Geronimo!

This Is Real

I still feel like this whole trip was a daydream that I was going to wake up from soon. But after two full weeks of actually being here, it's been drilled in my head that it's real. This whole week was full of crazy adventures...

School Week & Field Trips

Last week's school week was crazy! We learned so much in so little time, except we learned something different every day instead of Italian. We learned about the connection between cinema and tourism, video games and art, and the economy.

It was really interesting learning about many different things but I have never really thought I would look at things differently until I was taught it. I have a deeper respect for video game designers, I never really thought about how movies (or TV shows, books, music, etc.) increase tourism in certain places, and I learned that professors here are more laid back!

We had several field trips that our professor, Guido Ferilli, planned. The first one was a tour around the famous fashion district in Milan, called Via Monte Napoleone. It was ... interesting to say the least.

Via Monte Napoleone, famous fashion district in Milan, Italy

I saw a lot of famous brands that I would never be able to afford (Versace, Gucci, Armani, Dior, etc.) but their window displays were a little funny to me. This could be because I am not into fashion at all (although next week that's all we are going to learn about in class!). I saw this window display for clothes for Versace and laughed, because I thought they were trying to bring back some Zenon style outfits (an old Disney Original Movie). Some things I saw were beautiful, but other things I wasn't sure why people would pay over 700 euros for.

We did go into the Armani store, which was kind of cool, but the people there would hover us like we were going to steal something. Every time we touched something, they would come up and fix it right away. It kind of bothered me, because yeah, obviously we look like tourists, but no need to be rude.

But later on, we did go out to eat with our professor at a place called Eataly. It was very cute! The food was amazing. After talking to our professor, we learned that it's quite common for professors to hang out with their students. We compared how it is over here with our professors in the United States.

We told him how formal and professional we have to be and that it's not really common to "hang out" with professors outside of school. He said that of course students have to be respectful and formal with their professors during school hours, but it's perfectly fine to dine out with them. I think he meant as a class since we were all sitting together. He was a great professor and really fun to hang around with! He gave us a lot of tips about Italy and where to go eat, and which places to not miss out on! I will certainly miss him!

Eataly!

Something we saw on our way to Eataly.

We also had field trips at the Game Video/Art building on campus. It was pretty cool to see all the art that can come from video games!

The Game Video/Art building

In addition, we visited an art museum. It wasn't really my cup of tea, to be honest since I'm not really into modern art. I really like the Renaissance period, so that artwork is more interesting to me. Although, I do think all art is hard work and I commend all artists around the world!

Another field trip that we took that week was with our tutor, Ilaria (who, by the way, is amazing. I'm definitely going to miss her). We went to Porta Garibaldi, which is my second place we have been to in Milan. There, you can see the vertical skyscraper (the Unicredit Tower) that Milan has built. It is not common to see vertical skyscrapers here in Milan like you would in New York City, because most of their buildings were build horizontally.

In Milan, they have a statue called the Madonnina, which is pretty much a statue of the Virgin Mary. By tradition, the Madonnina has to be on top of the highest building, because she protects everyone in the city. The statue used to be on top of the cathedral, but since the new building (the Unicredit Tower) is the highest point in Milan, so they made a replica of her on top of the Unicredit Tower.

A popular place of Porta Garibaldi

The Unicredit Tower

The Madonnina (the statue of the Virgin Mary)

We went to eat as a group with Ilaria, and afterwards she pointed out some famous people in Italy! I thought that was exciting! We practically pushed her to introduce us and she hesitated, but she did it! They were sooooo kind! Even though I had no idea who they were (hehe), I was really glad we met them. They were hilarious and extremely welcoming. Their names were Stefano Corti and Alessandro Onnis. They were going to the Italian MTV Awards in Florence that weekend (Sunday, the 19th of June) and invited us to go! They were hosting a social party for the award show. Apparently, they feature in this popular show in Italy about roommates, and they also host the Italian version of Ridiculousness (in the American version, the host is Rob Dydrek).

Group photo with Alessandro Onnis (bottom center) and Stefano Corti (top center, right above Alessandro).

Venice & Cinque Terre

This weekend, a group and I got to visit two amazing places! Venice and Cinque Terre. Cinque Terre is a string of centuries-old seaside villages on the rugged Italian Riviera coastline. There are 5 towns in total, and each of them have colorful houses and ancient vineyards that cling to the steep terraces.

I'll start with Venice. Oh, God, Veince stole my heart. It is quite different from Milan, but the views are beautiful! We got to ride a gondola, which is a traditional, flat-bottomed Venetian rowing boat. I don't think I've ever felt so happy at that moment than I did while we rode around.

I was so nervous stepping into the boat! First of all, I'm terrified of water, but a gondola ride was on my bucket list and I wasn't going to skip an opportunity to cross it off!

Gondola rides in Venice, Italy

I was so sad when our ride came to an end...

There were so many shops as well. I did buy a few thing, so I'm really happy about that. I think my least favorite part about Venice is how many stairs there are! It's also like a huge maze. Like very confusing and scary maze, but with a lot of beautiful places to look at whenever you meet a canal or the sea.

Me with my new hat! Okay, it's my grandpa's... but I secretly want to keep it!

Venice, Italy

The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of Saint Mark

For Cinque Terre, we had to take a bus three hours to the place where we got on our boat. The ride was long but well worth it! I do not regret going at all. As I've said before, I'm terrified of the water, but at the end of the day, I did not want to get off that boat!

One of the cities of Cinque Terre

The day started off a bit rocky, because we were late, tired, and the weather was awful. It was extremely cold and it even started to rain! Thank God I always come super prepared (with an umbrella and sweater), but I literally thought I was going to fly off the boat!

My hair in the crazy wind that morning!

But by the end of the day, the sun was shining, we grabbed a drink, and we enjoyed the views. The boat rides toward the end were super peaceful and I could not stop smiling at the views. I thought I could stay there forever.

One of my favorite parts of Cinque Terre!

The sun finally peeked out!

I was so jealous of Lisa's gelato...

We visited a castle while we were in Cinque Terre and the views were gorgeous. When looking at the sea, I felt like I would never see the end of the water.