Whew!

Well, I can't figure out how to format my post with pictures. They're supposed to come after the text, but I can't move them! So read the post first, then look at the pictures!

My mommy loves me! She sent me something with PEANUT BUTTER!
Viale Dei Tigli in Fall. The picture isn't that pretty, but the day was perfect! The air was crisp and smelled like autumn, and there was a bit of wind, so the leaves were falling off the trees and blowing around.
Me and my favorite little sister!
Chiara, one of the girls at the school I help out in. I love going there, because the kids are so funny!Nicolo, another student in the class.
My mom sent me these in the care package.. She's silly sometimes
Le Scale, at the end of my street. I lost count at 120.

Chiesa di Sant'Ambrogio (I have more pictures of the church, including some the relics? of Sant'Ambrogio. Do you call a skeleton relics? I'll post the other pictures later.)
Protestors in the Piazza del Domo
Kristen at the restaurant!
Kristin and I in the group of protesters!

My sister's university.. It's Gorgeous!

Today, I went into Milano with my host sister, to see her university. I didn't go to school today because there was a scioppero, which is like a student strike. The Italian government made a new law that I really don't understand, but the Italian students don't like it. So nobody in all of Italy went to school today, to protest.

Today, I had planned on sleeping in, strolling around Crenna, then picking my little sister up from school to take her shopping. Last night at dinner, however, I was talking with my little sister about what time I was going to pick her up from school, when she told me she had been invited to a party today. My older host sister said "Why don't you come into Milano with me? I'll teach you how to use the train!" I didn't particularly want to wake up early on my day off (I have school Mon.-Sat. and church on Sundays), but after thinking about it, I decided it might be fun.

This morning, I woke up at my usual time, ate breakfast, and my host mom dropped my older sister and I off at the train station. We were late getting to the train station, so my sister bought the tickets, and we ran to the train and hopped on just in time.

In the car, my mom had given me a map of the metro. I wasn't quite sure why. But on the train, my sister told me I didn't have to stay with her at the University, and that I could talk a walk around Milan by myself. I was shocked that I was being given so much freedom! A few weeks ago, I asked if I could ride the train into the city with a couple friends (it didn't work out) and my host father got really worried. He wanted to call everyone who was going, know exactly where I was going to be, what train I was going to take, the exact hour I was going to come home, and he wanted me to call every few hours to give him updates. He even wanted to contact the parents of everyone who was going into Milano, to make sure it was ok with them! I know, I know, he was just being safe, but after getting my driver's licence in the US, I'm used to a little less protection.

Anyway, my sister and I took the train into Milano, then took the metro to her college. The train had arrived late, and my sister was going to be late for her class, so she didn't have a chance to show me around. I walked around the university a little, then went to the church of the university. The university is Sant'Ambrogio, built buy the Chiesa Sant'Ambrogio, where the remains of Sant'Ambrogio himself are kept. The church is really beautiful, of course, but I didn't know where to genuflect! I looked for the tabernacle and red light, but couldn't find one. I took a lot of pictures, which are at the bottom of this post.

After leaving the church, I walked back to the metrostation, and took the green line to a station that crossed with the red line, then took the red line to the Piazza del Duomo. The piazza was packed with protesting students, and it was kind of funny to watch the tourists following the flower (tour guides always hold a flower up in the air for the tourists to follow) through groups of students. An asian man came up and asked me if I spoke English (I wonder why he asked me, of all people?) and then asked why there were so many people in the piazza. I went into the duomo and decided to go to confession. The sign said that the priest spoke English, but he didn't. He did, however, know Latin, German, French, Greek, and of course, Italian. I said my confession as best I could in Italian, and surprisingly (or not so surprisingly, considering it's God we're dealing with here), I understood every single word the priest said to me. The only thing I was curious about was the priest wasn't wearing a collar.. and he didn't give me penance! Well, he did tell me I should call my mom, but I don't think that was supposed to be penance. After confession, I walked around the Duomo some more, and tried to take pictures, but I was unsuccessful. Pictures can't do the Duomo justice. It's so amazing inside, you have to see it for yourself! I know that when my parents come to visit me, my mom is going to spend at LEAST 3 hours in the Duomo. That's OK, I discovered a store with AMAZING gelato thats really close to the duomo, so while mom's praying, I can go for a gelato. Win-win situation.

Since I had spent at least 10 euro on transportation, I figured I'd better make the most of my time in Milano. I didn't know what there was to do, though, so I called some of my Rotary pals who live in Milano. One of them, Kristen, happened to be in Piazza del Duomo too! We met in front of the Duomo, and went to a music store, and then went out to lunch. After lunch, we got gelato.. twice. I know, I know, two gelatos is excessive, but there are so many flavors, and its SO good! We walked around eating our gelato (it was actually my first time eating real gelato) talking about how good it was. After we finished our gelato, we said goodbye. Or rather, we said "Ci vediamo in Domenica" (see you Sunday) because there's a Rotary meeing in Monza on Sunday. I took the metro back to the train station, but got there just as the train to my town was leaving. It's alright, though, a train leaves for Gallarate every hour, and the train station was big, with shops. I browesed a bit, ran into some people I know, and had to use the restroom.. I'm only mentioning that, because of the unusual thing that train stations do at their bathrooms: they charge you. That's right, to enter the bathroom, you have to pay 60 cents. The bathrooms were clean, but I think train staions make enough money through the shops, the trains, and the vending machines, that charging for the bathroom is a tad excessive. I got on the train 10 minutes before it left, just to be safe.

My day had been going fabulously, but we all know it's impossible for everything to be perfect. Well, about 30 minutes into the 40 minute train ride, I accidentally bumped a button with my knee.. Oops. I dont know what the button was supposed to do, but something started beeping, and the train stopped. The train started up again, but the beeping continued.. I tried everything I could to make the beeping stop, but nothing worked.. Someone on the train spoke fluent english, and he told me not to worry about it, that it happens, and we were almost home anyway. I felt awful, of course, but everyone on the train was nice. Nobody seemed to care, and two girls who were sitting near me started up a conversation with me. The beeping kept going, and nobody said a word. Had this happened in the US, I'm sure people would have complained. Score for the Italians. I know that this was one of the less enjoyable experiences, but overall, today has been fantastic. Beeping train or not, Milano and Gelato, especially together, make for a great time!