My thoughts on Milan

Well, it came to me that I haven't really shared my thoughts on Milan as a city this far in and it's been nearly a month! Let me first say this: almost everyone that I have talked to so far that were not born in Milan (and even a lot of those that were born here) do not enjoy Milan. At all. At least at first. One teacher at the school moved here from a smaller town and said it took him about 2 years to get used to living here. It's noisy and there's smog. there's traffic. It's a big city. It's not only just a big city, like rome let's say, but it lacks the charm of a city like Rome. It seems more like a city that doesn't have the roots that a lot of other cities in Italy have. Of course, the city's history goes back some time. there's also the duomo, which is pretty old and very impressive (the third biggest church in the world).

I wouldn't say that I dislike Milan, it's just that it hasn't captured my heart or anything. One thing that I've noticed is the difference between Portland bums and Milan bums. So far I haven't been accosted by any bums. They seem more reserved here or something, I'm not sure how to explain. The public transport is fairly clean. It was a little while before I saw beggars in the tube.

I've nicknamed Milan 'The Gray City', I don't think I have to explain why. All in all, it's not bad. The weather has been so-so but today is pretty nice. You have to take advantage of the nicer days and go for a walk or something. Which is why this post is going to end here. I promise more posts with some more frequency soon! My roomates computer is being worked on right now so it's either wait til I'm at work and hog the computer for non-work reasons (there are really only two available in the teachers lounge and one is always on the fritz) or go to the internet point and pay. Thanks to all of you that have left comments or sent emails, I really appreciate it!