Well, I got my luggage.

The past 3 days have gone by in a blur!! As you can probably tell from the title of this post, I finally got my luggage which is a huge relief!! From talking to Lufthansa and United Airways for a few days it seems like my suitcase logged more miles than I did. Now, all I need to do is continue hunting for apartments and hope something decent comes up soon. 

I've liked the city of Milan more each day as I see new parts of it so I'm excited to be living in a city that I find so enchanting. It's hard to explain in words, but when I'm riding the tram (think lightrail if you're from Minnesota or trolley (except nicer) if you're from Philly) or walking through the streets, it just feels right. In a way, I think the city is similar to Bogota, Colombia, the city where I was born. For example, I think those two cities are much more alike than Milan and any city I have been to in the US, so it almost feels like home. 

Some of the things I have noticed for better or worse are: my Italian is better than I thought it was, Euros don't fit in my wallet well since they are all different sizes, sparkling water is a must-have for Italians, I really need to go see Inter or AC Milan play a match soon, and it can be nearly impossible to find a cab.
This is of a video I took a couple of days ago at the intersection near the hotel:

                                          

Today was the first day of my intensive Italian language course and it went pretty well. I am excited for the class because I want to learn as much Italian as possible while I am in Italy... how awesome would it be if I came home fluent?! My actual semester business classes don't start until February 15th, so it will be nice to be able to have a couple more weeks without the added stress of those classes. It seems like everyone from the other schools can take all their classes here pass/fail so I may be one of the few who will actually need to study!

Picture I took from the top of the Duomo. It is the cathedral of Milan and it is the center of the city. A better picture can be seen at this link: Duomo di Milano

Unfortunately, as you can see from the picture above, I haven't seen the sun since arriving in Italy. Hopefully the next time you'll hear from me I'll post a sunny picture :)

Ciao mi amici!

Ciao da Milano!

Well, after 2 long days of traveling, 1 missed flight, and a piece of lost luggage I am finally here!!! For those who are randomly coming across this, I will be writing periodic entries about the things I see and do during my semester studying abroad in Milan, Italy. For those who know me well, I miss you and hope you can come visit me!

It has not sunk in yet that I am finally in Italy. I have wanted to visit Europe since I was little and would hear my mom tell stories about her trips with my father through the various countries. I am very excited to create my own memories to be able to share with my family down the road and am very thankful to have the opportunity to live in such a beautiful city for nearly 6 months.

Although I am very excited about the experiences that lie ahead, I am going to miss my family and friends a ton! I was able to spend a lot of time with my brothers and mom over break and am really glad because I feel like I come home less and less every year. Between working in NYC during the summer and as their schedules get busier too, it just seems like we have less time to see each other!

The picture above is of me and my brother Francisco when he dropped me off at the airport on Friday morning! It was hard to believe that the next morning I would be waking up in Italy! Unforutunately, my flight from Minneapolis was delayed an hour and since I missed my connecting flight, I ended up waking up in Munich, Germany and then flying to Italy. To make things worse, the airline didn't put my suitcase on the right plane so I've had to live out of my carry-on!

I am currently staying in a hotel room for a couple of days while I find an apartment to live in. The room is small but I'm not here often and its in a great location (the heart of Ticinese). Hopefully by the time I write my next entry I won't be homeless and will have my suitcase back with me! Dare to Dream!

The Alps from the plane!