Italian Beginnings

March 1st. A nice, clean date to leave the United States. I have just started a 6 month assignment in Milan and these first few days have been... full. Matt and I JUST bought a house last week, we moved in over the weekend, I packed on Tuesday and Wednesday and left on Thursday.

I felt incredibly emotional in the weeks leading up to my departure, and still do upon my arrival. The idea of missing 6 whole months of life in North Carolina, and being away from Matt for that long, seems to overwhelm anything I will be doing in Italy- which when written out like this sounds a little crazy. I flew out in a puddle of tears and sadness while Matt kept his strength for me (until I was out of his sight at least haha), made a relatively easy flight sequence into Milan, and had a taxi waiting for me at the airport courtesy of my company (the driver unfortunately did NOT have my name on a sign as I had hoped). After arriving safely to my hotel, I struggled to stay awake for a few hours, then headed out into the world to find dinner. I went to a bar about a block away and had my first “aperitivo,” where a “light” meal is served for free with the purchase of a drink! My kind of place.

I slept until almost noon on Saturday, starting my first full day off with a bang (kidding). It took a couple of hours of procrastinating to overcome my nerves and once again leave my apartment. Once I did, though, I felt energized. I spent hours wandering the city looking for un caffe e il cibo. I got my Italian SIM card for my phone, saw a few of the sites, made myself look like a foolish American, and honestly had a great day. Then I topped it all off by watching NC State Wolfpack beat Louisville ;-) .

Off to a late start again today but plan to get a few groceries and start to really settle into my new world here.

See you soon!