Today I would like to do a compare and contrast post. I've been noticing a lot of similarities/differences in this country and I think it's time we discuss it.
Compare/Contrast #1: Fun
Things that are fun: being in a foreign country. Things that are not fun: being in a foreign country with no money (yeah, I'm looking at you, Barcelona). This leads us to Compare/Contrast #1.1: The Post Office. In the United States, my packages get delivered, and that's that. In Milan, my packages, which contain my brand spankin' new credit cards, gloves for the cold winter months, and a nice pair of headphones so I can listen to Nitty in peace, 'clear customs' on a Friday, 'clear customs' again on Monday, and then don't get delivered at all. (It's Tuesday and even though the USPS site says it was delivered, I have yet to see evidence of that. You win, Milan. You win.)
Compare/Contrast #2: Lectures
Milan gets approximately a thousand points in my book for the lecture I got to attend tonight. I was fortunate enough to be invited by my roommates to a lecture hosted by Ezio Guaitamacchi, who sat us down in a circle on the floor and attempted to "recreate Woodstock." This included singing Bob Dylan songs while he played his acoustic guitar and told us about his close personal relationship with Country Joe from Country Joe and the Fish. The last lecture I attended at UNL was about water security, which, while it was informative and obviously a very important topic, didn't strike quite the same chord as hearing someone speak who had seen Bob Dylan live in concert 55 times.
Compare/Contrast #3: Media
Something I've been noticing here in Milan: There are virtually no outlets for media out on the streets. Restaurants do not have TVs in every corner where you can watch the news or a sports game or some quippy pop culture talk show while you eat. Even down in the Metro and other public transportation terminals, the screens that are present are mainly to advertise dining services on the trams or highlight the fact that you can buy a 49 euro round trip ticket to Hungary (Good deal!) While sometimes this makes me feel pretty isolated in the city, it is also kind of nice. Rarely do I feel ashamed of my not-quite-as-fashion-saavy taste in clothes (sweater weather, whaddup!) or concerned with what day-to-day decisions celebrities are making.
Compare/Contrast #4: Cafeteria Food
I can honestly say that I have been very lucky with dorm food during my college career. Neihardt had a good selection and rarely did I feel like I wasn't getting my money's worth because all of the food was cold, slimy, or inedible. However, Neihardt's cafeteria food has been sufficiently shown up here in Italy. How is it possible that even the food mass produced for Italian college kids is still kind of a delicacy? Every day I get to eat some fancy pasta dish, or a beautifully roasted chicken, or, as was the case tonight, a great plate of steak fries that were perfectly seasoned and didn't even need ketchup. I am grateful for great food.
Compare/Contrast #5: Wanderlust
I'm going to be honest. After Barcelona, I didn't quite feel like myself. For one thing, I was constantly paranoid about being mugged or harassed or even approached on the street. For another, I didn't feel the same pang of wanderlust that I have felt basically every day since I knew what wanderlust was. I didn't have the same desire to travel endlessly; I just wanted to be safe and tucked into my bed here in Milan, eating gigantic bowls of pasta where no toothless men could steal my belongings. But today, something changed. I was walking down the street on the way to school when all of a sudden, I got a wave of restlessness and started wishing that I were back in Scotland. That got my mind wandering and I started thinking how cool it would be if I were in London today, just roaming around. And then I started wondering if it were possible to teach foreign languages in London, and thinking I should look into that. I guess the point of this is that it was just really nice to feel a familiar breeze of listlessness. Made me feel a little bit more like myself (and also made me really want to get over to London.)
Milan is doing great things today! Hope you are too :)
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