HAPPY HOLIDAYS! :-D

I wanted to wish everyone a very HAPPY HOLIDAYS! I hope everyone is enjoying their time with family and/or friends, and that you're experiencing the full season of giving!

This year I am in Milan, Italy spending Christmas with my older sister. It is my first Christmas abroad, so things have been different, including: Italians everywhere, Italian language, and lots and lots and LOTS of Italian food. All so very delicious! I have definitely been blessed this year! :-)

Again, HAPPY HOLIDAYS, and thinking of you!

(Below I have pasted my sister's Christmas Tree. :-) )

Last Week Of School for 2007

This is the last week before school ends, and, as you can imagine, things are pretty hectic! Here are some activities that are going on this week in Almorox:

1) DINNNERS EVERYWHERE! I´ve been invited to quite a lot of dinners, mostly from the teachers of the school. Very exciting! Look forward to eating my face off (to make up for missing Thanksgiving! ;-) )

2) Final Tennis Match. I play tennis about 2 to 3 times a week. This Wednesday are the Finals. I made it into the finals, though there are two pretty good players: me and another girl. The other girl is better than me. But you never know how I will play! Wish me luck!

3) On Friday, we're having a Christmas concert! This is during the school day and all the kids in every class are singing Christmas songs. The first graders are singing Jingle Bells in ENGLISH! The kids have done a great job memorizing the chorus. However, I have to sing along with them. That means I sing the chorus as well as the gingle... and the gingle is by myself (YIKES!). Thank goodness I like Karaoke! :-)

4) Traveling. I fly to Milan on Satruday! WOOHOO! I´m going to spend Christmas with my older sister. Then I go to Rome and spend New Years there with some more family! This is my first New Years over the ocean. Interesting times! :-)

That´s the update! Hope you´re having a great week before the Holidays! :-D

HAPPY (belated) HALLOWEEN!

Though today is officially Thanksgiving Day and I am missing one of the most deliscious meals of the year (turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy!! I MISS YOU!! :-) ), I thought today would be a perfect day to share this video.

Since it is my responsibility to represent United States and its culture during my stay here in Spain, I decided to teach one of our most important festivals- Halloween! And I didn´t expect to be recorded. This is the result!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BwbW0aMUTM

PS: Sorry guys! I had to remove the video because of Children Protective Rights (oopppss!) If you want a detail description of the video, let me know! :-)

In Love... Part 2!

As some of you may remember from a previous blog, I had a very young and silent admirer. I was informed sometime in the beginning of the school year that he “loves Melissa!” Then after that, he wasn’t even able to make eye contact with me. However, after working with his class for a month or so, I’d watched him in the corner of my eye, and he acted normally. No signs of blushing or hesitations or looking away when I asked him questions during class. It seemed his crush was over, until…

I was working with the English teacher when she suddenly had to step out. I was left alone to supervise the class when Salvador stood up and started talking to his friend, interrupting the rest of the class. (He’s the type that can’t sit still.) I looked at him and said firmly, in English, “Salvador, please sit down.”

He quickly sat down. But instead of looking upset, I noticed a small little smile on his face. Then, when I looked away, he turned quickly to his friend and with a big happy smile, whispered, “She knows my name!”

Oh boy. Guess the crush is still there!

And guess I’ll have to start memorizing the other kid’s names. :-/

C’est l’amour!

You know you are in a little town when... #4

You know you are in a little town when…

Sheep are walked through town. That’s right! SHEEP! When I first saw them, I couldn’t believe my eyes. There are actual sheep on the streets! And not just a few, but a bunch of them! One of them has a bell around its neck so wherever they walk, I can hear them coming (like a bad horror movie. ;-) ). And that´s when it him me... I am definitely living in a rural town!

By the way, this also solved a mystery I was pondering: where in the world did all this dung on the street come from? Now I know what sheep dung looks like! (A fact I could probably have lived my life without knowing. ;-) )

Kids Say the Darnest Things

At school, I have to pretend I don’t understand Spanish so the children are forced to speak English to me. But I do understand them, and boy, kids DO say the darnest things! Here’s an example:

In the 1^st grade Science class, the kids were practicing the phrase, “How do you say…” For example, the children would say, “How do you say ‘manzana’ in English, please?” And I would reply, “Apple.” And then they’d get excited and say, “OOOHHHH!! APPLE! WOW!” (So cute! :-) )

While practicing this exercise, one of the students (who really struggles with English) suddenly stopped, looked at the teacher, and asked in Spanish, “Profe. Does she only speak English?”

The teacher said, “Yes.”

“All the time?”

“Yes.”

“Even at home??”

“Of course.”

“Oooooffff!!” he said, smacking his head with his hand. “That’s a LOT of work!”

He couldn’t believe someone could speak ONLY English all day! He was struggling with the language so much that it HAS to be a lot of work for me too!

Isn’t that CUTE?!?!? Kids say the darnest (or cutest) things! :-)

Internet

Some of you may be wondering why I haven´t been updating my blog recetnly. I have a good reason! In general, I am now living in an apartment that does not have internet access. The only internet access I have is at school and I can only use it during the limited hours the school is open (and I´m not working!). I do have some storiest I want to share. They will be available soon!

Wanted to let you know what was going on! Till next time! :-)

You know you are in a little town when... #3

You know you are in a little town when...

the nearest movie theater is about 5 towns away, which is about a half hour ride from Almorox!

Too bad I don´t have a car!

Boy, I miss Brad Pitt in big screen. ;-)

Photo Albums of the Summer

If you are curious about what I did this summer abroad, please visit my Web Album and you'll get to see all my adventures!From Milan to Rome, Prague to Key West! It's been a GREAT summer. Enjoy! (I know I did! ;-) )

http://picasaweb.google.com/melissacappiello

In Love...

I work as a Conversational English Assistant at the elementary school of Almorox. I teach children from 1st to 6th grade. Today, we went on a field trip to Madrid where we were quite busy! We saw "Notre Dame" on theater, the "Deep Sea" on IMax, and walked through an interactive zoo. It was very cool!

However, a very interesting development happened during the trip. While standing around waiting to get into the theater, one little and very hyperactive girl came running up to me, looked me right in the eyes and said (in broken but very good English), "Salvador loves Melissa!"

I just stared at her in shock. I definitely wasn't expecting that one! And the first thing that popped into my mind was : "Who's Salvador?"

She pointed, giggled and ran off. "Uhhhh... Thanks??"

I looked at where she pointed and saw this 9 year old skinny kid. I never really noticed him before though that's not a surprise since this was my first time working with this 6th grade class. He looked at me and quickly looked away embarrassed. After that, I started noticing how he sort of was always looking at me. And any time I happened to look his way, he would quickly dart his eyes away. (Guess he's shy!)

Also, you could tell he really wanted to talk to me. However, he couldn't because: "I don't speak Spanish. No Español." All the teachers had agreed that I should only speak English to the children. That way, if they wanted to talk to me, they would have to use their English skills. (This actually works because kids really want to talk to me!) However, the girls seem to be more willing to try English than the boys, so I always have a group of girls around me.

When a group of girls were talking to me, I saw Salvador just outside the group. He was kinda trying to act like he wasn't listening yet you could see him leaning towards the group, listening, with a deep look of concentration on his face. And sometimes you could tell that he wanted and may have even tried to join in. But he just... couldn't. Then he would stare at me with this helpless and hopeless look (thank goodness for peripheral vision!) because he really wanted to talk to me. When I looked his way to try to bring him into the conversation, he quickly looked away and ran off. This kept happening over and over during the whole trip! Isn't that cute??

C'est l'amour! ;-)

You know you are in a little town when... #2

You know you are in a little town when...

If you want to buy clothes, there is only one store to do your shopping... and it's the size of a walk-in closet!

Yes. My town is that small.

I hope I don't have to go shopping any time soon because I may not find my size! ;-)

Useless Fact?? #3

DID YOU KNOW...

That, in average, a wedding in Spain costs approximately $30,000? This is due mostly because everyone invites their family, their friends, their family's friends, their friend's friends, and their family's friend's friend's friends. That is a lot of mouths to feed!

But wait! There's more!

DID YOU ALSO KNOW...

That Spain has a divorce rate of approximately 75%? And, not only that, the average marriage lasts approximately 2 years?

That means that if you get married in Spain, you will spend approximately $30,000 in a wedding and there's a 75% change that you'll divorce in 2 years. That's $15,000 a year! That's someone's salary!!

Honestly, I wouldn't take those odds.

Now, I am going to end this blog with the same ending as the other Useless Facts posts. However, you can't help bur wonder... Is this fact really useless? (aka: Avoid marrying Spaniards?) I'll let you decide. ;-)

Another!... Uuuuuseless fact. :-)

You know you are in a little town when... #1

I am officially in Spain now! I flew into Madrid about two days ago and was fortunate to be picked up by the family I am staying with now. We drove for a little more than an hour and arrived at my home-away-from-home (for the next 8 months): Almorox.

What should I tell you about this town? I am really not sure. After all, I've only been here for two days. But I will tell you what everyone has told me (which I agree with 100%): Almorox is a VERY small town. It is a pueblo. Or how I like to call it, a pueblito.

Now, when I heard I would be living in Almorox, I found out quickly how small it would be. I looked it up in maps.google.com and it was like 10 streets big. I also looked up town information and all I could find was "Max Population: 2,000 people" (my high school was bigger than that!). Furthermore, the fact that I couldn't find any more information also spoke plenty of its size.

But how small is it really? Well, I think it is best explained with examples. After all, it is the small details that the average person doesn't know that speaks volumes of the situation. So, for everyone to get a grasp on how small my pueblito is, I've decided to use the same tactic of "Did you know..." random facts and apply it to Almorox. It's called: "You know you are in a little town when..." So here we go!

You know you are in a little town when...

The dentist comes into town once a week.

...

That's pretty small!

I hope I never get a tooth ache while the dentist is gone! ;-)

Photo Album #2: WINE WARS!

As most of you know, one of the planned adventures for this summer is a special festival held in Haro, the capital of Rioja, one of the "counties" of Spain. This region is known for its amazing wine and it is an intricate part of their culture and lives. To the point where they have a week long festival which ends with La Batalla del Vino - WINE WARS!!! It is the best water fight I've ever been in! Check out the photos! :-)

http://picasaweb.google.com/melissacappiello/WINEWARS

Only In Italy

Only in Italy will you find, in the nicest section of shops in Milan, the Prada store:













and McDonald's right next door!



I do admit that it was the nicest McDonald's I've ever seen! I walked around inside and I was VERY impressed. Though don't worry. I didn't buy a Big Mac! ;-)







Only in Italy!

Fun Changes in Milan

I was in Milan less than a year ago and a couple of little things have changed since I've been away. Wanted to share them with you so here we go!

1) Il Duomo
This is really THE main thing to see in Milan. The reason is that Milan was heavily bombed during WWII, so there really isn't much old stuff still standing. Thankfully, Il Duomo still stands! When I was in Milan last year, this is what it looked like:



As you can see, it is mostly blocked by that big board. They are cleaning it up! Now it looks like:






They are making progress! If you look closely, the board shows you the progress they have done in the past few years. They are almost done!




2) The Bull

To the left of Il Duomo is another section of Milan that wasn't blown up. There are murals on the ground and the most popular is one of a bull. Don't ask me why but someone from who-knows-how-long-ago said that if you put your heel on the testicles of the bull and rotate, it will bring you good luck! Of course, I couldn't miss the chance!



Good luck! Good luck! I take it all! ;-)








And what does the bull look like last year?



See? So many people have done it that it has a hole in it! And now?








Now the hole is MUCH deeper! (OUCH! Poor bull. ;-) )


My sister said that every year they fill in the hole and every year, a new hole is created. Funny huh? In Italy!





Anywayz, those are some of the few changes in Milan that were really obvious and I wanted to share! :-)

Useless Fact #2!

DID YOU KNOW...

The uniforms the Italian police wear were designed by Armani??

I couldn't believe it! But if you look it up, it is true!

And here I thought the officers looked good because they were Italian. Guess it's their uniform! ;-)

Another! Uuuuse-less fact!



(Here's an example of the uniform. The white belt is definitely a nice touch. Good job, Armani! :-) )

Photo Album #1: MILAN!

Some have been wondering exactly what I have been up to. I think photos are the best way to show where I've been, what I've seen and have done. After all, for me, my photos are my memories!

Below you will find a link to my photo album. Right now I have only been able to upload the first part of my trip, which is Milan! More to come. Enjoy! :-)

http://picasaweb.google.com/melissacappiello/WhileInMilan

Everyone Meets a Psycho

I think every person in every trip has a run in with a psycho. Usually it is never intended. It just sort of happens. Sometimes you come out shaken, but in the end, you always laugh. Here's my story:

I was visiting a museum in Rome, walking around and looking at ancient sarcophagus, when my cell phone rang. It was my cousin who wanted to talk about tonight's plan. I scurried to a secluded corner and started talking to her when suddenly I hear a voice behind me. "Excuse me!" I turned around and in front of me stood this lady. I don't remember much of the lady other than an impression: short kidna purplish hair, a long dark purplish dress, and really thick dark green eyeliner over small eyes. She starts telling me,"Excuse me! You cannot use cell phones in a museum!"

Oh geez! I didn't know that!

"You need to go outside immediately and finish your conversation OUTSIDE!"

OK. No problem. I nooded my head and I started walking towards the door while trying to let my cousin know that I needed to hang up. After all, I didn't want to leave the museum just yet.

I also briefly thought how it was strange that a museum person didn't tell me this rule, especially when they are found everywhere. But that was OK. I obviously broke a major rule of museum etiquette since this lady was pretty upset.

Then the lady said, "I am going with you! I am going to MAKE SURE you go OUTSIDE!" Then she starts to follow me, continuingly repeating how I needed to go outside and how she's going with me. And she is getting louder and louder. So imagine me on my cell phone, trying to walk out of a room, with this lady following me and yelling into my ear how I need to go outside, while I am trying to tell my cousin that I have to go, but I can't hear her because this lady is yelling in my ear! I started getting a little frustrated but, in between the lady's snapping, I was able to let my cousin know I would call her back after I finish the museum.

I press the end button, show the lady my cell phone is off, and start walking away. I've hung up the phone, I've stopped talking, so the problem is solved, right? Wrong!

Then she hissed, "Who do you think you are?"

... Who do I think I am?

"Who do you think you ARE!" Then she starts yelling! In a museum! "YOU ARE IN A MUSEUM! YOU CANNOT TALK IN A CELL PHONE WHILE IN A MUSEUM! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!!!!"

Now mind you, I have absolutly not said ONE WORD during this whole "conversation". The only time I've spoken was to let my cousin know I had to go. I couldn't believe it! I just stared at her. I had hung up the phone. What else do you want, lady? And more, even the people who where with her were telling her to calm down. When she didn't, they walked away from her, embarrassed!

And she didn't stop yelling at me. She kept going and going. And honestly guys, I almost lost it. I almost let my temper rise, let her have it and told her who I am. Almost. But I didn't. Because the truth is, I looked at her and I felt sorry for her. It was obvious that she had blown this WAY out of proportion, which meant something really bad was happening in her life. She needed a scape goat and picked the girl talking on a cell phone in a museum. Though this doesn't excuse her behavior what-so-ever, I didn't have the heart to yell back at her. My sadness deflated my anger. Whatever was bothering her had to be pretty bad to make such a ruckus in a museum.

So I walked away again. And this time she didn't follow.

She did turn to a friend and in another langauge, said something. Must have been a Latin-based language because I understood what she said: "Who does she think she is?? %&£&#%$!!!"

Ah well. I didn't see her after that. And I enjoyed the rest of the museum.

By the way, do you want to know what the "cream on top" of this story is? The moment I walked away an uniformed man approached me. He worked for the museum. He said, "I am very sorry."

I looked at him and said, "No. I am very sorry. I didn't know about that rule."

"No. In museums, you are allowed to talk on cell phones."

...

HA! So all of this was over nothing.

Psycho lady. ;-)

A Joke

Here's a joke that goes something like this:

In heaven, the policemen are British, the mechanics are German, the lovers are French, the cooks are Italian, and everything is organized by the Swiss.

In hell, the policemen are German, the cooks are British, the mechanics are French, the lovers are Swiss and everything is organized by the Italians.

The more I travel, the more this is true!

Wanted to share! :-)

Useless Fact #1

In high school, there used to be a show called The Animeniacs. I rarely watched this show though there is one episode I still remember today.

I remember the episode clearly. One little cartoon guy goes up to another and says "Did you know! That a termite can live up to 40 years?" The other cartoon guy looks amazed by this fact and nods approvingly by this new information. And I too was amazed by this fact! How could a termite live for that long? Then the cartoon showed a quick flash of a little old lady termite, with glasses and wrinkles, talking to its little grand-termites. Then it flashed back to the two cartoon guys, who turned to look at the audience and said, "ANOTHER... uuuuuse-less fact."

And I started laughing. It was so funny! Mostly because it is true! Knowing how long termites live IS useless information! It is interesting, but useless. And yes, practically 10 years later, I still remember that fact and that episode.

So, what is the point of this story? Well, I've decided to have a "Useless Fact" section in my blog! It is for those random pieces of information that I encounter in my trip that are useless, but VERY interesting! :-)

Here we go!

DID YOU KNOW...

That in England, the number 1 most popular food to eat is an Indian dish? I can't remember the name exactly, but it is made of curry and chicken (coronation chicken? ).

A Brittish cook I met told me that England really didn't have a specific cousine. However, when a lot of Indians immigrated to England, the English adopted their way of cooking, especially curry. So this curry chicken dish has replaced Fish and Chips all over the country! It is the #1 food the Brittish cook at home! Isn't that interesting?

Another! Useless fact. ;-)

Mama's Boys?

I'm not sure if too many people know this but in Italy, children live with their parents until they get married. This means that, in average, they are not moving out of their homes till 30 something. My sister's Italian boyfriend and brother are perfect examples. They still live at home and both are over 30 (one over 35). This is definitely unheard of in good ol' USA. "Young adults" are pretty much asked to leave home around age 18. Or after college. Or maybe stay a couple of years after college so you can save a little $$ and move out. But there really isn't that attitude of "Stay home till you get married." It is more "Get a job, prove that you can live on your own, and THEN get married."

Now what I found REALLY interesting is that in Italy, MEN stay at home until they get married, while the women move out by themselves much earlier. Why? I know in Colombia, women should definitely stay home. Who will take care and protect them? With the underlying "we need to make sure she's 'pure' for the wedding." In USA, women are allowed to live at home longer than men, but not too long. Men definitely can't (and definitely not till 35!!!!) because people not only start to think "What's wrong with you?!", but how they are not independent and, worse, a "Mama's boy."

So I decided to find out. Why are Italian men staying at home and girls don't? I asked around and here's what people say:

Some say: Men don't move out because they want to be babied their whole lives. When they get married, they expect their wives to replace their mothers who cook, clean and do everything for them.

Other's says: In Italy, men have a very strong and even unhealthy attachment to their mother so they don't want to leave. They stay at home until they find someone who can take care of them like their mother. And even then, they'd rather be with their mother.

A German friend who's lived in Milan for many years. Here's what she says:

When you live with your parents, you get all the perks: free rent, free food, free TV, free laundry service, everything! And while you work, you get to save (or spend) as much as you want, in traveling, food, anything! However, for men, they get a perk. They get their independence. Italian men are allowed to go out and party, come home late as they want, do whatever they want without their parents saying anything. Women, on the other hand, do not. Their parents will always ask where they are going, what they are doing, put rules and limitations. So women have to pick between two things: comfort or independence. And usually they pick independence. So, men live at home. And women move out earlier.

My aunt from Colombia who has lived in Italy for 25+ years says:

In Italy, buying a place is outrageously super expensive and jobs don't pay well at all till you are in your 30's. It is not so much as they are "Mama's boys" but that there is no reason to move out when they have their independence and live well. Why move out to a little efficiency with no living room and pay so much money to barely survive, when you can live well at home until you can afford your own place? There is also no pressure from the parents to move out - they like having their kids at home. She also says that women and men face the same thing. She doesn't see more women moving out than men. This is something all Italian youths face.

And as for the Italian boyfriend who is a perfect example? He just shrugs and says "Bo" (aka: who knows). I told him everyone's opinion and he agrees with all of them, so....

Who is right? Who knows! Maybe everyone is right at some degree. You decide! :-)

Ps. Couldn't help myself. I had to ask. The thing is that in USA, women consider it a problem if a man lives at home because, well... where do you go and "do it"? To a hotel? Every time? Too expensive. Under their mother's roof? I don't think so! So I had to ask the Italian boyfriend. And he said "...I'd take them to the lake house."

OK. What if you don't have a lake house? Or anything else like that. Then what?

"Umm.... when your parents aren't home."

You mean you have to sneak it around? Do it more at your parent's convenience than yours?

"Yes."

In other words, it is like high school but for 20 more years. Wow.

PPS. I told this conversation to my Mom and she said "So they do it the old fashion way. When we had to stay at home."

The old fashion way.

hahahhahahahaa!!!! :-)

The Fat One

My sister and I went to a BBQ at a farm in the middle of nowhere - about 1 hour away from Milan. It was a gorgeous farm near a mid-evil castle. The day was beautiful with perfect skies, great food, surrounded by Italians. I looked around at the Italians, made an observation, and commented to my sister's friends: "Wow. There's a lot of thin people here. My sister and I both look fat here!"

And she responded, "Yes, you both are definitely fat."

....

....

Thanks.

But then I started laughing. I couldn't help myself. I was just called fat right in my face! And I was also thinking of the irony. After all, I've always been called "The Skinny One" in the USA. I was amazed how just jumping on a plane and flying over an ocean can change people's perception. (All is relative!) It was just too funny.

But the truth is that I didn't like what I saw. I mean, I could go down to their size.. what 4?.. again if I wanted to. But they were just too skinny!! And it kinda grossed me out (the guys were too skinny too, by the way. No eye candy for me! ;-) ). There is also the reason that I just love my butt. I personally think it is the cutest thing ever. And I just can't have the cute butt like that if I'm 105 pounds. It just ain't going to happen!

So, back to the beautiful farm. After a little bit, I gained my composure and stopped laughing. I smiled at my sister's friend (who was looking at me very confused), and said, "Great! So... where's the gelato?" ;-)

----

PS. Actually, I think that party was a fluke. Most Italians don't look like that. There are definitely a lot more thin people here (both guys and girls) but I would consider myself average. Though maybe a little rounder cause of my cute butt! ;-)

PPS. OOPPSS! Apparently I'm wrong. I AM fat! Ha! I was corrected and apparently I was comparing myself to ALL the population, instead of my age range. Oh well! Pasta, per favore! ;-)

Italian Drivers

I've been to Italy a couple of times - minimum 4 times - and I don't know why but I always forget about the driving here. In general, I think Italians are pretty good drivers. Crazy, but good. However, it is being a pedestrian that I'm having problems with. Crossing these crazy streets is just... well... crazy!

I remember one time in Rome, while getting a tour, the American tour guide said, before we crossed the street, "Now, I will be the first sheep to the slaughter!" and she'd throw herself on the street with cars and motorinos zigzagging around. And miraculously, all of them stop. Once we all crossed safely, she turned to us and said "That's the way to do it."

It's just crazy. I just haven't gotten used to it. When I'm crossing the street and I see a car flying towards me, my "fight or flight" response is to freeze. And the car(s) either stop or at least swerve around me. And they always give me an annoyed look, even when I do it right! (I think they just don't like to slow down in the first place). I give the "Mi dispiace!" look (I'm sorry!) and scurry across. I'm hoping in time I'll get use to this.

So I took this picture:



It seemed appropriate. A car speeding over a pedestrian walk in front of a church. It symbolizes everything I face while crossing crazy busy Italian streets. After all, every time, I say a little prayer, close my eyes, think "first sheep to slaughter!" and jump! :-)

My Arrival

I left Thursday evening from Washington DC to fly to Milan. It was a 7 hour flight which arrived in London. Then 4 hours later, I took another 2 hour flight to Milan. When I arrived at the airport, my older sister told me she couldn't pick me up so to take the train into the city. I took the train. Then she said that she couldn't pick me up at the train station, that I needed to take the Metro into her neighborhood. Ok. I found the Metro and I walked in.

And talk about lost and confused! I looked at the machines and I had no clue how to make them work. I looked at the maps and I had no clue where I was. I looked at all the signs around me and I didn't even know what the basic little stick figures were doing!

At last, I decide to ask for help. Now, I don't speak Italian except for the basic Ciao and Prego (Hi/Bye and OK). Oh, and of course, Mange! (Eat!). But at that time even those words were completely forgotten (I blame exhaustion). I tried using my Spanish because so many people told me it would help. Well, the funny looks people were giving me said that wasn't working. I tried English, body language (aka: waving my arms), even FRENCH, a dead language for me since high school (and I think the French would probably agree it should remain dead- it was horrible). No good. Nada.

At last, after 1/2 hour of trying, with only 2 hours of sleep in 48 hours, carrying heavy luggage, lost, dazed and confused, I couldn't take it. I called my sister and said, "PICK ME UP RIGHT NOW!" She said, "Take the Metro!" and I said "I CAN'T! I CAN'T FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET A TICKET!" She said "Oh, brother."

She picked me up. Home. Relief.

I slept great that night.

Later, my sister's boyfriend said, "All tourist have the exact same problem when they first try to use this Metro. Welcome to Milan."

...

@#$%@ Metro.

.....
........

YEY! I'm in Milan! :-D



(Ps. This is Il Duomo found in Milan)

By Popular Demand!

By popular demand, I have created a BLOG! In theory, it'll contain the different adventures that I've experienced while abroad. Right now I am in Milan with my older sister. I have officially been in Europe for a whole WEEK (wow!) and counting! :-) I've been pretty busy from exploring the city of Milano, to going outside of Milan and visiting a gorgeous farm near a mid-evil castle. It already has been a great adventure!

More to come! :-)