Ciao, Bella

N-A-B-A pretty much spells Pratt, right?

After a month spent in New York (which, I believe the proper greeting there is "fuck you"), I've finally made my way to Milan early on Monday morning. When I applied to study here, I'm not sure how serious I was about it. I knew I needed to get away from Pratt--sophomore year was no easy feat--but I guess I applied to NABA on a whim. I had a very pivotal point in my Pratt career during the application process, the chair of my department gave me a wake up call in terms of my attitude and I had more doubt in myself than I ever had before. Luckily, I somehow rebounded and I wouldn't say it's been smooth sailing since but it hasn't been awful either. Last semester was my best semester at Pratt so far, debatably because I knew I had an outlet this Spring, but also because I was able to really explore what I wanted to do artistically. I'm very much hoping that this semester will also help foster my creative side and if not, I'm sure Milan will inspire me to some extent...I mean, I'm in freakin Milan!!

#1 disappointment so far: the canals do not have water in them
#2 disappointment: I can't escape that "Thrift Shop" song

My stay so far has been nice. I'm an incredibly shy person so I starved at the beginning because of my unwillingness to enter a restaurant. I don't think Americans realize what it's really like to be a foreigner. We complain so much about them being in our country and how they should "learn English", but we really take very little initiative to learn another language ourselves, let alone one as complex as English. Anyway, I haven't starved to death yet. YET.

There are two other students from Pratt here so I've gotten the chance to bond with some chicks I would never have found in my friend group back home. I am so thankful that I am not here completely alone. Pratt's exchange program is a complete clusterfuck (I mean, our supervisor quit midway through the year and WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING) and I'm the last fashion student to attend NABA from Pratt due to the fashion design chair cutting off ties with the school, but the other two Prattsters and I have made it this far (amazingly) so I am insanely optimistic. Today alone we all went and applied for Taxpayer numbers, Permits to Stay, and Unlimited Subway Passes ($17/month!)...we're doing well. And I would not be doing as well without them.

As far as being a tourist goes, I was able to wander aimlessly my first sleepy day in Milan. It's a bit confusing because the city is in a circular formation (I'm so used to dealing with grids in NYC) so getting a sense of direction so far has been a bit of a struggle. But when you have no place to be, you never know what you may stumble upon!! I somehow menuvered my way to the Duomo, which is a beautiful, intricate marble cathedral standing in the cental part of Milan. It's an absolutely breathtaking building and I am really looking forward to going inside one day. Facing the Duomo is another of Milan's major landmarks: Prada. Just kidding, but Prada is housed in the Galleria perpandicular to the Duomo. I really regret missing Milan Fashion Week because, although Milan is still swarming with fashion, I'm sure the street fashions would be a real sight to behold. A couple days after my initial decent, I returned to the Duomo. I feel like I might end up seeing it as much as I see Time's Square, I'm like a tourist bug drawn to the light of the perfect trap. Ahh.