$$$$$$$$$$

I have finally received my scholarship, that was supposed to have come at the end of September. There was a lot of confusion, and I still don't know exactly what went wrong, but in the end, they just sent it yesterday with a money telegram and it came overnight. So now that I have money, I don't care as much about the lack of communication and organization from Potsdam.

When I checked my bank account this morning, I couldn't believe my eyes! I kept staring at the page, for I expected to see 39 euros, and instead, I saw the beautiful number of over 4000!!! Of course, quite a large chunk of it will be gone very soon, after paying people back and paying for rent. But still... I'm very happy, because now I can buy a bus pass and travel into the city whenever I want! Also, I can now go shopping.... I am in Milan after all.

I was so excited to have money that I documented the moment in pictures:

*money*

*me fanning myself with money*

*new prada bag*

*** Note: The fanning self with money was a staged situation, and the Prada bag is (naturally) a fake, that I bargained with a man on the street for.... also, I have been reading books about real hardship (Angela's Ashes, Sea Glass), in which the setting is either the Great Depression in the US or the Great Depression in Ireland, which was even worse. The main problem with not having money here was just being annoyed-- I always had food, I always was able to travel and generally enjoy my time in Italy (thanks to my parents and my classmates). So although I have complained about not having money and being poor, in truth I have never been poor and am blessed to be in this program. Now I feel even more blessed, having my scholarship.