Rain, 16Aug, Day 3

Despite going to bed after 2AM, I gave up trying to sleep about an hour before my alarm was supposed to wake me at 7:45. It felt good to stop tossing around in bed and do some kind of yoga-esque stretches to loosen up my back and neck before studying Italian and having some cereal for breakfast.

Today was cold and raining like a winter day at Stanford. I countered it with jeans and the black fleece and nylon shell jacket that I used to wear in the winter back in CA. I kept the top of my head dry with a little umbrella that was stashed in my suitcase. I don’t know why I didn’t take something a little more resistant to blowing rain like a poncho instead. So I guess going for 3 days before noticing I forgot something says something pretty good about my packing job.

After class I went on a computer at school to publish this journal as a blog for the family to read because I haven’t found an open internet café yet, and I’ve had an awful time finding a phone card and conveniently located payphone as most of the phones seem to be near loud and busy streets. After class I walked out to the Duomo with a Columbian student (who’s name has escaped me) in search of a panini or something appropriate for lunch. The rain had stopped but with the breeze, it was cool enough to wear my jacket half open. The walk was quite pleasant albeit lengthy as practically all of the shops away from the tourist area are still closed.

I returned via the metro to Romolo, the stop nearest the scuola, but then spent a while trying to figure out which direction I was facing when I popped out of the underground. I eventually had to walk for a while via a somewhat circumventious route before finding the scuola in time for a supplemental session about public transportation in Milan at 5PM.

Afterwards I went for a beer with the 4 girls that came to the session. They seem to be a friendly bunch, and it’s good Italian practice. I’m surprised that English appears to be the most common shared language at the school although I’ve only met 1 other American. But of course we also know Italian -to a greater or lesser extent. I think my level of understanding is starting to approach a level that I would consider ‘usable’ in an everyday setting. I should be in decent shape after 12 more days of this.

I had vegetable soup and a salami sandwich for dinner before retiring to study verbs but by then I felt too tired and decided to give up on studying tonight a try again in the morning.

I like this place. I’ve been pleased with the people I’ve met and the environments that we interact in. But in the coming days I need to become more focused on finding an apartment from which my job is more accessible. If I leave the city center, things are sure to change. I wonder how different the so-called hinterland outside of the city is compared to here. I also need to find from where, and how frequently the public transportation goes to Vimercate. I’ve had little success looking online or asking various people. It seems there is no master plan showing the routes of the busses on a map with the stops and their respective times. Instead they just post a timetable with the names of the stop, and it’s up to the discretion of the user to decide where they are. However, I think trying to drive here would be a perpetual fiasco, and really hope to avoid entangling myself in it if possible.