Milano Life Part 1

Right now I am sitting in Anne Marie’s cabin on the outskirts (the woods!) of Warsaw, Poland in the afternoon.  We knew Anne Marie from UW’s Global Case Competition last spring as she and 3 others represented the Business School over here in Warsaw.  From the very beginning, Anne Marie has been the most amazing hostess.  She has graciously let us stay at her Mom’s beautiful house in a nearby suburb of the city center.  We really couldn’t ask for anything more, and don’t know what we did to deserve such great treatment, but we are so appreciative and hope that we can return the favor somehow in the future.  After we arrived and dropped our stuff off at Anne Marie’s house we headed for the City Center and walked along Anne Marie’s favorite streets.  Spontaneously we decided to have a food extravaganza in Poland and to try out all the best restaurants and cafés in the city center.  Thus far, the best and most successful food run (with sushi, croissants, drinks, and polish food) I’ve had in Europe, and that says a lot since I’m living in Italy.

We arrived here in the woods kind of late last night because of traffic, but it was definitely worth it. It’s a beautiful cabin in the middle of the woods which is peaceful and relaxing.  Definitely something I needed after always being out and doing things in the city.  It’s nice to relax, talk, and eat by the fireplace in the middle of nowhere.

So now I am going to try and summarize Milano, which is no simple task.  Adapting to living in Italy has definitely not been easy, but at the same time, hasn’t been too difficult because of the great friends we’re surrounded with here.  One thing that you must get used to in Italy, besides the fact that no one speaks English, is how many things are so inefficient and unorganized.  It’s Italy though, and you just have to accept it.  Stores just don’t like to open on Sundays or Mondays.  There are no dryers for your clothes.  Cars drive on the sidewalk.  One thing that is always very organized here though are the parties put together by Bocconi.  Bocconi never fails us, and you can’t help but have fun and be happy here.  Bocconi just doesn’t allow you to be bored and not have fun.  They do a great job of organizing parties and events to meet people, eat free food, and get the best deals to the most prestigious places in town.  Because we are from Bocconi, we never wait in line anywhere and our always treated as VIP.  The group of friends we’ve established so far has been such a blessing.  I am so thankful to have met such a great and diverse set of friends.  Finland, Portugal, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany, London, France, Mexico, Norway… basically the EU.. etc.  Such a great group of people who I would already miss so much, if I were to leave now.  I hope to stay in touch with all of these people and to have a lot of them visit me in Seattle so I can show them around.