i am now happily in central milan, where everything is faster, a lot bigger, and there is no more smell of cows to greet me in the morning (despite how charming tiny crema was). the move to milan was definitely what my inner adventurer wanted - a place where the sights, smells, food and culture of a more cosmopolitan italian city could overwhelm my senses. so far so good. i moved here in july after having searched hopelessly for work for 3 weeks before stumbling upon a job in an english pub working as a waitress during their 11-4 lunch period. though deliciously under the table and slightly underpaid, it (barely) paid rent and food for the duration of the summer before my internship started again. more importantly i am content and have met some incredible people.
as far as my permesso di soggiorno and visa, while it seemed as though i could deal with everything from italy, 2 months after all of my papers expired i was told by the questura in crema that that was, indeed, not the case. though not really a surprise, it left me reeling as to the reality of the immigration system in italy that gives you an appointment for your permesso di soggiorno after said permesso has already expired, and furthermore makes you wait 2 months to tell you that indeed, what they had told you is not actually true. my options were waiting months for the permesso to be potentially renewed after transfers of papers from city to city all the while without a single document to justify my presence, or going back to california to re-apply for a visa. so i found myself at the first week of september, after two separate trips to the questura in crema, buying a last-minute ticket to SD. in the grand complex of things, i have realized that i still don't understand well enough the perfect harmony and significance of events. in being "forced" to go back home by an impossible immigration system, not only did i have my visa in hand 9 days after applying for it, but i had a blast working in mom's cafe for 3 weeks with some great people and saw old friends and family who after a year were beginning to think i was never coming back. and most importantly, i was able to spend some wonderful last moments with my grandfather and say goodbye to him before he passed away, as well as attend his funeral. looking at the individual threads never allows an appreciation for the garment.
and now life marches on to the beat of a different drum, which currently means teaching at my new school (which is small, catholic, almost private, has only two amazing english teachers with whom i'll be working, and is an incredible breath of fresh air after my experiences last year) 12 hours a week in the morning before heading to the pub til 4 with a dose of lucrative private english lessons on the side. exhausting? when i walk in the door in the evening and plop down on my bed, yes. not exactly what i envisioned 6 years ago when i started college? not really. but i smile when i realized that this is what i wanted, somewhere deep down. not necessarily to be recently graduated, not knowing where i'll be after may, but broadening my sphere of influence, meeting amazing people, having adventures that are more difficult if not impossible at retirement when most people permit themselves the time, and teaching kids and adults not only english grammar but a way of life, waiting tables as a covert american on the side. not exactly what i had envisioned, but perfect for the moment.
