Day 14.5 6/2/10 Things to Know about Milan

I decided there are 10 things you need to know before you come to Italy; Important things that will prepare you for a fantastic time in the moto bella city of Milan.

1. Italians practice saving water for the fishes

2. Coffee= tablespoon in a shot glass

3. Don’t look Italian men in the eyes

4. Gypsies are complete jerks

5. Nutella IS a food group

6. Mi dispiache is your new favorite phrase

7. Gelato. Gelato. Gelato.

8. It’s a miracle there are so few car wrecks

9. Italians don’t understand the concept of waiting in line

10. Never wear flip flops or shorts

Time to explain:

1. It’s probably common knowledge that in Europe water is always served to you in bottles, but unknown to me was that your apartment fridge doesn’t come pre-stocked with water. The first few days we were here I swear I was dehydrated because either I didn’t know how to ask to buy water at a tabbacchi or the only water I had was at dinner. THE WORST part about water at dinner is you are given two bottles that’s it and when you’re out you’re out. I am a water buffalo so I have learned the art of water preservation. Oh the other really cool thing is all the glasses you drink out of at dinner, which hold about 2 cups of water anyway, are crystal so I enjoy playing the water glasses at dinner. Also there are no tips for the servers there is a cover charge that pays for the water. It’s usually about 2 euro. For some reason the servers don’t appreciate my musical stylings. So in summary: water is scarce, it is a precious gift be thankful… oh how I miss ice water in those big cups my dad steals from ohio state football games…

2. When you get coffee you stand at the coffee bar- you’re handed a porcelain thimble with what appears to be coffee- you throw it down your throat- set the thimble down then you leave. Woo you just passed the coffee test. There is no such thing as a to-go cup, there is no starbucks and even more horrific you have to drink what they call coffee without cream or sugar because there isn’t enough room in the shot glass! It’s a conspiracy. I have resorted to caffeine in the form of coca-cola which is delicious because it’s made with real sugar. Sarah makes fun of me because she thinks I’m addicted, I have three a day… oops. In summary of article 2: coffee in Italy is not coffee at all, it’s really just coffee beans liquefied.—strong stuff

3. This one’s short and to the point but interesting. Italian men are… what’s the word I’m looking for without being mean and judgmental…. I’ll go with promiscuous. They will whistle at you and cat call you and if you make eye contact they will stalk you. You must always look at the ground because if you make eye contact the men take that as you saying you’re offering yourself.

4. I hate gypsies. It’s really that simple. They’re smelly, greasy, mean, and liars. They walk around with puppies and say give me euro! Okay I’ll buy the puppy but I don’t want to give them money they’ll just use for more hair grease or little gadgets. They ‘help’ you buy tickets at the metro by pressing all the buttons for you then when your change comes out they just grab it. It’s frustrating, but Jesus loves them too. I might have a nice talk with Jesus one day about how he deals with their icky hair, it creeps me out.

5. The 6 girls in my apartment have successfully gone through 2 large and 2 small containers of Nutella in the 6 days we have been in Milan. Oh yeah it really is a feat. It goes on bread, crackers, apples, carrots, yogurt, I think I even put it on pasta, I don’t know but the options are endless and it’s so delicious. They definitely lace it with something.

6. Mi dispiache means I’m sorry. Learn it, love it, use it. Whenever you can’t understand them, mi dispiache. Whenever someone runs into you, mi dispiache. Whenever an Italian creeper man hits on you, mi dispiache. Gypsies creepin? Just say mi dispiache. Some vendor trying to sell you sunglasses even though you have some on---- you guessed it mi dispiache. It’s a beautiful phrase.

7. Gelato will be the death of me, or simply why I will be over 500lbs when I get home. Today I think was the first day we didn’t have gelato, but I did have two cokes.

8. Italian drivers are nuts. Trains are all over the place and those little smart cars zip around every corner. It’s honestly like a bunch of third graders driving go karts around a track that has a turn every 5 yards. Also, you can’t go longer than 10 minutes without hearing an obnoxious siren of some sort. – It’s common to hear a Dukes of Hazard car horn.

9. I literally waited for 10 minutes at McDonalds because people just stand in a mob. Be aggressive and go get our food.

10. If you wear flip flops or shorts you get lots of stares and it immediately labels you as a tourist/American. It’s similar to feeling like the ultimate freshman.

I think those are all my words of wisdom. I love Milan. It’s such a great city and the people are so friendly, maybe too friendly at times but still friendly nevertheless. A vendor tried to sell me something and found out we were American. I spoke French to him and he gave me a free bracelet because he was French. I was proud of me. If you look like a complete fool speaking Italian they’ll just smile and stay stick to English. They’re very encouraging. I know this doesn’t describe much of the ministry going on here there’s just so much going on I don’t feel I would give justice in explaining just how much God is working on the people here. Two days at Statale and Bacconne and we have already met so many people and we have met other Christian organizations on each campus. There are thousands of students and God connected us with the small 12 person group that is trying to spread the word of Christ too, what are the odds? It’s been a magical time here so far. Tomorrow is Italy’s ‘4^th of July’ so we are going to the lake with Davide, Elisa and Salla. We’re pretty excited.

--funny story of the night……… I was really hungry……. 10 minutes ago-ish.. and it’s entirely possible I just made pesto pasta at 12:30 at night Italian time. My stomach probably should get on an Italian schedule…. Eventually. Ciao

-britt