Permit of Stay Day

Today we had an info session about our permit of stay in Italy. Pretty much it is a thing that costs a lot of money for you to have just in case a police officer stops you and asks for it or else if you did not have it you would be in trouble. It was a day of paperwork and more information. We did go to eat at the schools cafeteria, I had pasta, chicken, grapes, and juice. I did not finish it all, and that was excluding a dish that I was also allowed as part of my meal. So to say the least, Italians like their food, and it is filling. The coolest part of lunch was that there was olive oil on every table in the place, and there was probably about 110 tables or so. I tried to watch the Italians to see what they put it on, and mostly it was there salad, but they also used it for other things too. YUM! I then applied for an ATM card, thats the card for the metro train, and I have to wait 15, I repeat, 15 days for it!!! Ugh, that just means they get to take more of my money because I will need to pay for train tickets until I get this pass. Oh well...when in Rome, or in my case, Milan. At the metro station, I always see this lady holding her daughter wrapped in a blanket (who honestly, not trying to be funny, looks like she is dead), and I cant help but think how good I have it and how good so many other people have it in this world. All she was asking for was some change, something so that she could eat and support her kid. So I gave her some change, and she responded "Grazie Bellisima" and you could tell that she truly meant it, you could hear it in her voice.

Now on a happier note, also in the train station I saw a lady not holding her child in a blanket, but wearing her child like a shirt almost. The child was wrapped in a sheet and on her back, I had never seen anything like it before, I thought the baby was gonna drop right out of her butt. I had to chuckle a little.

I then got home, and was soooo tired and my feet hurt so badly, so I sat down and relaxed. After that I went to the grocery store to get some food. I got a lot of stuff all for 8 euro!! The fridge is now stocked:

Also, when i was at the supermercato (supermarket if you couldnt guess that one), I found this beauty,

which reminded me of home because everyone knows how much my family loves cream cheese and olives!? So is this just olive cream cheese, who knows? But I am going to get it one day and find out. Shout out to my family :P love you guys, well the majority is girls, but love you too dad!

Finally, we got home for the night, I ate some dinner, and laid on my bed like a zombie.

Side note, I probably walk past 25 bakeries a day here in Milan, and it takes all my might not to buy the whole store, but I have not gotten anything yet, so be proud of my will power....however, I did get this at the supermarket because I had helped an Italian lady (dont ask me how because I did not say a word to her) but I helped her realize that the candy she was taking was open already on the side. I think there was a lot of pointing and a couple of eh, oy, ohhs here and there but she understood, and was so thankful about it. Grazie is a word I do understand....funny thing is that the first thing that popped into my head to say was "de nada" and I did. HOW EMBARASSING, thats SPANISH for your welcome! Oy, I was like oops, I mean "Prego"!!! I guess that 4 years of Spanish is just engrained in my head. But I did 2 good deeds today and it felt good!!

All that embarassment, just to tell the lady her Kit-Kat was opened already. The kit kats here are sooooo much different from back home. They also are sooo cheap here! I got this 3 pack of 4bars of kit kats all for 1.60 euro. But anyway, enough about food you all see everyday, I am starting my Italian language and culture class tomorrow and am really excited to learn some Italian so I do not seem like a fool trying to speak it to the natives. Wish me luck! Love to you all!!!

"In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy."

<3 Lauren