'Adjustment Issues’, 27Aug, Day 14

I woke early to go to the cathedral for mass, as I had planned the night before. The city was barren of any activity except for an occasional tourist until I reached the plaza del duomo. Here the asian tourists were lined up taking pictures. I wish I could’ve captured the moment, four or five men in that funny half knee-bend posture, making squinty faces while trying to fit the towering cathedral into their camera lenses. But they didn’t enter the cathedral with me. I found the church to be mostly empty with service already in progress (because I was about 10 minutes late.) The service was in Italian so I had a bit of trouble following, but I was pleased nonetheless.

I exited the church to find the piazza much more alive. The pigeons and their feeders created a backdrop for the street vendors, performers, preachers, beggars, and waves of tourists all mulling around the square. I sat on the steps for a few minutes to watch the commotion and try to decide what to do today. I had planned to climb to the roof of the cathedral if it was a clear day in hope of seeing the white peaks of the Alps on the horizon. But it was not exceptionally clear, and the Alps would have to wait for another day. My backup plan was to go to lake Como today, but again the clouds made me reconsider my plans. I hadn’t thought of a third option, and now I sat bewildered on the steps of the duomo wondering what I could possibly do today?!? In the end I decided to break my protocol of avoiding museums and visit the Pinoteca of Brera.

I’d heard that aside from the Cenacolo, this museum houses some of the most famous paintings in Milan. So I paid my student admission, (I’m a student of Italian), picked up an audioguide -in Italian of course, and wandered the 20-some auditoriums of the museum. Most of the art turned out to be religious in nature, which is not my favorite style because after the 7th painting of the Madonna, they begin to look the same. I was on the tram back to the apartment by 2, but paused to check another monument or two off the list.

After lunch I walked down to the phone booth to try to call home again, but missed them once again. Now I was pretty much at a loss for what to do next, and was feeling quite unsettled about it. I always get antsy when I feel like I’m missing out on something fun for no reason. I believe trying to adjust from gradschool where I always had list of 20+ items that I should’ve finished last week to having nearly nothing that I have to do has been harder to adjust to than the language, environment, etc, of Italy. I probably shouldn’t worry too much because I can make a list of apartments to try to visit tomorrow.

Today Rosella helped me call a few apartments, and I’ve concluded that mentally stable potential-roommates in Monza are a commodity. For instance, one guy we talked to has a place with 5 or 6 people sharing one bathroom, but it’s no problem because he only allows 8-minute showers. I think I’ll probably opt for a single…

I saw a movie tonight in an open-air thearter. The movie was very artsy, and hard to follow, but I enjoyed the atmosphere. I met a guy who studied at UCon on my walk back.