Why is it that as you grow older it seems like each day, week and month goes by in such an awfully fast speed?!
As I sit down to spend a couple minutes writing this post, it comes to mind that it has already been more than a month since I moved out. And just as I predicted before, it feels like everything is still new and that I am yet to find out and get used to many other things as well.
Classes started 3 weeks ago. The very two days were actually a little disappointing, however. First, you gotta make that whole effort to wake up and arrive at school. Once you are there, you assume that it would take you around 15 minutes in between getting lost and finally finding your classroom, but neh. I easily spent 40 minutes walking around those huge and old Italian buildings around "campus" (located in different streets of the city). By accident, then, you find out that one class had been canceled, or another transferred to another room in a completely different place or that your professor took 20 minutes to arrive to class and so on.
Talking about being late... I have noticed that Italians are always late. I mean, always. But their lateness works in a somehow different way. Italians are late not because they cannot manage their time well, like us Brazilians, usually do. Italians are late because they value saying a long goodbye to their husbands and wives before going to work. They do not say good morning to their neighbors and simply walk away. They have to first chat about how was last soccer game's score and what was up for the weekend. Italians think that it is more important to enjoy drinking their cappuccino, no matter how long it would take them to finish it, than rushing to arrive at their final destination. After all, life is all about priorities, isn't it?!
Likewise, I have noticed how 4 years in the U.S have changed my own concept of time and punctuality. Brazilians, in general, are always late. Lets say you have an appointment somewhere with someone at 10:30am. If being late to the appointment does not affect you (you would not risk being late to go see the doctor, once it would make you lose your place on his schedule, for example), you will leave home around 10:28! My parents used to be an exception to this case, though. Mom not so much, but dad is always on time, meaning that throughout my entire life, we would be the first ones to arrive to the restaurant, to the party, to the wedding.. But being late is not something seen as impolite or bad. In Brazil it is just acceptable. Or at least you expect others to be late as well. On the other hand, in America.. Hah! I still remember going to class during the first weeks and not understanding the point of having the professor arriving 15 minutes before class. Assuming his class started at 8:00 am, professor would awkardly stare at the students or impatiently look at the clock for those 15 minutes, as if he was counting the seconds until he was finally able to speak. 8:00am: "Good morning everyone. In today's class we are going to talk about.." Hahah that was great! (and weird...).
I feel like young Americans are not so punctual, but eventually they will become. American adults are generally always on time, and by the end, I was used to it and liked it. Even because whenever I was back home in Brazil, I would frequently argue with my friends about the fact that they were late every single time. "Why the F*** are you 25 minutes late.. Like, what were you doing before?" "Hey, chill out Isa, why being on time anyway?..," as they would answer. So, here in Italy, it seems like I need to get used to this so common lateness again. Anyway, after the first couple days, professors and students did decide to go to class in a more reasonable time, and it all got very interesting. At first, I tried to take 5 classes, but the university does it in such a way that there is no possible chance to take 5 classes without having one overlaping the other, as well as no possible way to have Mondays or Fridays free. Well, the best I could get was classes on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. No class on Wednesdays and Thursdays, which still made me happy.
Also, classes for my Masters are twice a week for a total of 5 hours, so this is another issue. After the first hour in the classroom, I am more paying attention to the professor's Italian accent than to what he is actually talking about. But the fact that all classes are beyond interesting and that students are overall smart and willing to discuss and learn makes up for it. I have also been trying to understand how their grading system works, which is still absolutely unclear to me. But in the meantime, as I did back in college, I have been doing my part. I attend class, participate, discuss and do some research on what I have just learned after I get back home. Already had a few presentations here and there, and the one that professor graded I got 30 out of 30, so, yeah, all good. Talking about presentations.. One of the great things this program has been teaching me is on how to deal and work with so many culturally diverse people. Most of the projects are in groups. One of the groups I have been working with is composed by me (a Brazilian who went to college in the U.S), a Romenian and three Germans, in which two of them had done their bachelors somewhere else. Man! The whole assignment was supposed to take a one-day meeting, but we ended up spending 3 days discussing and arguing the way the project should have been done. It was stressful, but I kept thinking on how interesting it is to analyze the different ways they think and the way they do stuff.. I am sure the American or Brazilian way is not alike the German way, which in turn has even less to do with the Romanian way, and vice versa. Fact is, if you are gonna be working in such a diverse workforce in a multinational company or whatever, you are going to have to deal with these differences every time, so better be used to them now than later. Besides this one, I am also in this group where I am the only foreigner and the other 5 girls are Italians. Amazing. They are great and it feels good when we have to meet up to work on our projects while drinking cappucino, smoking cigaretes and eating croissaints outside the bar.
They ask me to speak English so they can practice and I ask them to speak Italian so I can practice. I like the exchange. Another interesting fact is to notice that most of these students (depending on the class, there might be 90% Italians and 10% foreigners. Other classes might just be the opposite), are going through the exact same situation as I did during the last 4 years. In the case of these girls from my group, for instance, they do speak English but sometimes they have to think before saying something or say it wrong or not even say anything because they don't know how to. So, as we were working on this presentation (which is about something very very simple and quick) they start like "omg, I don't want to present, or I am not sure how to explain this or say that.." Professor, at first, said it was fine to have only one person going up front and present, but he soon changed his mind to at least two people, so they had to decide who was gonna be the "unlucky" one to present the project with me. The girl chosen then called me to ask if I could help her out on what to say and how to explain her part of the slides. We then met up to practice it and I helped her simplify her sentences and explain her topics. This was 5 days before the presentation. My plan was to only look at the slides right before class, when I believe I would have time. The point is just that once you are finally able to speak the language and after doing thousands of presentations along the way, you simply don't care anymore.. It is just not a big deal.
When you are still on that phase when you simply cannot communicate exactly what you want or what it comes to mind without having to think of it, however, presenting something in front of the class can be a hurdle. If the person also feels uncomfortable speaking in public, then that makes the situation even more difficult. After we were done practicing and she was feeling more confident, she thanked me 4 times and told me to go to her place to cook some pasta and drink wine one day. Hah, I am certainly stopping by, but just told her that it is an enormous pleasure to help because you relate their stories and situations to your own, and you understand exactly how it is to be in their shoes. That makes it even easier to help. You know what they need, what they are looking for, what kinds of things they need to hear to make them feel better or more encouraged...So, overall, the Masters program has been wonderful. I can never wait to go to class to see my friends, listen to my professors' accent, see what kinds of arguments me and my group will get ourselves into and listen to all the class discussions, once they provide me with a whole new "European perspective," from students coming from all over the world.
Other than that, I bought myself an old city bike to help me go places. Going to the supermarket is easier and faster now. Going to school now only takes me 20mins, but I am telling, it is a little dangerous. The shortest way goes through two big highways and I have the slight feeling that I will eventually end up being ran over by a car or a truck. I tell my parents the streets are calm and safe. Don't want to make them worry about me. That old saying "I am not lying, I am just omitting" is how I handle it with them. Sometimes you do want to tell what actually happened or how something actually is, but it would just make them freak out. I guess the worst feeling is the one when you are extremely worried about someone/something, but you are too far from that person/thing to have any control over, ultimately feeling powerless/not able to change a situation. So my goal is to never let them concerned about me. "Everything is fine and great around here.."
Ok. Enough of writing for today. The latest news are that I went to Torino, Bologna and Genova (fell in love with all of them, of course) and am planning to make a day trip to Como Lake this weekend. Excited.
Had to pay a 25eur fee for using public transportation without the ticket (I did not know how it all worked before, so ok, it happens). Had to pay another 25eur fee (should have bought that goddamn 1.50 ticket before, stupid Isa..) a second time, even after trying to literally pretend to the police officer that I couldn't talk or listen. Well, it did not work out.
Cooking skills are improving. Could not have been any slower, but still improving.
Someone stole my iPhone one night at a bar. You know, losing your boyfriend ain't a big deal, but losing three iPhones in 2 years can be very painful. No more iPhones then. I now have a shitty one, since I will probably lose it again soon.
Windy, my dog, passed away yesterday night. How sad! It might be silly to say such a thing for a dog, but me and her did have great times together and she was the best dog a human being can ever ask for. I heard that my mom has been crying for the whole day back home, and curiously that was not my reaction. It seems like it is not true yet. Perhaps I will make sense of it when I return home and not see her jumping all over me, running all around and barking... in pure joy of my presence.
Milan and Italians still continue to delight me. Every single day. In love with very aspect of it.
