Sad news but a happy ending

My laptop is broken.. but can hopefully be fixed. But wont be fixed until probably late next week. Which means a delay in blog updates. :*(

But I am going to Paris this weekend!! so yay!

Things I took for granted continued

1) Post office
You would assume that the easiest and most common activity done at a post office would be to buy stamps and/or send a letter. Ah..but not so in Italia. One day a few weeks ago my friend Sarah and I decided to venture to the post office to buy stamps and send some postcards. First, we got lost trying to find it and had to ask for directions in which the lady that we asked told us in Italian and we only understood a few words. But enough that we knew we had to walk straight ahead and "grande!" Sure enough we walked a few blocks and then just around the corner was the biggest post office we'd seen yet in Milan. So we ventured inside. I wish I had a picture of the crazyness and chaos we entered. There is not just one (or maybe 2, 3 at the most) counter as there is at most American post offices but at least 10 if not more. We had no idea which counter we were supposed to go to and realized we had no idea how to say stamp in Italian. We went to the nearest window and they sent us to a different room. We walked up to that window and they sent us back into the previous room to window "#3." That would be fine if the windows were labeled with numbers! The 3rd window from the right? from the left? So we asked another individual who sent us to an entirely different building a few blocks down the road. Really?! We entered this building to find it was even more confusing than the first and a lady who saw us struggling and, praise God, spoke English told us our best bet was to just go to a tabbacheria and buy stamps there and put the postcards in a mailbox ourselves. At the nearest tabbacheria we struggled to communicate the words "buy stamps", "mail postcard", "different price than letter?", "cheaper stamp than letter?", "no we need stamps to mail to the United States" but after help from another English speaking Italian we finally had success.

This week, my second attempt at buying stamps resulted in me walking for 30 minutes to 3 different tabbachierie who either didn't have stamps or stamps only for Italy. I went home with no stamps. But fortunately the next day I was successful on my first try at a 4th tabbachiaria. Oh, and this time not only could i say stamps (francobolli) but I could form the entire question! Maybe I am learning Italian afterall. :)

2) Banks
Again, you would assume the easiest and most common thing to do at a bank is to get some money. Ah sigh but once more this is not always the case in Italia. When I got down to my last euro from what I had exchanged back in the States, I decided to take my travelers checks to the recommended bank by our program. IES informed us that banks charged less commission for exchanging travels checks than change offices. I headed to what we will call for purposes of this story (because I forget the actual name) Bank Italia and walked up to the available clerk. More prepared than with my stamp situation I asked in Italian if I could change my travelers checks for euro. The man looked at me and my blonde, pale American friend and replied to us in English, "We do not change travelers checks here, you must go to the change office." So I asked him where it was and he replied in ITALIAN. Great thanks a lot buddy. This time we didn't catch any of his directions except go out that door and then.... So, not wanting to pay a ridiculous commission I walked a little ways until I found another bank. "You must go to Bank Italia for that. We don't do that here." Perfect. Just perfect. In the end I went to a change office and lost so much money it made me nauseous. So I went and spent more on a gelato and called it a day... ;)

3) Education about the harmful effects of smoking and second hand smoke
There is not much to say about this except that Italians smoke everywhere, all the time and with no regard to those around them. Just walking through the courtyards of my school for less than 3 minutes, my hair and clothes reek of cigarette smoke from walking through the clouds that fill the air. Didn't these people have the D.A.R.E program?! Clearly, they have never seen the healthy lung vs. unhealthy lung slide show. And I still haven't figured out how everyone isn't keeling over from lung cancer. It's really quite sad actually.

4) peanut butter
For what ever reason, I have always loved peanut butter. It's great on sandwiches, in candy, by itself, on ice cream, etc. If I don't have peanut butter for long periods of time I find myself craving it. So, after a month in Italy I realized I was really missing my pb. Unfortunately for me, this essential food in my life doesn't seem to be on the food pyramid for the Italians. The grocery store nearest to where I live only offered one brand and one kind of peanut butter. A lot different from the multiple brands, multiple kinds (crunchy, smooth, low fat, regular, pb and jelly mixed) that I am used to staring at for minutes on end sometimes trying to make a decision. One option here (at least at my supermacato, although others may have more): Sugarless peanut butter. Let's just say it doesn't taste the same. But it will do for now.

Che cosa studi?

When we first arrived at the Collegio Dorm, the Italians always were asking us Americans "Di dove sei?" (Where are you from) and "Che cosa studi?" (what do you study). Let's just say it got a tad bit annoying... We considered wearing t-shirts that said "Mi chiamo Sam. Sono di Ohio. Studio business." I'm so glad we've made it past that stage!

This is the third week of my classes and already I am behind in readings and general studying. I am taking only 4 classes (very little compared to my normal schedule back at IU). I am taking:

Intermediate Italiano 200 (IES)

I really enjoy my professor for this class. She does her best to make learning Italian fun. Overall, I am almost always frustrated with my lack of Italian skills in both listening and speaking but she seems to be the one Italian I can always understand. However, my Italian speaking in this class...or lack there of is a whole other issue. Some of the lower level Italian classes have gone on field studies to places like the grocery store or furniture stores to learn vocabulary. Our teacher told us today she didn't want us to think our class wasn't fun because we didn't get to do those things and proceeded to tell us that she would like to take us on a trip to go trekking (aka hiking). So much better than the supermercato!!

Strategic Management for Small and Medium Enterprises (IES/Cattolica Universita)

This is the one class I am taking through the partner university Cattolica, although it is still taught in English. The first few classes were a mix of lecture, class participation and group work so the two hours flew by. But the past two classes have consisted of pure lecturing and taking notes. Uffa! (as the Italians would say). However, Professor Antoldi is very nice and overall I think I will really enjoy the class. It is so different than my business courses back home which focus on LARGE and IN CHARGE corporate America. Whereas, this course gives insight into the Italian way of business, which is primarily small enterprises often family owned and run. The picture below is from Università Cattolica.

Comparing Italian and English Renaissance Literature (IES)

I couldn't help but jump at the chance to return to the subject I have always loved but haven't been able to fit in my business this and business that schedule at IU since freshman year. Amo lettartura, amo leggere e amo scrivere..a volte (I love literature, I love to read and I like to write...sometimes). We just finished reading the first five cantos of Dante's Inferno and this week we will start Boccaccio's Decameron. I love it all!

Post-Industrial Business in Milan: The Case for Fashion (IES)

To be completely honest, I only decided to take this class because it fit well time-wise with my other three classes to give me an overall decent schedule. The class itself is ....interesting I guess. The professor is a complete scatter brain and most of us can't figure out if it is the language barrier that is causing her so many mishaps or if that's just how she is normally. It is quite common in Italy to be, in a word, disorganized. She means well... I think. A lot of the business aspects of the class are overlapping with my management class so that is good for review. haha. The fashion aspect is not a normal area of interest for me but aftering spending this past summer working on the designers floor at Macy's and now living in Milan, I figure why not?! While in Milano, do as the Milanese do!

In addition, I recently signed up to have a language partner and I met her for the first time today. Her name is Michele (she told me to call her Miche...because I kept butchering the pronouciation of her whole name...haha oops). She wants to practice her English and I, of course, NEED to practice my Italian. She also is a student at Cattolica Universita and is 21 years old. She speaks English very well and I feel bad that she has to listen to me struggle through a few measely words of Italian. She seems very genuine and intelligent so I think we will get along well. For example, she said that one reason she loves her job (being a fitness trainer) is because she gets to meet so many different people and she is able to learn something new from every person that she meets. I loved that she said this! Wherever I am, I always try to value the opportunity of meeting a variety of people with so many different stories.

In other news, when you get sick of eating Italian food, find a good Greek restaurant and enjoy a full meal with good friends.

Coming soon: My weekend trip to Roma! :D

Enjoy :D

http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=aOo36FnSTqQ

If that link doesn't work then just go to www.youtube.com and search for the EU vs. Italy video.

Climb Every Mountain...Until You Find Your Dream

I had the amazing opportunity to spend this past weeked in Valle d'Aosta (Aosta Valley), a mountainous region in north-western Italy. It is bordered by France to the west, Switzerland to the north and the region of Piedmont to the south and east. We were able to see (and go almost as high as) Monte Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps.

We left Milano early Friday morning and stopped first at the Forte di Bard (http://www.fortedibard.it/) and inside the fort we went to the Museo delle Alpi. The museum was one of the most unique (in a weird yet interesting way) museums I've ever seen. But they were very strict about photos being taken inside....and I mean very strict. I tried to sneak a photo with no flash but got caught! They gave us way too much free time at the Forte so after doing all the exploring there was to do and eating lunch we found a chocolate shop with free samples! So, we all indulged in the free samples and bought a few bags of DELICIOUS chocolate for only 1 euro. The view from the top of the Forte was incredible and we did get to ride these Willy Wonka like glass elevators to get there. After that we loaded the bus and went to our hotel, Holiday Inn Express, in Aosta. We went to a semi-nice dinner and explored the cute little town later in the evening.

The next morning/day was by far the greatest experience of the whole weekend. We woke up early and had breakfast (there was cold milk!!! :D) and then headed to Mont Blanc which all the brochures called "The Eighth Wonder of the World." We rode in a few gondolas (aka sky lift like elevator thingys..haha) until we reached Punta Helbronner 3.462m up ( Mont Blanc is 4.807m up). When we reached the height of the clouds we were trapped in the fog for awhile and couldn't see a thing. But the moment we were above the clouds, everyone gasped in unison and we all agreed, "This must be heaven!"

Up on Punta Helbronner we were able to admire a 360 degree panaroma of the peaks from Mont Blanc to the Giant's Tooth. We were lucky to have a very warm sun shining on us as the temperature dropped significantly at that altitude. The platform was on the border of Italy and France so we were in two countries at once! I could never put into words how beautiful it all was so I will just share a few pictures.

After many of my peers had gone down a level to the restaurant for lunch, I stayed just a little longer to take in the sun and the indescribable view. I couldn't help but think of the bible verse "He can move the mountains, my God is mighty to save." So I pulled out my Ipod and played "Mighty to Save" by Hillsong (thanks Chloe :)!) and just tried to take it all in. I tried to imagine God creating these mountains, I pictured the 'mountains' in my life, the 'mountains' to come and prayed for the faith to believe that God would move my 'mountains' and only create beauty from them.

Listen to Mighty to Save: (http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=230833141)

We had lunch at a little mountain restaurant 2.200m up called Rifugio Pavillon. Since lunch was at our expense most of us just got pizza or a panini (aka sandwich). Then, the real adventure began. We had the option to take the gondola's back down the mountain OR we could hike 2 hours down the mountain by foot. Someone...no one seems to remember who at this point told us the hike was "easy." HA! It was def. not an easy hike, but it was also one of the most amazing things I've ever done. There were points in the hike where you had no choice but to sit on your butt and slide while navigating yourself from falling off the side of the cliff. EVERYONE fell at least once but somehow we all made it down alive. My legs are still screaming at me, 3 days later. I never realized how little I work the muscles in my legs for going downhill. About 25 of us hiked down the mountain but everyone at different paces. I ended up in a group of five girls and I would say we had the most fun! We passed the time by singing songs from Sound of Music, Pocohantos and various other nature movies. I somehow ended up in the front of the group and therefore got the nickname "Sam, our fearless leader" since I came to all the obstacles first. However, my solution for everything was just to squat and slide down the dirt trails with my arms in the air and yelling, "Weeeee!!!" My companions didn't always follow my lead in this aspect. We knew we had almost arrived to the bottom when we started to smell the cows and I don't think any of us have ever been happier to take in that usually unpleasant scent.

(See below the "Colors of the Wind" sing-a-long)

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around the famous mountain town of Courmayeur. A few of us found a cafe with 12 different kinds of hot chocolate. It was like drinking a melted chocolate bar. We spent our free time there warming up and reminiscing about the adventures in the Alps.

The next day we had a guided tour of Aosta. The tour guide was all excited because we happened to come on a very important day for Aosta. The start of the festival La Desarpa...the walking of the cows. The cows come parading down from the mountain into the town and there is food and music and dancing and all kinds of Italian crazyness. We left Aosta in the late afternoon to visit Castello di Fenis. The Castello di Fenis is a 13th century castle built by the Challant family. This fairytale like castle took almost 100 years to build and is the best presserved castle in the Valle d'Aosta.

Our final stop was at a wine and cheese tasting place famous in Aosta. We didn't actually get to try any wine but we did get to try their famous meats, cheeses, and .....lard. Haha! Then we started the 2 hour drive back to Milano....

Mi manchi molto!! (I miss you so much!!)

No gelato? Private nighttime rooftop tour of the Castello Sforzesco instead?!

Our Milan City Nugget for Thursday 9/18 was a private tour inside and on the roof of the Castello Sforzesco in Milan. I spent more time taking pictures and being goofy with friends (see below) then listening to the history of the castle from the tour guide... oops. But the few fun facts that I did hear were very interesting and I still can't get over how old some of these places are. So different (in a good way) from modern skyscrapers in New York City.

1: Me with the Duomo on the left and the castello tower on the right.
2: Katharine with a gun designed by Leondardo Da Vinci...."shooting"...Samantha.

My favorite picture from the evening is the courtyard with no tourist cluttering the area. Yay for being VIP!