A Hectic Week in Italia

Most of my blog posts have been about my adventures outside of Italy. In this one, however, I would like to describe my past week in Italy. It was pretty crazy.

It all started after I returned from the UK. Instead of studying the night before our midterm, Andrew and I partook of a traditional Italian meal prepared by my awesome suitemate, Luca.

The next morning I ran around campus looking for the testing classroom. I (finally) found it and took my midterm.

The next day, I took a train to Torino to visit Andrew. Andrew and I walked all around Torino, visiting the Film Museum, the Po River, the major Piazze, and the Egyptian Museum.
The Egyptian Museum holds the greatest collection of Egyptian artifacts outside Egypt. Evidently there were three famous archaeologists that divided a dig- one of them was Italian. It was amazing. In fact, it was too amazing. By the end of the walk through, Andrew and I were experiencing overload. There was just too much to see. For me, the highlights were the statue room, the mummies, and a recreated burial chamber.

Right after I returned on the train I made my way over to the Gambino's for a (huge) lunch. We talked about an upcoming fundraiser we're doing as well as my involvement in the upcoming college fairs. The Gambino's and I were asked to represent Emory University at upcoming college fairs. I didn't think much of it- how hard could sitting at a table be? Well, turns out they wanted me to not only introduce my school (as part of a panel), but also describe the differences between Italian universities and American ones. My audience was the most prestigious high school in Milan. The result was caught on camera-Yep, that's me (in a sweater) surrounded by official admissions officers from other schools. The speech went alright (for winging it) and I escaped. The next day at the American high school, I was allowed to sit at the table. Besides the speech, the college fairs were awesome, especially when I got to talk to American students.

As a college representative, I received quite a few perks too! First, I have to mention the food. Collegio San Carlo (the Italian high school), treated me to a brunch at a cafe. The American school gave us a 3 course meal. And lastly (but certainly not least), the Gambino's took me out twice. First to Casa Lucia and then to Novecento (where we saw Pato and Quaresma). I love Italian food!

Collegio San Carlo (and Mrs. Mary Myers) also gave me a ticket to see the DaVinci's "Cenacolo" (Last Supper). Usually the tickets must be ordered months in advance, so this was a very rare opportunity. The Last Supper was so amazing to see in person. Simply perfect.

I continued the Milan tourism by visiting the "Ca' Granda" (a beautiful hospital converted into a university) and Piazzale Loreto (Mussolini's public hanging spot) yesterday.

Just another crazy week!

Next Stop: Istanbul, Turkey!