*The blinged-out Christmas tree by the Duomo*It's Christmas-time! Which means that it is time to go home! Finally I have finished all of my exams, all of the meetings, all of the classes. Suddenly we have free time, and looking back, everything is a blurry mess (but a nice one) of studying, traveling, stumbling through Italian "conversations," and trying to get enough sleep. Now that the first segment of the MA is almost over, it feels a little bittersweet, but a lot more sweet than bitter. Two weeks ago I was already excited for the end of the quarter and for spending the holidays with Julian and my family. With only 4 days left in Italy, I'm surprised that I'm the tiniest bit depressed about leaving. Once I'm not here, I'm sure I'll miss little things about Milan that I never would have realized. The gigantic aisle of cheese in the grocery store (where I only recognize Parmesan and mozzarella), good chocolate, Italian style, elaborate Christmas lights decorating the streets, public transportation, etc. The main thing I am sad about it leaving Milan without a firm grasp of Italian. On a day-to-day basis, we barely needed to use it, so my level didn't increase as much as I thought it should. But, I passed (thanks to a very kind instructor) the Italian exam for beginners.
As much as I might miss the details of everyday life here, I am looking forward to the next stop: Groningen, Netherlands. And even more than that, I am happy to be going home for a short while.
So then I guess it's time to pack. This will be quite the undertaking...
*we had a festive sweets night at Kristina's apartment: Sorin, Kristina, me, Felipe, Tom*
*Christmas lights decorating Via Dante, where National Geographic had a photography exhibition*
*festive window display in the fashion district*
1 comment:
Nice entry! This may be one of your best as it lets us into the "heart" of your experience in Milan.
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