Friday, April 3, 2009

A Beautiful Day and a Tax Refund!

The rain finally stopped and the warm sun decided to bathe Milan with its golden beams of joy! (I've really been sick of the cold and rain that has faithfully followed me for the past 3 months.) The day started off with me waiting 10 minutes for the tram...I hate it when I walk up and see it passing in the distance. The Italian trams are quite unpredictable and you either get lucky or you don't! The worst is the weekends where you see the tram drivers kick back and take a nap for about 15 minutes at the end of the line! I finally arrived at the Greenwiches, got to squeeze Julia and Joshua for a bit, and then learned how to do an expense report. Jason and I then left to turn in all my documents for the permesso di soggiorno, which is like an Italian green card. We managed to get everything finished rather quickly and I left from Lotto to go to the Chiropractor's office, which is close to the Duomo in the center of town. 

I managed to get there in one piece...then had to wait another 10 minutes for the elevator to come down...it was either that or hike 9 flights of stairs. My 4th floor apartment takes care of my glutes well enough, thank you. I walked in and was met by a really kind, AMERICAN chiropractor who was extremely knowledgeable. He told me my gallbladder was out of wack and thyroid was suffering. (I know you all probably didn't need to know that...but I'm just so excited to have someone who does more than just crack my back into place!) He said they were both caused by an extreme amount of stress that has lasted for a while (as in at least a year he said)...no kidding! Switching cultures might have had something to do with it also though I haven't "felt" very stressed at all. I've really been enjoying adapting to my surroundings, actually! Anyway, he spent almost 45 minutes working on getting my back and neck realigned and even regulating my breathing pattern. I haven't felt that relaxed since I don't know when! Oh, it was so great! 

When I left the office, I walked out the door the exact way I had come in. Only this time I was  relaxed and felt like a new person who was 4 inches taller. I walked onto the veranda that goes to his office to return back down the elevator, looked up and saw a view I had not noticed before. It was not only of beautiful, quaint Italian-style houses, but also had a perfect view of the top-half of the Duomo. Gorgeous! I had a moment where I took a deep breath and thought, "I'm really in Milan!" My camera battery was dead otherwise I would have documented. 

The only sad part of the visit was when he told me I had to stay away from all dairy and white flour for the next 10 days. Yeah right, how do you live in Italy and stay away from both of those things? Apparently, I have developed an allergy to them and just need to give my body a break. I was so upset because I had been planning to get my first gelato since being here after my appointment! I really could have strangled the guy had he not just made my back feel less like the old-lady witch on Snow White. When I walked out of his office building, what was the first thing right in front of me? "Gelateria." I resisted and went shopping instead.

I got my tax refund yesterday and immediately my "wish list" was consulted! Since I was in the center of town anyway, I decided to walk around the nearby stores. Believe it or not, there are  some that are somewhat ("somewhat") affordable. I definitely saw quite a few tourists in this part of town! I didn't realize how "non-touristy" of an area I live in until I heard a sea of languages around the centro. I walked right passed the Duomo and Galeria on the cobblestone streets...and had another "I'm in Milan!" moment. It was crazy seeing everything I saw with Allyson in November again - only this time I actually live here! 

On of Jason and Allyson's friends, Marco...I mean Mario...(If I could JUST get my Marco's and Mario's straight I would be in good shape. They know so many of both and I get it wrong every time!) works at a store called Conbipel that I wanted to check out again. I had never met Mario but had seen pictures of him. I recognized him behind the counter and went up to see if I could randomly introduce myself in Italian. While I was walking up the brain suddenly switched to the "beach ball of death," as the mac users say, and was completely void of all Italian except "Buona Sera." Ummmm....oh my goodness! It was gone! The other thing that was gone was whether he was Marco or Mario...Oh gosh, which one was it?? I didn't even try...I just spoke english to him and asked awkwardly, "Are you Marco?" 
"Marco?", he asked with a confused look on his face. 
"MARIO!", I quickly said. He said yes and I'm sure thought, "who is this freak??" When I told him I was a friend of Jason and Allyson's, his face lit up and he knew exactly who I was. Whew. I told him I needed a borsa (purse) and a giacchetta (jacket.) He was so sweet and got one of his colleagues to help me since he was behind the counter. She was very helpful...and again, the only Italian I could remember to save my life was "troppo grandezza" (too big) and "mi piace" (I like it). But it worked and I found a great purse and a great jacket. 

When I got to the counter, I realized both the purse and jacket were white. I asked him in broken Italian if the white-with-white was okay. I guess, in the States, I probably wouldn't do that on purpose. He looked at me like I was from Mars and said, "Si, si! Bellissima!" 
"Okay. Va Bene." Well, I feel like a walking faux pas.  
He then said he was going to come to the next get-together at the Greenwiches and asked if I would be there. I told him I would be out of town for the next three weeks but would see him after that. He was so sweet and I am DEFINITELY going to utilize him to help me fit in here a little more. I know I clearly don't care about it as much as the people around me do and there is no way I could pull off a lot of what I see (the wookie boots with purple tights and metallic jacket in the subway was a little much...) but it might be nice to slightly blend in. 

I ended the day by searching the sale rack at a 4 story H&M! These are my first purchases in Milan...and my LAST for a while! Alright, my fashion police. You know who you are. How did I do??
 



Let me just say that the leggings above came in a pack and I did not intentionally pick out the lavender ones...Wookie boots here I come! 

Molto amore e tanti baci! 

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