lazy sunday

wandered aimlessly around the Navigli today. Here are some of my findings:


first gelato

cool graffiti

Also booked a plane ticket to Paris for the three days off I have for Carnevale, so I will officially be in Paris from the 17-19 of February, reuniting with some long lost Smithie friends!

milanese snow

il primo sabato

I left the hostel at around 1PM today with the intention of walking to this giardino pubblico near the Duomo, but instead got distracted by some beautiful boots at Comptoir des Cotonniers and a cute cafe, where I spent a couple of hours reading. On my return through the Piazza della Scala I noticed that tonight was the premiere of Don Giovanni, one of my favorite operas. After further inquiry, I learned there was a biglietteria serale around the corner. I waited, got a discounted ticket, then went for a quick aperativo before attending the opera. The opera was wonderful, although the seat was not, but I understand there's a compromise when you're getting a last minute ticket. The production was very modern one; the set really played up contemporary minimalism, Don Giovanni looked like a cross between Criss Angel and Fabio, Donna Elvira rode in on a white vespa and Zerlina and Masetto seemed to be straight out of "Bye Bye Birdie". The show was absolutely sold out, with people standing for all three and a half hours in the seconda galleria. I loved seeing all the different kinds of people who attended the opera, with everyone from groups of old men who knew all the words by heart, to teenagers to whom this was the equivalent of a movie outing. Here are some pictures from my day:


the duomo at night

the line for last minute tickets at La Scala



aperativi! I pretty much ate that whole bowl of cornichons.

at the bar where i had aperativi. love this tile and the old clock!

McItaly? McFail. Big time.

This is pretty much the first thing I saw when I got off the plane:

Needless to say, I did a double-take, and was pretty goddarn disgusted. I can see what kind of PR they were pushing for, but as far as I'm concerned, it's completely ineffective. I thought the whole appeal of McDonalds, albeit absolutely disgusting, was it's quintessential "American" aspect. Sure, each European country's menu differs slightly according to local cuisine (gyros in Greece, cornetti e cappuccino here in Italia), but I don't think anyone went so far as to Mcdonalds-ize the name of their own country. I knew someone with terrible taste was behind this campaign.

Turns out, it's Berlusconi. Surprise, surprise. Read more about the debate over this campaign here.

da capo

I arrived in Milano a couple of days ago, but it has taken me a while to work up the gusto to start blogging. First of all, I had to decide on a name for this blog, which proved more difficult than I had anticipated. Secondly, up until today, I didn't really have anything to blog about. The flight was fine, I got here in one piece, no missing luggage, etc. It all seems rather dull. However, I suppose I should give a quick rundown of the past couple of days just for the sake of posterity.

I arrived at my first destination, Ostello La Cordata, at 7PM on Wednesday night. This is where I'll be spending the first two weeks of my time here in Milano. The hostel is very nice and very clean, and decently situated near the centro. I unpacked, answered some emails, and was asleep fairly quickly.

The next day (yesterday), I met with my tutor, Prof. Luviè, for the first time. We ran over some basics, including how to get to the high school, how I should dress (casually), the level of English I'll be teaching (fourth and fifth year), etc. The rest of the day was spent unpacking and napping.

Today was my first day at the school, and it went really well. I met all the English teachers, as well as the Preside of the high school. I taught three classes and got a general sense of what the material is like. Today consisted mostly of introducing myself and making sure the students don't walk all over me, but I also learned that my main task will be preparing the students for the Trinity Exam, which is a required exam for all students taking English in public schools (for you New Yorkers, it's the Italian equivalent of the Regents exam).

I don't teach again until Tuesday (also learned that I have a four day week! Wahoo!), so hopefully I will be taking a little side-trip to Bologna to find some long lost amici calabresi. Pictures to be posted asap (once I take some, that is).