I've never had much of a history of
giving up. When I say I'll do something, no matter how difficult it gets
(usually without realizing it will be that way in the first place), I tough it
out. If I sign up for a class that turns out to be the opposite of what I
expected, I don't drop. It's a blatant stubbornness, I suppose, so when my
initial reaction to arriving in Italy was wanting desperately to go home, I was
floored. As overwhelming and frustrating as the first day was, I'm glad I
steeled myself and made a bargain in my head, agreeing that if I gave it a week
or two and I really just could not stand it, I would cry for help. So, after
the first few days of getting accustomed to Milan piece by piece, I'm certain
that I will like it here. It was weakness that almost got the best of me,
nearly drowned me in frantic emotion. But I'm glad I never give up so
easily.
It is currently the eve of day five
of my being in Milan, and so far, I have successfully gone to the grocery store
twice, withdrawn money from an ATM, and traveled via the metro and not gotten
lost again! It certainly has been a trying week, but things are getting better.
I am getting more and more used to life here and how certain things works, but
there is still much for me to learn of the local customs.
As for right now, though, I’ve been
happy simply exploring my apartment, the complex, and the street it is located
on. Lucky for you, I want to share these things, so welcome to the grand tour
of my apartamento! Andiamo!
Okay, the first quirk I noticed
upon entering the apartment is that there are keys for every single door in the
place. There are two front doors (three if you count the gate to get into the
apartment complex from the street), a bedroom door, and a bathroom door. Yes,
the bathroom does indeed lock from the inside via key.
When you walk through both the
front doors, you are immediately in the kitchen and dining area. There’s a
stove, over, dishwasher, fridge, and sink. As you can see, the kitchen isn’t
very different from a typical American kitchen (except for the color scheme,
which is laughably relevant to my family – Go Blue!).
Down the hall just a few steps to
your left is a bathroom. This bathroom, as might come as a surprise, is
actually fairly good-sized. By American standards, it probably would seem tiny,
but for me it’s perfect. The largest thing in the room is the sink (perhaps
because it doubles as a wash basin for washing clothes). There is also a tiny
itty bitty washing machine (that according to my roommate takes “forever and a
day” to do a single load, which just lends even more to the fact that most
Italians simply hand wash their clothes), a bidet, a toilet, and a shower. The
shower is about the size of a phone booth. My best estimated measurements are
that it’s two and a half feet wide with a depth of about two feet, whereas the
top of the door and where the tile stops is probably somewhere between six and
six and a half feet tall.
At the end of the little hall is
the bedroom, which my roommate and I share comfortably. (I apologize for the
poor, grainy quality of the photo – the lighting in that room is horrendous.)
My bed is larger than a twin, more like a one and a half, and hers is a twin.
There’s a chair and ottoman combo in the back corner, and a desk in the opposite
corner. The wall to the right is primarily covered in closet and storage space
for clothes and belongings. There are only two windows in the apartment – one
is located in the kitchen, looking out into the apartment complex, and the
other is in the bedroom, looking out onto the street.
I don’t personally have much
experience with apartments, but in my experience with living spaces in general,
I think this place is very nice and roomy. None of the rooms are too small and
I had no trouble unpacking my things. Overall I am thoroughly pleased with my
living space!
We are located on the first floor,
so I don’t have to take many stairs to venture out into the streets of Milan. I
can’t complain about the location of the complex, either. I’m half a mile away
from my ATM, just a block or two away from the metro station, and right around
the corner from a supermarket. In addition to that, there are food shops and
bars lined up and down our street as well as those branching off of ours,
thought thankfully it doesn’t get loud at night!
So far, things have been shaping up
nicely. Each day I have been able to push myself out of my comfort zone a
little bit more and be brave. After being in Peru for a couple years, I’m used
to experiencing things that breach those safe comfort zone walls, so it comes
as no surprise to me to have to do those sorts of things again.
So, sitting here in the kitchen,
eating dinner and enjoying a crisp cold beverage at the end of my first
Saturday, I feel I have done all right. I’ve stumbled and bumbled my way through
numerous situations, but I’ve emerged out the other side braver and more
experienced. If I had to choose just a couple words to describe my week, they
would be bravery and familiarity for sure.
V
No comments:
Post a Comment