Milano Gelato

I have been staying in Milan for over a week now! Time is flying by. My group of four and another group of four is staying in the company’s flat in Milan which is not equipped with personal space and is quite cramped- which certainly makes it feel like an authentic European living experience. Even though we are crowded here, it is nice to get to know this group of people really well and we kind of feel like a family here.

Milan is definitely not as beautiful as sunny Sanremo, but it is nice here. Our second day here we went to Milan’s duomo- which is the hub of the city. We did some shopping and toured the world’s largest gothic cathedral.

Our first week has definitely had its ups and downs. We have been in great schools with awesome kids, and we have been in not-so-great schools with not-so-awesome kids. On our third day of work, my teammate Kyle and I had to travel back to Sanremo to make our appointment with the Italian police to get fingerprinted regarding our visas. The short trip was fun. It’s strange because the entire three weeks that I was in Sanremo it didn’t even feel like I was in Italy because I only went out at night after rehearsals when most things were closed, and traveled in big English speaking groups. But, this time it felt like Italy and I was able to really enjoy it. After our visas were sorted, we walked by the sea and it was so sunny and beautiful and was such a relaxing day. It was nice to be in Sanremo again and to experience it the way that I did.

On Thursday of this week we performed in a school and the children were really difficult and it was a terrible experience for all of the actors. It was a mental and emotional workout for sure- there was no classroom management, and the kids would not listen to or follow instructions that we gave them during workshops, they were out of control. After that day, I was worn out and thought to myself how much I didn’t like my job. But, then on Friday all of my excitement and love for the job was restored when we performed at the nicest school and had the best kids ever. All of the kids were really intelligent and so interested in everything we said in workshops. It was so refreshing. Usually at the end of workshops, I have a question and answer time with them to close the workshop. These kids wanted to know everything about America and they shouted out all of the bands and TV shows that they liked. When I would leave a workshop the kids would all get sad and ask me not to leave and all wanted to give me high fives. I did not want to leave this school. After this day, I thought to myself how much I love this job and how much I would love to do it long-term.

Arrivederci!