La Cucina Italiano, parte due

Last Thursday we had our second lesson in the kitchen for my cuisine class!  This time we made pasta with homemade pesto sauce and green beans for il primo piatto (the first course); pork with fontina cheese and polenta (similar to corn-meal) for il secondo piatto (the second course); and apple strudel for il dolce (the dessert).  The food we prepared was more from the northern regions, specifically the region of Trentino Alto Adige which sits to the northeast of Milan between Switzerland and Austria.  The food turned out delicious and we were officially stuffed for the rest of the day after this 3 course meal :)

Getting ready to start cookin!

His sous chefs at work 

Mixin' up the ingredients for the apple strudel 

Making the apple strudel crust

Draining the pasta

Pasta with homemade pesto sauce and greenbeans

Pork with fontina cheese on top and polenta

Finished apple strudel

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We didn't have class on Friday so Kasia, Linds, and I went exploring and cafe-ing.  We wandered down to Corso Como, a nice area close to where we live, then we grabbed cafes at a place near the Brera district known for it's art and shopping. 

Beautiful day in Milan; view from where we stopped for cafe's

Kasia and myself

We ended up wandering down to Via Montenapoleone (the street where you make appointments to shop) and the Duomo area and walked around all of the shops in between.  I could wander around Milan all day, especially the area by the Duomo.  I've never been surrounded by this much life and this much shopping before and even though I rarely actually buy anything, it's so fun to just be there.  I really can't get enough of it.  

I forget what street this is but I think it was near Piazza San Babila near the Duomo

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On Saturday, I finally got my permesso di soggiorno card which basically means that yes, I can stay in Italy!  As meaningless as it may seem, it did feel good to finally go back to the police station for the third and final time and get it done.  It was kind of cloudy so my roommates and I lounged around most of the day.  On Sunday, I awoke to a beautiful cloudless sky and about 60 degree weather which was wonderful.  Meredith and I decided to walk to Parco Sempione and get some homework done.  We successfully made it to the park (about a 30-40 min walk), however the homework/reading part wasn't as easily accomplished.  We walked around the park when we first got there and then hung out on the steps by the Arco della Pace just talking and soaking up the sun.  It was pretty much a perfect day, hard to ask for anything more.  While sitting and talking on the steps (minding our own business), we had many a funny encounter with strange Italian/foreign men; they charmingly greeted us with sayings such as "you are beautiful", "would you like a companion?" "you have beautiful hair... is it your mom or dad's?" and our favorite "will you take a picture of me? no, with you in the picture too."  No, sir, I will not get in a random picture with you and the Arco della Pace in the background... it was so random and weird but they were all harmless and it was pure amusement for us.  

The park and area around the Castle were buzzing with people since it was such a nice day.  Little bambinos were running around in costumes as well and we assumed they were partaking in Milan's version of Carnivale, a celebration for Mardi Gras.  We decided to get gelato by the Duomo which sounded like a great idea until we saw the hoards of people who also had the same great idea!  The walk there was possibly the most overstimulating and crowded walk of my life since people were literally everywhere but it was worth it once our gelato was in hand ;) The Piazza del Duomo was absolutely insane, there was confetti, bambinos in costume, balloons, vendors, and people absolutely everywhere!  I should have taken a picture and captured the madness but I completely forgot.  The one thing I did manage to snag a picture of was 3 grown men dancing to the Black Eyed Peas in a store window in giant pink bunny costumes.  This was quite a sight to see...only in Europe.  We have come to the conclusion that European men are impressively secure with themselves.  The amount of tight pants, tight clothes in general, scarves, and man purses we have seen justifies this assumption of ours.  And one cannot forget the countless frou frou dogs with bedazzled outfits being walked by grown men pretty much around every corner you turn. I'm pretty sure it's safe to say a guy in America wouldn't be caught dead seen even walking with a girl walking a frou frou dog, even if the dog wasn't wearing a bedazzled or otherwise ridiculous outfit probably worth more than my wardrobe.  Bravo, European men; please, continue to rock your tight pants, puffy tight jackets, designer sunglasses, and man purses.

Mere and I figured out that we probably walked about 6 miles throughout the whole day.  Needless to say, we were pooped when we got back to our apartment. We were so happy when dinner came around because Kasia's family was taking us out to Nisida, a cute Sicilian restaurant a block away from our apartment.  Dinner was all sorts of fabulous and I think the amount of food we ordered could have fed a small family in Africa for a year.  It was delicious indeed and I can't wait to take my family there when they come to visit me in May!

Midterms are coming up next week... wait wait wait, we have to study for exams here?  I thought this experience was all about eating and shopping? Hmm I must have been misinformed ;) At least I can honestly say that I am getting the full cultural experience here!  And I can't complain too much... Italy's 150th anniversary is next Thursday so naturally the Italian government declared next Thursday a national holiday and we don't have classes.  And then it's off to Paris the next day we go!  I wish this whole 3 days of midterms then fly to Paris thing was possible in the States....

Our program is about halfway over and that is a scary thought for all of us.  The first couple of weeks felt like months but now this experience feels like some elusive dream that's slipping through my hands like quicksand.  Half of me gets so excited for our upcoming plans and trips and the other half of me tells myself to slow down because something like going on spring break means that we only have a month left of this wonderful experience.  It's definitely true what they say about studying abroad... the first part is an incredible whirlwind and you love every second and then after a little while, it gets less enchanting as you find yourself missing buying large quantities of food and having more than a 1 foot by 1 foot space to store your food.  I miss things like Walmart and CVS and the convenience of every day life in the U.S.  I miss my family and my friends and Penn State but missing things almost makes me feel guilty.  I realize that it's natural and probably good that I miss things from home but before you study abroad and while you're here, you have that constant nagging in your head saying "you're only here for 5 months, make the most out of every day, etc."  I think that I don't want to get back to the U.S. and regret any of the time I spent here not wanting to be abroad, if that makes sense? In the end, I know that someone will have to literally drag me onto the plane home and that I'll miss this place more than any other place I've lived so when I'm in post-study abroad depression mode, I won't want to think that I spent of my time here wishing I wasn't here.  Oh well, as much as I miss things in the States, I have to say that it's relatively easy for me to get past it most of the time... someone says aperitivo and I snap out of my missing-the-US mode real quick :)  There's so much to look forward to and so many fun things to experience and do that it's pretty easy to take my mind off all the things I miss, which is great.

Life here is good... Fat Tuesday tomorrow, Paris next weekend, Rome the first weekend in April, and cuisine field trip and spring break to follow!  Just waitin for this weather to warm up and stay warm!