back in the u.s. of a

I made it. Two and a half months ago that is. It's been a while hasn't it? I love New York, but I miss Milan. I loved Milan but I missed New York. That's always going to happen.

Some recent play time activities; Fordham, Botanical Gardens, and such.

motherland.

This year's Christmas I spent in Warsaw, Poland with my extended family. Not only did I have to stay hungry to consume the gargantuan amounts of hearty food that my precious grandmothers basically forced fed me, but I had to switch my brain from English/Italian mode to Polish. Despite the unnatural consumption of pierogis, kielbasa, and various pastries, and the cheek-pinching reunions, it was lovely to spend the holiday surrounded by the people I see once every year to two years.
I survived the Siberian -15 degree climate, I experienced first degree fish murder and gutting (I refused to eat the victim to my relatives' dismay), and I got some financial advice from my eleven year old cousin who already has an early retirement fund.
It was a miracle I wasn't caught by the police dogs at the airport considering the amount of dried mushrooms I was transporting.
Now I'm back in America and things are surreal, surreal, surreal. But I'm happy, happy, happy, to be back in my old stomping grounds. I'm still awaiting my reverse culture shock.

Happy New Year!

(The couple in the picture frame are my beautiful parents - 20ish years old!)

agata.

This is my cousin. Today we played photo shoot. Tomorrow I'm making her show me where she buys her sunglasses.

wesołych świąt .

This is me after dinner in Poland.
Merry Christmas, everyone.

addio, milano.

So now what? The semester abroad has come to an end, almost everyone is back to their hometowns, and Christmas is only a few days away. If anything could be surreal than this feeling I have right now, I'd like to know. I think back on my decision of coming to study in Milan, and ask myself whether I would make the same choice had I the opportunity to choose again. Quite frankly, I'm torn. On the one hand, I could see myself enjoying any other city and taking advantage of a more demanding program, yet on the other hand, I've met fantastic people with whom I've shared fantastic memories. No regrets. Never. The thing is, no matter what country I would have studied in, I would have walked, and I have walked away a changed woman. A changed woman with a greater grasp on culture, travel, and the European mindset. I am more than grateful to have spent these four months across the Atlantic and I'll surely look back on my experience with fondness and nostalgia.

Thank you for the adventure Milano, until we meet again.

barça, barça, do you wanna.

So, Barcelona was my last big trip before Christmas in Poland and it was memorable to say the least. I can safely say that I have never seen both a sunrise and a sunset on the same day, let alone as beautiful as it was. Nightlife that begins at 3 am, deliciously fatty churros at every street vendor, a significantly warmer climate - what's not to like? I spent most of my last day climbing mountains and such at Gaudí's Parque Güell, and I wish I had another to do it all again. Spain, you outdid yourself. Muchas gracias.