Last Thursday, since Charlie and I didn't have our opera class, and there were construction workers in our house all day, we decided to go to the Public Gardens. We just hung out there for a few hours and people-watched: Charlie played guitar, I watched the dogs fight each other. Then we ate really good salads at this little cafe and listened to the conversations of the old Italian men nearby. We went over to Matt's for dinner that night...a good conclusion to a very relaxing day.

Friday, Alex, Matt, and I went to a salon down the street to get haircuts. The woman I had gave me a mini faux-hawk...I am liking it. Now I have euro hair right before I go back to the US. That night, Emily, Roshni, and Elizabeth had everyone over to their apartment for a potluck. The food was delicious, and they even had a sundae bar for dessert.

Saturday was (thankfully) the last day the construction workers woke us up at 7:45 AM. They left the place kind of a mess, but at least they finished it all up. That night Alex and I stopped by Mexicali (a very close and very cheap aperitivo place) for one last time before going out.

I have had two midterms already: my art one on Monday and my Italian yesterday. They went well. I have my last one (theatre) in about an hour, so this is probably going to be my last day at IES. Tomorrow I am singing at the final concert before the farewell dinner. And then it is officially summer for me.

Last night our professoressa had the whole Italian class over for dinner at her home. She lives in a ridiculous penthouse apartment (her husband is so loaded she chooses to work for fun), with two floors. The top is a garden terrace overlooking the entire skyline of Milan. We ate dinner up there and talked about our semester, and her husband played piano for us. She was a really fun teacher, and she makes killer food.

So, there are four days left here. It's already sad, but these last days are going to be great. Now that school is done, we can get around the city and do the things we need to do before saying our good-byes. A lot of IES kids are leaving on Friday...I am glad I will have an extra two days to do all that stuff.

I'm not going to get all schmaltzy, but I think I honestly have had some of the best times of my life so far in Italy, especially in Milan. Good people, good culture, good times. I can't wait to come back.

The next time I write, I will be back in the states.

Looking down on Vernazza from the hiking trail

Monterosso of Cinque Terre

Today I had an "Italy-is-testing-my-patience" kind of morning. I woke up at 7:30 to the sound of pounding and grinding. Upon entering the kitchen, I find 3 routy Italian men with power tools literally tearing our entire kitchen apart. I then remembered I was told two days ago that "workers would be stopping by to fix some small electrical things around the apartment". Apparently, they failed to inform me they would be REWIRING the entire apartment, one room at a time. Unable to use the water, I threw on clothes and left for IES. I don't know why they couldn't have waited a week and a half until half of the roommates in the apartment move out. I'm kinda pissed.

In other news, the IES day trip to Cinque Terre on Friday was great. There were 80 kids who decided to go, so it was kind of an overwhelming group, similar to the orientation experience in the beginning. But after my friends and I split off, it was really fun. We took a ferry ride from La Spezia to the farthest village down the coast, Monterosso. There, we bought wine and laid on the beach for a bit before the hike began. At 3, we hiked from Monterosso to Vernazza (the hardest of the four hikes). We ate some amazing food when we got to Vernazza, and then eventually took the bus back to Milan. It was an excellent mini-adventure.

Megan Buckingham stayed at our apartment last Wednesday and Thursday nights, and I got to show her around Milan before she flew back to the US. And Virginia, a friend from Mac who I stayed with in Florence in February, stayed last night. She is heading back to the states tomorrow. Showing people around Milan has made me realize how well I know the city. Just recently, the different areas have really solidified into my mind and I can quickly get pretty much anywhere I need to. It's too bad that this has happened just before I leave.

I have finished all of my papers for the semester and now all I have left are my finals. I have one each day next Monday through Wednesday, and then I am singing on the IES recital on Thursday afternoon before the Farewell Dinner.

Last night I went to Casablanca, a club that has free night for international students on Tuesdays. It's really close to our apartment and a lot of IES kids usually go. It was probably the last time I will go there, since next Tuesday night I will be studying.

Our goal is to live it up in Milan as much as possible these last 10 days. I will let you know how that is going...

I went to see Tosca at La Scala last Wednesday night, and I got a better seat than when I went to Figaro. Standing, I could see the entire stage. The set was incredible and so were the two leads. Actually seeing a production there explains why the most expensive seats are upwards of 300 euro. I am going to try to get to a few more shows there before I have to leave.

I had my last voice lesson with Patrizia on Thursday. She left over the weekend for a two-month stay in Belgium where she will be playing Mimi in La Boheme. She was really excited about the role, but she was sad to leave her students, I think. I always get a little sad about parting with voice teachers, and she definitely did a lot for me. Even though I am done with my lessons, I still have a performance the last week here. I need to figure out exactly what I am doing for that.

The weekend was pretty low-key. We mostly stayed in and made our own party. I think everyone was still exhausted from traveling over our three week break. I was still a little sick from it, too, but now that is clearing up.

Now that finals are drawing nearer, I have quite a bit of work to do. I spent most of the days this weekend working on my final paper for my opera independent study. Basically, I had to analyze the entire score of The Marriage of Figaro and discuss its historical significance. I will admit, it was fun (I know I'm a dork.) but now I have all of the music constantly playing through my head.

Charlie's parents were in town to visit this last week, too. They are typically "Minnesota Nice". They told me that I should come over this summer when I am in the cities for a barbeque at their house (They live about 4 blocks from Mac). It was fun having them around, even though it was kind of weird to be in the presence of parents again.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) Megan Buckingham is coming to Milan to stay with me for a couple days. She just finished up her abroad in Barcelona and is traveling around before returning to the US. I'm excited to show her around my hood.

I am going the Cinque Terre, a set of five hiking villages along the coast, on Friday with an IES-sponsored day trip (we don't have classes). I think that will officially be the last traveling I do in Italy.

I need to make a list of things I still need to do in Milan before I leave. I still haven't see The Last Supper, and there are a ton of other things I must see/do. I actually cannot believe I am leaving here in less than three weeks. I can't think about it right now.