It’s Different

Written June 2012:

3 weeks over.

I’ve found that the first 2 weeks are the hardest, for me at least, when adapting to new surroundings. After 2 weeks things stop feeling like a vacation, albeit the most frustrating vacation I’ve ever been on, and start feeling like this is the way things are. So how are things now? They are pretty good. There is no doubt about it that San Francisco is a lively city, full of interesting events, interesting food, and interesting people. It is a very different environment than Raleigh, NC. Besides the food, I have found a big difference in the people that I meet. There are so many young people here, and so many smart young people from all over the world. It seems that everyone who is here is here for a reason. They made a conscious choice to move from wherever they were to San Francisco. They have a goal. This is not to say that everyone is like this, I just happen to have met a lot of people who are. I guess maybe the difference is that Raleigh is more of the jumping off point for most people and San Francisco is more of a destination.

I would definitely say that more than anything this has been an intense life lesson in a short time. I have been working a “real” job, in an office, from 9 – 5. It’s for a good company, a non-profit, and I agree with all of their goals and values. It’s the kind of thing I imagined getting involved with after graduation and I’m glad that I.m trying it out now and have 9 months to digest my experience with it. My life isn’t running smoothly yet – I still don’t know my way around the city, I feel like my iPhone has replaced one of my hands and if I had to pay to use Google maps I would be penniless. I miss my family and friends and the comfort of familiarity, but that is exactly what I intended to get away from this summer. I meant to challenge myself and push my own buttons, to keep myself on my toes for the impending doom/exciting opportunities that come after graduation.

You wanted more funny stories didn’t you? Too much philosophizing? (Yea that’s a word, check it.) It happens when I spend too much time with myself…I get stuck in my own head. Moving on to touristy things!

FIsherman’s Wharf: there were seals

Chinatown: there were Chinese people

Mission: there were tacos

Tartine: HOLY CRAP there are delicious pastries and a long long line

My job: there were salad dressing lava lamps

The bridge: there was me biking over it

Welcome to the West Coast

Well I did it. I got on a plane again. This time for a less exotic, but still exciting city – San Francisco! I have an internship here for the summer. I’m almost a week in so why don’t I tell you how it’s been so far?

So how has it been living in a brand new city? Well I’ve lived in a big city before, Milan.  I have found the main difference between these two experiences is mostly based on the fact that SF is in the US and Milan is in Italy.  I had so much built up excitement when I went to Italy that the first couple weeks, while I was screwing up terribly as I tried to learn the city, I didn’t really notice.  I was in Italy; I didn’t care what the heck was happening to me.  The food was fantastic, I had a bed, and it was so beautiful and so freaking exciting.  I was also pretty much completely blind to what the experience was going to entail.  I had never attempted anything even close to that kind of a thing.  I did as much research as I could, mostly for fun because it was all I could think about for the 6 months before I left, but none of the research really prepared me for what it was going to be like.  This helped to keep a lot of the worry and stress at bay.  I didn’t know what I should be worrying and stressing about until it happened and at that point I didn’t have time to worry, I just had to handle it.  With SF I have a bit of an idea what I’m in for in terms of what it means to move to a new city.  Yes Milan and San Francisco are very different, but the steps are still relatively the same.  Figure out how to get to your place from the airport.  Discover the many methods of public transportation and how to buy those tickets.  Find the good food.  Try to immerse yourself in the new culture as much as possible.  Keep on keepin’ on.

The other huge difference between these two experiences is that in Milan I had an apartment lined up and paid for before I ever got on the plane.  I was essentially homeless when I got on the plane for SF.  That has been a lot more stressful than I thought it was going to be.  I came into it thinking there were going to be so many places opening up and I wouldn’t have a problem finding a sublet once I got there.  Sure there are tons of places opening up, but there are also a million people looking for cheap places to live in this city.  It is so competitive to find a place to live here, especially without any connections.  I definitely underestimated the difficulty of this task.  The other thing that is different and affecting my search for an apartment is that I am in this one all alone.  I don’t have other people who are in the exact same position as I am like I did in Milan.  We were all international students and were learning and messing up together, at the same time.  There are plenty of new transplants, but we all came here for different reasons and are looking for different things from this city.  It’s a good thing; I’m learning how to exist completely on my own, to take charge of situations and find a way to figure them out on my own.  However this is a big city, it has good neighborhoods and bad neighborhoods.  I have to walk home alone in the dark any time I come home after dark.  I needed to find a place that made me feel comfortable.  I need to be outgoing and confident if I am going to make the most of this summer.   Location, location, location.

So far all I’ve done is try to get settled a little in this city and have some fun.  Today starts the other reason I came to California – my internship.  I’m excited to get started, to put all the knowledge I think I’ve gained in school to some real world use.  I think it’s really important that I try some real life work before I graduate, while I still have the safety net of going back to school and financial aid.  Otherwise I will have zero direction when I graduate and zero connections and I’m afraid that that will leave me standing still.  Not a good place to be at the prime of your life. I really like this company and the things that they are doing.  I want something to work hard for.  I know I can be great, and I plan on proving that.  Big talk I know, but you’ve got to believe in yourself or no one else will.

And that’s my week one update for you.  I still have really no idea where this summer is going to end up, or where I’ll be when it’s over.  I’ll let you know as things unfold.

1 Year Ago

It has been one year since I first landed in Milan.  That sounds like such a long time ago, but it feels like it just happened.  So let’s do a sort of greatest moments post.

My first gelato.  Oh, do I miss Italian food.  I miss the entire food culture of Italy.  I miss eating next to landmarks.  I miss lingering over a bowl of pasta.  I miss limoncello night caps.  Food is one of the greatest insights into another culture, don’t let your fear of the unknown let you miss out on it.

I enjoyed becoming an insect on the wall of our neighborhood.  It would have been easier to live near campus, but that wouldn’t have taught me as much, now would it?  I’m glad I got to live with and meet the wonderful Osculati crew.  Thank goodness Maurianna had the common sense I lacked to look up where our train station was located before the morning of orientation.  Thanks goodness Allie and Kelsey both brought adapters.  Thank goodness Caitlin’s boyfriend had a car and could take us to Esselunga to buy detergent and towels.  Most things didn’t happen the way I planned them, many things happened that I could never have planned for, but I am thankful that everything happened exactly as it did.

I miss traveling every weekend.  (Hahaha Kelsey, look at your backpack.  Is there even a person under there?)  There is nothing like having the world at your fingertips and I never felt closer to everything than when I was in Europe.  Spain? Doable. France? Done.  Germany? So close! Greece? Let’s go for it.  Istanbul? Next time.  London? Too easy.  Pack your bags.  Pull an all nighter.  Hail a cab in the wee hours of the morning.  Take the metro to take the bus to the airport, and then reverse it.  And while you’re at make a whole bunch of new friends.

I miss how easy it was to mess up and move on.  It was super frustrating at first, obviously, but in order to get through the next 4 months I just had to learn to accept that I was going to make a fool of a myself.  It was going to happen often.  I might insult some people accidentally, but I will meet some very kind people as well.  Like your mom has been telling you your whole life, you learn a lot more from your mistakes.

I took so much away from those 5 months and I know that there is a lot more our there to experience.  I can’t wait for my next adventure.  Share some of your favorite travel moments with me.  See you around.

Cantucci e Vinsanto

When I was with my family in Florence my mom ordered the same thing for dessert almost everywhere we went.  She had cantucci (biscotti) and vinsanto (dessert wine).  They had it on almost every menu we visited and it was always delicious.  I have a wicked sweet tooth so it is only natural that I love dessert wines and also other after dinner liquors like limoncello.  When I returned stateside my mom did what she could to aid the transition by keeping our kitchen stocked with copious amounts of Italian treats.  Pancetta, prosciutto, Illy espresso and vinsanto that we found at Total Wine were among some of the goodies.  I made biscotti for dunking in the wine.  It was wonderful so we did it again while I was home for Christmas break. Yum.

La Neve

I want to see Italy covered in snow.

In a cafe

So I was looking through my blog today and I was reading through my Paris post and I remembered what it was like ordering in French for the first time.  This was out first meal in Paris and luckily we had the accompaniment of a very generous Parisian to guide us a nice cafe and help us order.  He told us all what to say, “Je voudrais…”  and of course how to properly pronounce it.  I was nervous, French pronunciation is so different from Italian and I was nervous about upsetting the nice French people by butchering their language.  It was my turn and I said my order.  Then the waiter asked me a question.  Whoa.  I did not expect that.  I looked at our friend, but the waiter said no, smiled, and said (what I assume was) “try.”  I was so grateful to him for not hating me for not knowing French and I was so disappointed that I couldn’t make him proud by answering his question.  I had literally no idea what he asked me and I had already said all of the French words I knew when I told him my order.  Unfortunately, I was a lost cause.

But it didn’t matter.  What mattered was that I tried.  I tried to learn their language.  I took a stab at taking part in their culture.  Tourists get a bad rap because they tend to behave like tourists.  They expect things to be done the way they are done in their home country and don’t accept any less.  They treat countries as if they were museums, when in fact they are people’s homes.  That adorable French cafe is where people go to work to pay their rent everyday.  That picturesque clothes line is evidence of a housewife’s daily chore.  If there was anything I learned from my travels it was to appreciate not just the physical beauty of the places I visited, but to appreciate and respect their culture.  I did this mostly with food, by eating as the locals eat, then through language, but I always tried my best to live as they live.  Landmarks are beautiful and fabulous, but they aren’t alive, people are alive and they are what make foreign countries so interesting…at least to me.

In conclusion, Parisians don’t hate Americans, they dislike disrespectful Americans.  Luckily it’s easy to not be one of those.

What to Pack for 5 Months in Italy (or Europe)

Packing to study abroad was kind of tough.  It was hard to know what I would need and what I could live without.  I had gotten pretty good and picking clothes that I wear often from having to move in and out of dorms every semester, but there are so many little things to forget about.

Toiletries: I would recommend taking only travel sizes of these items for 2 reasons.  The first is that it’s good to have travel size toiletries for your weekend getaways.  I kept them in my weekend bag and it made packing for trips so much easier.  The second is that full size ones take up unnecessary room.  The only reason to bring full size anything is if you are extremely brand specific.  You can get anything you need in Italy, and most of Europe, but you won’t necessarily be able to find the same brands.  You will want to have at least travel sizes of everything though because you probably won’t be able to get to the store right away.

• toothbrush / toothpaste
• hair brush
• deodorant
• make up
• soap
• shampoo / conditioner

Miscellaneous: I only ever used an adapter, not a converter when I was in Italy.  I bought a hair dryer at the grocery store, it was 16 Euro and I shared it with my 3 roommates.  It was worth it.  I have heard of a lot of curling irons and straighteners short circuiting even with a converter, so I would try to get one in Italy if you want to keep yours safe.

• travel alarm clock
• batteries
• chargers (laptop, cell phone, iPod)
• adapters – for lap tops and cell phone chargers
• converters – for hair straighteners or curling irons

Carry-on: Keep important things with you on the plane.  You will need the photocopies of your documents when you get to Italy, especially to get your Permesso di Soggiorno, and you don’t want them lost with your baggage.

• iPod
• book / journal
• passport & important documents
• pillow & eyemask
• laptop
• purse / wallet
• change of clothes (better safe than sorry)
• camera

Clothes: This one is really all up to you.  The only thing I would absolutely stress are the comfortable shoes.  You will be astonished at the amount of walking you are going to be doing.  Having a pair of shoes that keeps your feet happy after a full 12 hours of sight seeing will be indispensable.  Also I would invest in some extra undies.  There are no dryers in Italy.  You aren’t going to do laundry as often as you should.  It’s nice to not have to worry about having clean underwear.  Being anywhere for 5 months means you will be there during a change of season, so bring clothes that you can layer.  Items that you can wear on only one single occasion with one single outfit are not worth the space.  You are going to buy so many wonderful things that you will want to have room for at the end of you 5 months, so some things just need to stay stateside.

• comfortable shoes
• coat
• sweaters
• dresses
• tights
• jeans
• undergarments

This list is in no way all-inclusive.  It is not perfect for everyone, but I hope it will help to get started on the whole process.

Anyone have anything else to add?

Il Nostro Apartamento

I had pretty low expectations for our apartment when I left for Italy.  I had heard that they were usually small, and for some reason I was under the impression that they would rarely have hot water and the electricity would be bad.  Even though we weren’t in the best neighborhood, our apartment was actually pretty nice.  It was spacious and never ran out of hot water.  It did have it’s quirks though.

We couldn’t have the oven and the washing machine on at the same time or the power would go off.  It took us a second to figure this out, and there were times when we forgot, but usually it didn’t get in the way too much.  We didn’t do laundry that often.  Also, we didn’t have a dryer.  I don’t think anyone in Italy does.  All those pictures we take of people hanging their laundry outside is a simple fact of life.  It’s still adorable though.  

We had no air conditioning.  There were no screens on the windows, just these bulky metal shutters.  It was fine mostly because there really weren’t any bugs, the only thing was that when we wanted a breeze in the kitchen we had to have our windows wide open to the walkway.  The neighbor children enjoyed this.  

A.Dopp

Our bathroom was huge, but the shower was tiny.  The shower would also get clogged about halfway through every shower.  I would have to pull my wads of hair out of the drain every night.  The bathroom window in the apartment downstairs was directly underneath out bathroom window and we could often hear the girls screaming and laughing down there.  Sometimes we would call each other this way.

Outside the bathroom window there was a view of all the balconies of a different apartment building.  I liked to watch them in the morning because there was this one old couple who would come out to hang the laundry and water the plants, he in boxers, she in a housecoat and slippers.  They were so cute.

B.Signe

100th Post. So soon?

So I just realized this is my 100th post.  That’s pretty cool.  I’m kind of surprised that I made it here so quickly.  I’m sorry I don’t have anything special planned.

A.Dopp

I found this ex-pat blog of a couple living in Bologna and I’ve been reading through their beginning experiences.  I found this post that made me laugh and is just another perfect example of Italian inefficiency.  It rivals my post office story.   I believe that no matter how long anyone lives in Italy, no one will ever really understand how to get anything done…except for cooking, eating, drinking, and eating…and what else do you need, really?

I love that Italy hasn’t stop charming me, even with all of its annoying habits.  I love that even though I visited about 30 cities in Italy already, there are still SO many more that I am itching to explore.  I am even still reading about places in Milan that I can’t believe I missed out on.  I know that the world is a huge place, there are plenty of other fish in the sea, but I can’t stop thinking about Italy.   I hope we see each other soon.

A.Dopp

How is Venice Still Standing?

I just watched this video from this cool blog on how Venice works.  Even though they explained why Venice is still standing, it made me not believe that Venice can still be alive.  It is such a unique, beautiful, amazing and crazy persistent city.