I've been in Milan for a just over a months now and it has been quite a journey so far what I may say is that you can never be quite prepared enough for moving country and it is amazing how much comfort Ikea as well as the golden arches of McDonalds can bring when struggling. Italy's lifestyle and culture is entirely different to the British way of life. How? I've come to realise that we are all workaholics, hooligans and are spoilt for choice with pretty much everything. Italy is far more relaxed and has took a while to adapting to, be warned 24 hours opening times do no exist here! Even between 1pm and 3pm for lunch on weekdays a lot of supermarkets and shops close and on a Sunday it's most likely that whatever you need is shut unless your heading towards the centre of the city. If you need anything it's always better to buy in advance when you have the chance rather than be caught out. I've been left in a shortage of wine and thus have now learnt my lesson.
On arrival in Italy on the 3/10/13 I alongside my two other peers from University we were face with the task of finding a flat and moving in within a week whilst living in a hostel. In hindsight this now sounds like and probably was complete madness.
As a serious piece of advice if moving country really do try to pre-arrange your ongoing accommodation before arrival, searching on a time limit is not fun. Not at all. Desperately try not to do it and persevere over the internet. As another piece of advice to visit the city before is a fantastic opportunity before moving over if financially possible, it just helps suss out how the transportation system works and get a vague idea of the different areas and way of life.
When I first arrived I stayed in a private room with my two other peers at Ostello Burigozzo 11 on Via Burigozzo about 20 minutes from NABA and only 5 minutes from Porta Ticinese which is a very central part of Milan. The hostel itself was perfect and not to expensive, it was clean with a shared kitchen that can be used throughout the day or night and friendly staff that speak fluent English. The only issue we did have with the hostel was mosquitos. We all got bitten, a lot. I'm not sure if it was just this one hostel as since moving out we haven't had any issues but just be warned.
Although I'd searched the internet thoroughly before arriving in Milan it was very difficult to find anything as I had no idea what the different zones in Milan were and how easy it would be to commute to University if the apartment was far away. When emailing estate agents it was often common that I would not receive a reply because, I suspect, the email was in English and most of the estate agents I've visited don't speak English at all. For the first couple of days here we had a look around close to NABA to try to find local estate agents who may have properties in the area. This didn't work at all and turned out to be a complete waste of time as most of the estate agents are closed unless they have pre arranged appointments.
Fortunately NABA where I am studying have a student services office where you can go as an exchange student for them to help you with pretty much anything including helping you search for a home. They have a detailed database of available accommodation across the city as well as English speaking tutors who are able to ring estate agents and landlords to book viewings for you. When looking at accommodation in Milan most apartments are two bedrooms and it is very common for students to share a single bedroom with two single beds. Equally is it also challenging to find landlords willing to give a lease shorter than a year, we rang a lot of estate agents where the minimum tenancy length was 2 years and strictly non-negotiable. As we were trying to find an apartment for all three of us with separate rooms for 9 months within a feasible price range there was only a very select number of apartments we we're able to view and by this point we only had 4 days left to move in so to put it mildly the stress started to sink in.
Luckily for us and I do honestly still feel blessed for this the first apartment we viewed a 5 minuted walk from University was a beautiful 4 bedroom apartment that was newly renovated. All the rooms we're huge and even two had amazing features like a piano and armoire, there are two bathrooms and a front and rear balcony as well as a small but functional kitchen and the landlord had no issues with a 10 month lease. It was completely perfect. The next day we had several more viewing lined up that we're around the same price range but because of the short time scale we cancelled these and instantly started negotiations to move in.
Each room in the apartment is 550 euros a month plus bills and in order to move in each of us needed to pay the first months rent, 550 euros, three months rent as a deposit, 1650 euros, as well as estate agency fees of 10% of the annual rent, 550 euros. In total costing us each individually 2750 euros. We we're utterly shocked at this figure but after speaking to the student services they confirmed that this was completely normal and other apartments would be exactly the same so take my advice and insure you have plenty of capital to invest or someone who can support you if your hoping to study here. In order to sign the contract for any apartment in Italy it is also required you have a Codice Fiscale which is the Italian equivalent of the British national insurance number. It is simply a code related to your personal identity in Italy and can be attained easily by visiting one of the Agenzia Delle Entrate buildings, again NABA gave us the relevant sheets and directions to the building so unfortunately I can't remember which branch we visited. It is essential to get there early! Even when I arrived at 8:00am there was already a significant que. Once there you are allocated a number and wait to be called through to an advisor where they check your passport and documents then issue your number simple as that. All payments made to the estate agents and landlord are done via bank transfer online so if you don't already have internet banking get it, if you do have internet banking insure you are authorised to make international payments, I wasn't and had a very expensive overseas call to the bank, and also check your exchange rate and charges for making international payment. Between the three of us we are with three separate banks Lloyds, HSBC and Barclays and the difference in making international payments between them is HUGE. Exchange rates for sending money abroad can deduct a lot and each bank also had a charge for making a payment. The best out of our three accounts was HSBC offering the most competitive exchange rate and only a £4 per transaction charge and so we paid all the money to the landlord and estate agents out of this single account. Due to the amount of money being transferred I would highly recommend setting up another bank account just for the year.
So after much panic and plenty of surprises we did manage to move into the apartment on time and two weeks later we we're joined by an Italian roommate Adelaide who is lovely. Unfortunately at the moment we don't speak much Italian and she's doesn't speak much English so we have a lot of sign language going on. It is fantastic though as I am learning little things pieces of Italian from her, getting an insight into what Italians cook and even picking up mannerisms. She's actually a graduate in Economics from Naples searching for a job and so is a little older but non the less it's nice to have her around.
So after a crazy Intensive week I've enjoyed a way more relaxed month of exploring Milan. I've found what I believe to be a couple of the main high streets, Via Torino and Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. Via Torino is leading up to the cathedral if approaching from the south of Milan and Corso Vittoria Emanuele is just behind the cathedral itself. It's not a huge area so I'm imagining there has also got to be a lot of different shopping areas across the city but it still has brands such as H&M, Mango, Zara, Accessorize and United Colours of Benetton as well as some Italian brands I don't recognise so there is a bit of choice. The apartment I'm staying in located on Via Ludovico Lazzaro Zamenhof is only about 5 minutes walk from NABA and still only about a 30 minute walk from Duomo itself so I'm in a great location. There are also tram stops absolutely everywhere around the city that can get you anywhere, I have two on the road just outside my apartment each about 100 meters away that take me straight to Piazza Del Duomo where the Cathedral is in about 15 minutes.
Here in Milan the metro, tram and bus network is known as the ATM. By going on to www.atm.it you can put in your location and destination and it will plot a route for you anywhere across the city specifying what trams you need and how many stops etc. In order to use the trams and buses you must purchase a ticket BEFORE getting on to the transport itself, these can be purchased in most Tabachinist or Cafes or in the Metro itself at one of the self service machines. Once on the transport there are little red or blue machines that you have to feed your ticket into in order for it to be validated. Once validated a single ticket that cost 1,50 euro is valid for 90 minutes of travel on metro, tram and bus. You can always check how long you have left my looking at the stamp the machine puts on the back of the ticket which prints the date and time. Although there isn't anyone to check that you have validated your ticket when you get on the tram ticket inspectors can appear at any time without warning and if you are caught without a validated ticket its a 25 euro fine on the spot so it's always best to have a ticket on you, I know several people already that have been fined.
Travel cards are also available but as I haven't got one I can't guess how much they cost but I do know they can be applied for at any of the big Metro stops that also have a train station such as Romolo, Cadorna or Centrale FS and require a photo ID. The metro is also very easy and works just the same as the London Underground.
In terms of Milanese cuisine so far I've learnt the following;
1) They are crazy about icecream
2) They are crazy about sushi
3) Other than the above everything else seems to be very Italian e.g. pizza and pasta everywhere!
We also like the icecream..
Just behind the Duomo on Via Santa Radegonda there is a famous take away bakery called Luinis that you actually have to que for in order to be served. It is an absolutely tiny place and looks nothing from the outside but they do the most unique panzerotis across Milan. Panzerotis are, forgive my description, 'deep fried filled dough ball things'.. I think. If in Milan though this is a must try as they are particularly tasty, I recommend the salami one. So good. So, so good. Across the road there is also an Icecream place that is equally as popular where you have to take a ticket and wait for your number to be called in order to be served! I think it's called Cioccolato Italiano and the special thing about this gelateria is that they actually fill your icecream cone with melted chocolate before added your icecream on top, a-mazing right!? I haven't had the chance to try one yet but can imagine I'll definitely be righting rave reviews on here soon enough.
As for work, I've chosen to study second year Fashion Design and have been impressed considerable by the structure of NABA's course and how much I've already learnt in each class.
In knitting we're learning techniques by hand and starting to understand how garments and textures of knits are formed learning how to create rib, jersey and links and later in the term it becomes more complicated learning how to create shape and volume, we are keeping all our samples in a sketchbook to be submitted at the end of term alongside a final project. Our teacher is Denise Bonparche and is fantastically patient. I've never knitted before I can admit that I'm being a huge granny and am really enjoying it. Later on this term we will cover more complicated knits such as cable and nut and also learn how to crochet and use the knitting machines.
For the fall term in fashion design we’re currently working towards designing two capsule collections for the current autumn/winter season both stemming from the same initial concept and research but each collection must focus on a different aspect of the concept. The research method our tutor British born Helen Field has set us to follow is to choose 12 initial non fashion related images to then base the entire collection on. Each image has to represent a different part of what creates a collection for example 1 is the initial concept, 2 and 3 are fabric, 4 and 5 are colour and so on. To me this is a completely bizarre concept but I can instantly see its merits for stopping you as a designer following tangents and getting lost on what it really is what you want to create. So far I'm still brainstorming on a theme but I'm playing with the idea of using some aspect of Science as inspiration perhaps Chemistry as I've always been fascinated by the glassware, colours and equations.
In textile design our tutor is Australian born Angaharad Rixon who's family have produced cottons for years and who also works as a fabric historian and so has an incredible wealth of knowledge! In our first lesson we started by looking at manipulating fabrics through stitching using a technique called Canadian smocking. Although a simple technique it can be widely manipulated by changing the size and regularity of the grid used, incorporating curves and playing with threads. This term we’re going to work through different techniques ranging from dying to devore, pleating and weaving. For the February exam period we are required to have produced our own range of 12 different fabrics with accompanying headers using at least three different techniques learnt in class focused on our own theme.
As one of my previously favourite subjects I'm finding pattern cutting especially amazing. Our class tutor is Chinese and so far I've grasped his first name is Miao (said like the cat noise) last night Ran. We’re already half way through making a man’s waistcoat and have been taught how to create a pattern without using a block and also how to check any pattern which of course is just about one of the most important skills to have when it comes to making.
Marketing is being taught by American born Damon Pittman who originates from the state of Washington who I seems to be one of the most enthusiastic and cool tutors I've had. This is my only lecture based lesson and so far we're only covering the basics but I'm hoping it's going to be an interesting look into the world of Marketing.
Overall again it’s been a very intense and fast paced month with lots to take in but I'm starting to feel settled. I’ve got a feeling this year is going to go very quickly.
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