Monday, November 19th, was a day largely of reflection and contemplation for me. I spent the morning getting a few things out of the way before arriving at the library to use the internet. After reading my emails, I spent some time in the park nearby with my thoughts. My conclusion once again, with no further explanation here: life goes on.
I had lunch with my Brazilian classmates, and in the evening I had my first Italian class, half of which were Japanese students.
On Tuesday, a classmate visited our apartment early in the morning to help us with our internet connection, but ended up just having breakfast with us. We spent the rest of the day with my Chilean roommate making our way to IKEA once again to buy some more things. I only bought food. I figured the rest of my furniture could wait.
Wednesday was back to school, and then a surprise meeting of us roommates to talk about eating and buying food. I think that day, the four of us really started to make a commitment to work together. It was a great feeling to know that.
Thursday, I woke up late, but then spent the rest of the day working on a presentation about research on the fur trade in Canada. My Chilean roommate and I stayed up really late that night working on our laptops. It reminded me of my undergraduate years in design, and how much I hated staying up late for our projects. If this really is the life of a designer, I don’t want it.
The next day was a mix of different things. The presentations in the morning went on until 1pm, and the afternoon class was complete write-off as far as formal education goes. I didn’t even know what the “professor” was trying to say (Yes, the “professor”). It was in that period that I re-realized that despite the good efforts and theories of Ezio Manzini, and his close group in academia, this course in strategic design is by and large another do-what-you-want-and-learn-by-yourself-as-long-as-you-repeat-abstract-concepts-and-someone-else-thinks-it’s-important program. I would even go so far as to argue that this is the new credo of the design industry, and why it’s killing the profession, but I won’t now.
Anyway, what saved my sanity that afternoon, was a deep conversation with a fellow classmate next to me about meaning and control. Despite the fact that we were sitting right in the front of the class, and paid no attention to the “professor” (as did most of the class), it was then that I also re-realized the importance of learning from my fellow students. I think this is where I will gain the most from this program.
That evening I went to Caffe Caribe by myself. My Chilean roommate (who ironically doesn’t like salsa) managed to convince the rest of our class (and almost me too) that it wasn’t worth going to. I’m glad I didn’t listen. It was great. A lot like On the Rocks back in Edmonton, and Zapatas in Shanghai. A big space and a tile floor with a lot of people (mostly Italians). I was welcomed in by an older lady from Calabria, and just continued to meet people from then on. Most of the dancers weren’t as good as I expected them to be, but there were of course some really outstanding dancers, and a generally friendly Italian atmosphere (take that to mean: fashion statements, showing off, and a lot of yelling). There was also a performance, and news about the Cavalese salsa congress. Ah! Another congress! I really didn’t expect that. If I can afford to go by then, I’ll be there.
I spent much of the night with two girls from Germany that told me a lot about the salsa scene here. Apparently, there are two other places to go to during the week, and the only day with no salsa is Monday. I love it.
Early the next morning (around 4am), I walked home in the rain and ran into one of my Brazilian classmates along the way.
The highlight of Saturday was a dinner-party at our apartment. The food was prepared by a French classmate of one of my Latvian roommates, and was really good. The evening was a mix of interesting conversation and a hesitation to carry on the party experience late into the night. After traveling half the way by Metro with two of my roommates, I decided to get off and go back to the apartment. I wasn’t in the mood for another really late night.
Sunday, we all got up late. My routine was partly changed because of that, as well as a bus detour in Affori (where the library, churches and hostel are). There was a huge street market taking place with food, clothes, balloons, and tuner-cars and go-karts on the side. The market made me really happy and made me think more about what it is I really want to do for work. Design?… exhibitions… conferences… sharing ideas… meeting people… communication… I love that.
I walked through the market once again on my way back to the apartment, and returned with two bags and a remaining four euros. That’ll be my reserve until at least the end of the week.
In the evening, I had a great conversation with my Chilean roommate about design, design education, and our careers. It’s times like that that I really appreciate living with him.
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The past five weekdays were a complete mix of things, good and bad. Most concerning of all (now unsurprisingly) was that Internet was down in all the public libraries.
On Monday, my Chilean roommate and I spent a good part of the day playing “housewife”. On Tuesday, I cancelled an evening of salsa to complete a design project that I finally started to enjoy. On Wednesday, Internet was installed in our apartment, but didn’t work on my computer for some reason. That day, I really took offense to something my Chilean roommate said, and despite the fact that we had to deal with our landlords, both of us stayed in a tense state of anger with each other until he left that evening to join some of his friends. On Thursday, he didn’t come to school, because he found out that his bank account in Chile had been cleared. That day, he also started to look for flights to return home. Once I got back to the apartment that evening, both of us reconciled our differences, and refocused on this more pressing problem. The next day, although he found out he’d been robbed, he also found out that he didn’t need to fly home. Although he was actually excited to return, I think it’s better that he didn’t have to. He really belongs here, and I think he’ll become something big.
Thursday was an important day for me as well, because that day our class was invited to a conference. (Yes, another conference. And yes, I love them). And the food of course, was amazing. One of the sessions I naturally went to was on mobility. Coming out of it, I felt like I had learned so much. After classes in the afternoon, I skipped my Italian class to return to the apartment to speak with my Chilean roommate, and then go to the conference dinner at a now-popular “slow food” restaurant. It was there that I really got to meet other people from around Europe and the US in the field of technology transfer and sustainable development, and take part in a lot of good discussions about “sustainability”, “innovation”, China, Italy, and dance. Yes, I had to include that. I even managed to convince three people at my table to join me the following night.
Before leaving, I spoke with an American from the mobility session who had used the phrase “reverse technology transfer”. A great idea in my opinion. We told each other our stories of how we ended up where we were, and after hearing mine he ‘took his hat off to me’ for being so courageous. I felt honored and a little embarrassed to hear a guy more than twice my age say something like that, but I think it was another sign that despite the hardships, I may be traveling on the right road after all. I’ll take that as a blessing.
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This past weekend was a combination of: salsa; a Saturday night that ran until six in the morning (and coming home to a broken bathroom door that now swings open from the top (don’t ask)); borrowing money; surviving on beans, tomatoes, onions and left-overs; chores; bargaining with my roommates for their food; being labeled “the poor grandfather” in the apartment; being labeled “the peacekeeper” for a group project my Chilean roommate and I are working on; inviting our new fifth roommate (an Indian from our class that needs to find a new apartment), thanking him for helping me with my internet connection problem and then saying goodbye to him the following day (he decided to stay at another roommate’s apartment for logistic reasons); getting caught on the bus for not having a ticket (yes, that’s probably pretty bad being in a foreign country); celebrating one of our Latvian roommate’s nameday with cake and cookies (my new source of carbs).
Before returning to the apartment after my Italian class this evening, I ran into my Indian classmate as he exited the bus carrying the luggage he had brought to our apartment. We stopped to talk for a while. He reminds me a lot of my Indian cousins, and I think he shares the same kind of comfort with me. He was in a really stressful state, as I have been with money and the lack of a decent internet connection. However, his situation might have been worse, but I felt I could relate to him. Oddly enough, it was in that moment that I felt I understood why I was here in Milan.
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P.S. I think at this point, I need to come to terms with another reality: time. I have a feeling that with school, possible work, and the many unexpected complications that seem to come with living in Milan, I may not be able to write as much or as often once again. Nevertheless, I will whenever I can. I’ve discovered that blogging is now more of a hobby for me than just a communication or memory tool.
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