coffee mug & tea (good for calming the nerves, said in a downton abbey voice).

I am about to have a (hopefully) hot shower, talk to my boy, and get on a normal sleep schedule again.

I love you all!! Thank you everyone for being so so supportive, and believing in me every step of the way! Even when I doubt myself, you never do.

Italy in Miami

Look what I got from Miami!

Just kidding. This engineering marvel, and several others of its kind, were next door to the Consulate office, in a dealership called "the Collection." (Look it up, it is also rad.) I wasn't even allowed to sit in it, because I was wearing blue jeans. But hey, I did get one of these!

Ta-da! One shiny new Italian Student Visa. As previously mentioned, all applicants seeking an Italian Visa of any kind were required to appear in person to the General Consulate of Italy in Coral Gables, Miami. While we dropped off all the necessary documents (and then some) to the Consulate after Christmas, we opted to take the safe route and go pick it up ourselves. Lucky for me going to Miami is one of my favorite things ever.

Daddy and I drove down Thursday morning, after the nightmare that was registering for classes online, and arrived in the late afternoon. (Three classes: marketing, corporate finance, and business strategy!) The first thing we did, of course, was get un café Cubano, otherwise known was two ounces of liquid gold. I tried to explain what it was to my friends, when we were skype chatting the night before, and it was difficult to pinpoint exactly what it tastes like, other than saying that the heavens open up above you and angels shower you with glitter and pour sugar-powered-electricity into your veins. Let's just say that Italy has a very high standard to live up to.

Thursday night, I helped my amazing namesake, Aunt Lynne, make picadillo, and then struggled through my daily Italian Duolingo lesson. For some reason, plurals and possessives always get me. Friday morning, we got up at the crack of 0800 to get to the office when they opened at 0900. I slipped past the guard, went up the elevator, stood in line, gave them my name, and they handed my ticket into their amazing country, and I was relieved this challenge had been finally been surmounted. I am going for sure now!

So, to celebrate, we did what any rational person going to Italy would do: we got fantastic pizza. We went to a hole-in-the-wall pizza place called Pummarola Pastificio & Pizzeria. Their claim to fame is that they import mozzarella di bufala every week from Italy! We got a classic margherita, a spicy salami, and a creama di tartufo pizza. The first two were very good, but the third one had mushrooms, truffle oil, Italian ham, and mozzarella, and oh dear sweet baby Jesus I had a cafecito experience with this one. I had no idea mushrooms, or pizza in general, could taste like that. Unfortunately, the tricycle-riding delivery guy just told me that they can't deliver to Tampa. (Because yes, I did call him and ask.)

All in all, Miami was a great success. Other successes include getting a USAA MasterCard with "chip" technology, which will be more widely accepted in Italy than an American Express. Also, we added a small international data and voice plan to my iPhone, but it is only to be used in emergency situations. I still get charged for voice and text, and the data plan is a tiny 40 MB. I am going to look into a pay-as-you-go phone in Italy. So those issues were put to rest, for now.

Now all that is left is to pack my bags, say my goodbyes, and get on the plane! Actually that's not true at all, there is a long list of things to do before then, but I wont bore you all with the details; as if I don't do that already. As we left Miami, my Aunt was giving me some last-minute advice, and as she hugged me again, she told me I would go and come back different, but in a good way. I was hoping the only different I would be would be a pant size bigger, so what does she mean? Only time, and a detailed documentation, will tell.

Also! Shout out to my fellow ex-pat and foreign correspondent, Brendan, who was off to Shanghai today! Be safe, share lots of pictures, learn so much, eat crazy things, let people touch your beard, and show the world how crazy amazing awesome you are! All my love and the best of luck!

Student Visa, Credit Cards, Cell Phones, Language Barriers, and Other PIMB

PIMB stands for "pains in my booty."

It is rather unfortunate that I begin my journey to Italy with some major traveling pains. There are many obstacles I have to overcome before I even board the plane. However, it is ridiculously fortunate that I have had some amazing resources (mostly people) to help me along.

As soon as I was officially accepted into Bocconi University, I jumped on getting a student visa, and promptly missed by a mile. This was going to be no easy task, and with little advice from anyone, it seemed almost impossible. My advisor's advice to applying for a student visa was "apply for a student visa," and it ended there. Enter Daddy to save the day! He sent a few emails and made a few phone calls to find out what really needed to be done. (I, meanwhile, am trying to pass all my classes.) He arose victorious, with a lengthy and detailed checklist of everything that we ever needed to get a visa.

These things included, but were not limited to, the following: visa application, passport, passport copy, flight itinerary, photocopy of driver's license, notarized affidavit of financial support form, certification of enrollment from home university, acceptance letter from host university, housing contract, health insurance policy, and three passport photos.

After all these things were gathered, it was required that we made at least two copies of each and turn in the originals to...where?

Turns out, if you are staying over 90 days, you have to apply in-person to the general consulate of Italy in Coral Gables, Miami if you live in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, or South Carolina.

Thank goodness that my Daddy was absolutely amazing, and worked tirelessly to jump through all the hoops, keep me informed, and get the proper documentation. We corresponded quite a bit, as I had to provide the various university-related things. When I got home (after almost-passing almost-all of my classes), we went to AAA travel agency, where an agent built a customized flight itinerary, printed four copies of it, and even notarized our two affidavit forms!

Also thank goodness that the amazingness of my ohana knows no bounds, and my Uncle Carly's sister works at the swanky Biltmore Hotel in Miami (seriously, look it up, it's rad), and gave my Daddy and I a great rate to stay for a night! We road-tripped down to Miami the Sunday after Christmas, and Monday morning, we anxiously milled around the consulate office at 0845. We also took a stroll down the street to look in the windows of the Ferrari dealership next door, because why wouldn't there be a Ferrari dealership next door?

All in all, the bank-like office took about ten minutes, as the slick-haired, well-dressed, short Italian man looked at the papers, stamped a few things, asked me three questions, and said come back in ten days. I was shocked. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all.

We are leaving Thursday morning to go back to Miami to pick it up, since we opted to not have it possibly get lost in the mail. No complaints from me about that, the coffee is freaking amazing.

Other obstacles coming up quickly on the radar are some kind of international debit/credit card that we can transfer funds to and/or reload with money, has a "chip" in it, and we can get in the next three weeks. Also, I have no idea what to do with my cell phone. And I have twenty-four days to become fluent in Italian. THUNDERCATS GO!