Research, my old friend

There is this stage of research (my research, at least) where you realize that a lot of what you were doing (or trying to do) is wrong.  We got there today!  Yay!  I really do think this is a good sign - I've never moved in a straight line from idea to publication, so "smooth sailing" in research is just "haven't found the bumps yet".  Now that we've found the (first) bump, I can have some confidence that I am going in the right direction.

A large portion of my research notebook notes are on different papers I've read lately.  Some of this was in a direction that I had never studied before, and I was starting to feel like I was heading down a rabbit hole - this was, in fact, the wrong direction.  The new direction involves techniques and literature that is more familiar to me.  Some of what I was reading today came from neutrinoless double beta decay collaborations or dark matter experiments!

Don't worry, I'm still doing cancer-related research.  I actually take it as a good sign that I need to remember back to almost a decade ago.  My training is in physics - if I am just reading biology papers, I'm going in the wrong direction.  I shouldn't be spending my time competing directly against biologists (or chemists, or engineers, etc).  But any time that I am pulling in particle physics ideas to my cancer work, I think I'm on the right direction - this is where my skill set is the most unique and I have the best chance of finding something that (1) will work and (2) has not already been done.

A Random Walk in Milan

I started my day by walking along the Martesana Canal, which is fairly near my house.  There is a nice multiuse path along it, which is heavily populated by joggers, cyclists, and people out walking their dogs/children.  Along the way I saw some animals!  Luckily, I brought my camera - because I saw some amazing creature right away in the canal.  It was some sort of large aquatic rodent - either a muskrat or a coypu, I think.  No one else paid any attention to it, so I figured it wasn't rare here.  I ended up seeing over a dozen of them along my walk.

My walk took me past a park, named in honor of the Iraqi martyrs who were victims of terror.  Take that, America.  Later, I saw a very striking statue and went to investigate.  From Wikipedia:

During World War II, on 20 October 1944, Gorla was the scene of a dramatic bombing by the Allies. The bombing was allegedly intended to strike industrial structures, but the bombing group went off course, even if the weather was exceptionally clear. Their commander, upon realizing the mistake, decided to release the bombs on the town instead. Most victims were civilians, and one of the bombs hit a school, killing 184 children. The victims are now remembered as "the little martyrs of Gorla", and a memorial was built where the killing had taken place; a museum dedicated to peace has also been established in the area.

After walking for over an hour, I was cold and decided I was too tired to walk all the way back.  I grabbed a caffe and headed to the closest metro station.  Slightly recharged, and it only being around noon, I decided to head out and see a sight.  I went to the Castello Sforza, a big castle housing a number of museums.  I went in to the instrument museum, since it was free, where there was a lutier doing a live display.  From there, I walked through the Brera neighborhood and headed to a tea shop.  The tea shop wasn't open yet, but I grabbed a huge slice of pizza and had a nice lunch walking through this high-end shopping district.

After picking up some tea I decided to do some clothes shopping - but I wanted to head to the stores where I thought I might actually be able to afford something.  I had intended to hit up "Il Salvagente", an outlet store that I had been to on my previous Milan trip.  It isn't easy to get to by public transit, so I had a bit of a walk ahead of me.  This was, of course, after I had been walking for over 3 hours.

Unfortunately, Salvagente is closed for an hour in the afternoon and that was going to be right around when I would get there.  I stopped in a few other stores on my way there - I was specifically looking for shirts to wear to work.  Not only was I unsuccessful, but I was a bit overwhelmed and confused.  So many Italian women have a nice classic/elegant style - but all of the stores I stopped in had bizarre clothing.  The few things I found that I liked were way outside my price range.  I couldn't take advantage of the seasonal 50-70% discounts going on right now.  I was also looking for nice, flat shoes - there seems to be a trend of "menswear inspired" shoes that I wanted in on.  The ones I found were either not in my size, or way too expensive!

I got to Salvagente when they re-opened for the afternoon, and found that it was similar to the earlier stores - there just weren't shirts that I liked.  At this point, my hour-or-so walk along the canal had turned into an 6 hour expedition, walking almost 20,000 steps!

Google was not being very helpful in finding the best way home.  Google maps doesn't seem to have a good understanding of public transit here - all of the methods involved at least 3 different changes.  I can tell that this doesn't make sense when it has me get on the metro and then get on a bus - the metro takes me right to where I want to go!  I headed to a square where I should have been able to catch a suburban train, which connects with the metro.  I didn't succeed in finding where the trains were, but a bus came that said it was going to the Duomo - I knew there was a metro stop there, so I hopped on.

I got off the over-full bus as soon as I saw the Duomo, since I could then navigate to the metro stop.  On my way there I was walking through a different part of the shopping district and headed into a shop, where I found some reasonable shirts!   In a second store I found another shirt and a great pair of shoes.  At that point, satisfied, I grabbed the metro and headed home.

My goals for today were to walk along the canal, do laundry, and go grocery shopping.  Getting home almost 8 hours after I left in the morning, I had wet laundry waiting for me and I had no energy left to go grocery shopping.  But, I saw an awesome castle, made it to Salvagente, and managed to take advantage of the end of discount season!

A Ridiculous Day in Genova

• I walked over 23,000 steps today in my boots (which have heels).  This wasn't the best choice.
• The Andy Warhol exhibit was amazing!  The show was in the Palazzo Ducale (Doge's Palace) and the final room of the exhibit was amazing.  This room was completely frescoed with decorative marble floors and an incredible sculpture.  It was filled with Warhol's Polaroids - a breath-taking contrast.
• The guidebook wasn't kidding about getting lost.  Even with using my phone's map and GPS, I kept getting lost.  I would suddenly come out into squares I thought I was heading away from, or end up not being able to find large churches.  I succeeded in staying in the touristy part of the city, but I certainly am glad I didn't wander around at night.
• Other than breakfast (at the hotel, which was excellent), I only ate focaccia today.  My coworker had told me about a specific type of focaccia I was supposed to try - I passed a focacceria that advertised having it, but I wasn't hungry then.  None of the 3 places I ended up having focaccia at had it!  I still had three different types of focaccia, which was delicious.
• I went shopping in order to stay warm.  All of the churches I wanted to visit were closed until 3 PM, and it was around 1 PM.  This was already after hours/miles of walking in the cold - I knew there were some affordable clothing stores near my hotel, so I went there to get out of the weather.  I didn't buy anything.
• My final stop was the treasury of the duomo of Genova.  Sadly, the holy grail was not on display because it is undergoing maintenance.  The remainder was still impressive!

Pop Art in a fancy old Italian Palace 

This is a road.  The alleys were much smaller.

The duomo of Genova!  There is a large museum (I was the only one there?) with centuries worth of art, etc.  And they have a room in the basement filled with treasure!

It was cold and windy, but less rainy then expected.

Genova smells like the sea.

Modern port to my left, ridiculously old buildings to my right.

Christopher Columbus is from here.  

The towers are the gate to the old city.  Columbus' house is there in the trees.

These boots served me over 23,000 steps today - over 10 miles!

Arrived in Genova!

I successfully arrived in Genova!  I was a little slow in packing and leaving my apartment, so I was more rushed than I had hoped in the train station.  To get here I took a different type of train than I did to go to Lecco.  Lecco is still in Lombardia, but Genova is the capital of a different region (Liguria).  So, I took an "InterCity" train. 

It turns out that I should have booked a specific seat - the ticket machine had presented that as an option, but I was in a hurry and wasn't sure it would matter.  I plopped into an empty seat, but took note that everyone else seemed to be finding a specific seat.  Uh oh.  I watched as others were clearly asked to move, as other unspecified-seat ticket holders had picked a reserved seat.  Once upon a time (this summer?) I read a book about taking the trains in Italy, so I had vague memories of learning about this system.  If you can't find an unclaimed seat, you end up standing.

As the train left Milan, very full, I thought I was lucky.  But at the first stop, someone got on and indicated I was in their seat.  I moved into the aisle, trying to figure out what to do next - it seemed that there were many people standing at the end of the car, and I figured I should join them.  A gentleman, who had been sitting in the same section of seats as I, clearly noted my confusion and asked if I was going far - and then offered me his seat.  Given that I was going to be on the train for another 90 minutes, I took him up on his offer.  But, a stop or two later I was once again booted from my seat.  I stood at the end of the car for a few stops, not alone in my plight, until a few seats opened up and I was able to sit for the remained (about an hour) of the trip.

I had some difficulties when the train arrived in Genova.  I knew there was and underground Metro that I could take right to the hotel - but there were no signs for it at the train station.  Google recommended a bus, so I waited - and someone verified that I could buy a ticket on the bus itself.  When the bus arrived and I got on, the ticket was more expensive than I realized - and the spare euros in my pocket were gone!  Embarrassed, and unable to pay exact change for the ticket, I got off and thought about the pickpocketing skill the young man at the front of the bus must have had.  I returned to the train station to regroup - and found the change in a different pocket.  Rest assured, friends and family members, I was not pickpocketed - just scatter brained and paranoid.

Eventually I cajoled Google into showing me where the metro station was and I successfully took it to my hotel.  This fancy European hotel is all I had hoped for - a nice bed and shower, luxurious toiletries, and a front desk worker who speaks slowly for me to understand her Italian.  Yay!  I wasn't sure if the hotel was going to be fancy and old, but I am staying in a room that was clearly recently renovated.  The rooms next to mine are still under renovation.

How fancy is the hotel?  Well, there is a chandelier in my room.  There is a "grand staircase" they are very proud of, and very reasonably so.  The TV remote is disinfected, which I mostly find strange.  Unfortunately the restaurant was a bit too fancy for me, but I was too hungry to skip dinner.  While I can see a promising place from my window, they were in the process of closing when I was getting ready to head out.  I found an excellent little pizzeria close to my hotel, and the waiter behind the counter offered to speak English.  Instead of randomly picking something, I took him up on his offer and asked what was good.  I ended up having Farinata, a local (Ligurian) specialty that was delicious and just the right amount of food.

My next steps are to book my return train ticket - with a seat specified - and head to bed early.  I have a lot to see tomorrow!

To Genova! After work...

Instead of going to bed extra early, I did my taxes.  I'm such an adult.  Tonight, I'm heading to Genova (Genoa).  It is an opportunity for me to see the (Western) coast and apparently get rained on a lot.  Genova is a port city, important both historically and now.

I've booked myself a fairly nice hotel right in the middle of the touristy area.  There is an Andy Warhol exhibit at a museum, which I am very excited about (and solidified my decision to go).  I am also planning on going to Christopher Columbus' house - I'm interested to see the "discovery" of America presented from the European perspective.     There are other Palazzos, museums, etc to see - but I haven't done further planning yet.

While Genova isn't particularly far away, the Italians are still (or planning to?) constructing the high-speed rail between Milano and Genova.  So, the train takes about 2 hours since it goes more slowly.  I've written down the times of the possible evening trains - I'm hoping my "get to the station and buy a ticket" approach works like it did for Lecco.  My plan is to come back Saturday night and have Sunday to clean and prepare for my talk at Oxford (next weekend, eep!)

Full disclosure: I read some things on (English-language) tourist websites about safety concerns in Genova.  I spoke with multiple Italians, including women my age, who all said it is fine.  I think it is like Oakland, in a way.  There is a perfectly reasonable part of the city, and then there is an industrial/etc part that is less safe.  When people discuss "less safe" in Italy (and most of Europe), they seem to be talking about pickpockets.  If I was to describe an area of Atlanta (or Boston, or San Francisco, etc) as less safe, it would be because of gun violence.  The Italians have told me that the only risk of gun violence here is from the mafia, and that they are fairly careful about who they shoot.

While I wandered around without a map in Lecco, I will be staying in the touristy area of Genova and being more careful about where (and when) I go places.  Part of why I chose a nicer hotel is so that there is a concierge who I can ask for advice - and since the hotel name sounds very British, perhaps people speak some English there!  Finally, I do not plan to do anything to make the mafia cross with me.  That is genuinely less of an issue up here in Northern Italy, and isn't as big of a problem as it was years ago. 

So tired...

I was very slow to get out of bed this morning and then it was extra cold on my way to work.  But I did it - I worked a nice full day, like I'm not actually on vacation.  Not only did I put in many hours, I was ridiculously effective.  When I was in graduated school I implemented a variety of time managed/scheduling techniques that help me stay on task and be productive.  But here, I'm not actually using any of those and still being incredibly effective.  Why?

1. While I can access my e-mail, I am getting very few e-mails during the day.  Partially this is because I'm on leave (yay!) but the time difference helps too. 
2. I can absolutely stay on task.  There is only one person who might possibly come in and talk to me (and he does so very rarely).  I don't have any other meetings, etc that I need to go to.   I don't think I have had this much control of my schedule since I was an undergraduate!
3. The hospital apparently blocks a number of websites.  I haven't tried to look up anything ridiculous on the internet, but at one point I thought about blogging (blocked) and had wanted to check the news today (blocked).  So, even if I wanted to take a 5 or 10 minute Internet break, I couldn't.  My phone gets no cell signal in the office - I put it in airplane mode to save battery.
4. I don't have tea or water at my desk.  So, I never need to get up for refills or to use the restroom.
5. I am not listening to music - I don't need to set up playlists or search out a specific song.  

The last two items come from watching my colleagues.  While plenty of people have in headphones on the subway and on the streets, no one in my office area listens to music at work.  Similarly, I don't see beverages outside of the break room.  I don't know if these things are "regulations" or cultural norms, but I don't plan on breaking them either way.

Today I did an incredibly amount of literature searching - it felt like I accomplished 3 days worth of science.  I've even looked at some of these specific topics today - and I found new resources today.  Tracing down literature, even when I'm taking a lot of notes, is much more effective when it can happen all at once, rather than being spread out over a few days.

I had some conversations with a colleague in Italian today - she was doing most of the talking, but I was able to follow almost all of what she said.  She is from Sardinia and was telling me (and showing me pictures and videos) about the Sardinian Carnivale.  She has been very nice and helpful in explaining things about Milan, the hospital, and Italy.  She is also very encouraging of me speaking my (not so good) Italian to her, so hopefully I can keep getting practice!

I returned home exhausted, but hadn't hit my FitBit step goal for the day!  I headed out to a cafe, which ended up being closed, but I visited an interesting store.  It is focused on furniture and home goods, but it really has a bit of everything.  I bought an umbrella and a bread knife.  I think I will need the umbrella tomorrow, and the knife is a big improvement over what I had been trying to cut bread with...

Una bella mostra al Palazzo Reale

I didn't go to work today.  There is another person who uses the simulation computer, but she can only dedicate one day per week to simulations.  On those days I will make alternate plans, like taking in my laptop.  Today, I went to a museum and had my last Italian lesson.

The Palazzo Reale is the museum I intended to go to the other day - but it gets very crowded, so the best thing to do is buy a ticket ahead of time with a reserved entrance time.  I arrived in my window and was able to go right in.  There are 3 major exhibits at Palazzo Reale right now, and each one requires a separate ticket.  I chose the MC Escher exhibit, and it was phenomenal.  The exhibit included his early, less-famous woodblock prints, many of which are of Italian landscapes.  The famous works were all there, along with interactive exhibits and explanations.  There was a nice section at the end showing the cultural impact, which (of course!) included the appropriate clip from the end of Labyrinth playing on loop.  (Sadly, I have no pictures because of the whole "no pictures in the exhibit" rule)

I am now finished with my Italian lessons.  I'm very glad that I chose to do 1-on-1 lessons right away.  While I still have a lot to learn (and practice), I think I made a lot of progress over the past week.  This was a great use of my time and money, but it is also good that they are wrapping up.  I need to drill words and conjugations, which is what I've been doing for the past year.  Now I have a new selection of words and phrases to work on and a number of verb tenses I should practice.  I hope that I can spend a focused 30-60 minutes practicing each day.

Having the Italian lessons in the afternoon meant that I didn't spend too many hours at work each day.  I still feel like I'm "on vacation", rather than living and working here.  I don't want to get into a mode where all I do is work, but I need to rebalance a little bit.  For instance, I'm really neglecting my e-mail and all of my "side projects" that I intended to continue while I am here.  Yet, I want to keep seeing the sights in Milan during the week and traveling on the weekend.  If I can find a way to focus on "work" for 4 days a week and sightsee on the fifth, I might be happiest.

Tomorrow will be a full day at work, so hopefully I can turn that into some real scientific progress.  I have a hotel booked for Friday night in Genova, so I won't be working too late on Friday so that I can catch a 6 or 7 PM train. 

Favorite place in Milan: A cemetery, of course

After my Italian lesson I did a spot of shopping.  I have been here one week, and this is the first time I have been in a bookstore and I only bought one book.  This might be a record for me!  When I visited London two summers ago, I think I bought 6 books within an hour of arriving in the city.  I bought a book in Italian and can justify the physical book (rather than eBook) since I want to annotate it with translations, etc.

I then headed to il Cimitero Monumentale, a large cemetery in Milan.  Unfortunately the sun was already setting and I only had an hour before they closed.  This is one of the most amazing cemeteries I have ever seen, and I will definitely be going back!  Not only is it huge, but almost all of the graves have extremely elaborate memorials.   This ranged from large mausoleum buildings to rose gardens encased in glass to incredible sculptural work.  My main thought was, "How could there be this many people with this much money?"

I barely saw 10% of this amazing cemetery, which is unfortunately a bit far from my apartment.  Otherwise, I would go back often!

I didn't even go inside this building.  The tomb of a very famous writer is inside.

This building was huge, and in some places there were grave markers from 2015 next to others from 1915

Many graves had amazing sculptures like this.

Thank goodness it has been a long time since I've seen the Doctor Who episode "Blink", but it kept coming to mind...

Crying statues are very much a thing here.

Check out the rose garden in the bottom right!

This is maybe 5% or less of the total cemetery in this picture.

Things I am slowly figuring out in my aparment...

The laundry machine.  It is small.  It is front loading.  I managed to buy detergent at the supermarket (google had to do some translating for me to be sure) and the apartment already had some fabric softener (again, thanks google!).  I did one load without the fabric softener, and that was apparently a mistake.  It all dried very quickly overnight (on a line inside), but then was stiff and scratchy.  The second load had fabric softener in it - I had to google how to use liquid fabric softener.  This was better, but it still needs more fabric softener!

The gas stove.  How hard can it be, right?  Well, the main burner I use doesn't always stay on, but I'm getting a knack for it.  Or, I'm acquiring patience.

The hot water.  There seems to be a rhythm to it, when bathing.  The water is nice and hot, then scalding for 1 second before it is cold for 2 seconds, then back to reasonably hot.

Why Italians like bottled water so much.  I am sure that my tap water is "safe", but the mineral content (ie, lime) is ridiculous.  My tea tasted funny, had a lot of sediment, and the tea kettle kept acquiring a disturbing coating on the inside.  Using bottled water (even though it is still theoretically mineral water, I guess) has fixed all of those problems.

The window shutters.  European apartments have outer shutters.  They are theoretically supposed to block light, provide more privacy and thermal insulation.  Early on, I figured out how to open and close them, but they didn't seem particularly effective.  I only now figured out I wasn't closing them all the way.  Now they are much more effective about blocking light (and hopefully keeping in heat).

The hallway lights.  I was shocked the hallways/staircase wasn't lit.  Then, during the day, I saw that there were lights but they were off.  Later one evening, the lights were actually on.  I figured that either they were on a schedule, which people must base their lives around, or that there was a method to control them.  I figured the later was more likely, but I was nervous about pushing buttons in a building with an intercom system.  Eventually I became more adventurous, and I noticed the backlit switch in the hallway.  Now I control the hallway/stair lights like some sort of magician.

I'm really not sure how many of these things are specific to Europe, vs Milan, or perhaps just my building.  

A Parrot and a Pizza

I left work and had lunch at home today, since my Italian lesson was a 2 PM.  After, I headed in the direction of some modern art museums.  On the way there I remembered that everything is closed on Monday - but I have an unlimited metro pass, so it doesn't matter!  I was very proud of myself for correctly activating and using my electronic card (tessera) this morning.  This is the first transit card I've ever had with my picture on it.

The museums were closed, but I'll probably return tomorrow.  A sign informed me that one of them (PAC) had been damaged by a bombing in 1993!  Luckily, the mafia hasn't bombed major Italian churches and cultural centers since them.  There was a large park nearby, so I wandered through for a bit.  I was wearing my work shoes (boots with heels), so I wasn't quite in a frolicking mood.  But I think I saw a parrot.  At first I saw it flying (and it had the right shape), but then it landed in a tree and I could get a closer look.  It was green and was eating nuts off the tree like a parrot does.  Does Milan have parrots?  Google was no help.  I have no pictorial proof because I had forgotten my phone at home.

Back at home, I successfully bought some fruit - my first interaction with a fruit vendor!  And then, feeling extra confident, I bought some tasty little fruit pies from a bakery.  I was actually on a quest to buy stamps (so that people may someday get postcards).  I successfully asked for stamps at one of the shops, but they only had stamps for domestic mail.  It may take 3 months just to find the correct stamps.

Contemplating what dinner would actually be, I found myself in front of the pizzeria at the end of my street.  I hadn't eaten pizza yet (on this trip) and decided to get one.  The guy behind the counter spoke a little English, but we mostly chatted in Italian while the pizza cooked.  This was my third conversation about Trump - the first one entirely in Italian.  Clearly this is the part of my Italian vocabulary I should keep working on!  In the end, the pizza was good, but much bigger than expected.  The size options were "normale" and "grande", and based on the price I expected a normale to be a small or "personal" one.  Nope - this was at least a medium.  I'm looking forward to cold pizza for breakfast!

Oggi sono stata una turista

I did some internet searching for art exhibits and saw that there were two that end this coming weekend, both at Palazzo Reale.  This museum is open Sunday, so after a quick lunch I headed out.  There had been warnings on their website to get tickets online and avoid the line, but I figured winter would not be too busy.

Palazzo Reale is next to the duomo, the major cathedral of Milan.  I had seen the duomo when I visited Milan about 7 years ago, and I absolutely loved it.  For years it was the background on my phone.  After looking at the duomo for a little bit and enjoying the piazza, I headed over to the Palazzo Reale.  The line for tickets was very long!  I ended up decided to go to the duomo instead.

I started by heading to the roof of the duomo.  When buying a ticket to the duomo, you can pay more to take the elevator.  I chose to take the stairs, of course.  The view from the roof is incredible - both of the surrounding city, but also of the architecture of the duomo itself.  I'm not good with the terminology - but there are lots of spires and pokey bits and statues on top.   It took many centuries to build/finish, and clearly people went with the "more is better" approach, which I appreciate.

I descended back down the (narrow!) stairs and headed inside.  The duomo has some excellent stained glass, as well as many lovely statues.  I would have used the audioguide to actually learn more (and be able to say something more detailed and useful) but they are not available on Sundays.  I've seen many excellent cathedrals in Europe, but I don't have the knowledge of art or architecture to dwell on the details.

After I enjoyed the duomo, knowing I could go back many times over the next 3 months, I did some shopping.  There is a "mall" next to the duomo that is one of the world's oldest - the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II.  I'm not in need of any Gucci or Prada, but I was thinking that some more sweaters or a warmer coat could be really helpful.  Next to the duomo (but not in the mall) was a H&M, and I figured that was closer to my price point.  I succeeded in finding some warm layers, mostly for weekends and evenings after work.  So far, the puffer vest is succeeding at keeping me warm.

This was my first trip into a touristy area since arriving.  I heard plenty of Italian spoken by other visitors to the Duomo, but also French, English, German, and Eastern European languages.  There are many hawkers on the piazza, selling guidebooks and whatnot.  Interestingly, when they approached me some of them spoke English and others Italian.  In past trips, I felt like all of the street vendors immediately spoke English to me.  I suppose that my attempt to "blend in" is working a little.  Though, one of the security officers at the Duomo (they do bag screenings and have metal detectors) asked if I was Russian.     

Grocery Shopping: Some important lessons

1. The word for cream is "panna", not crema
2. I can barely carry a 6-pack of water (12 L = 12 kg = 26 lb) back (0.5 km = 0.3 mi) to my apartment.
3. Parmesan seems to be really cheap here and Listerine is very expensive.
4. Had I not been slightly panicked and rushed, the 6-pack of water would have fit in the grocery cart (a small one in the apartment, a bag on wheels) and I wouldn't have had to carry it! 

Lecco, che bello!

I had a wonderful day in Lecco.  I arrived around 11 AM, after very successfully navigating the train situation.  Ok, I had two issues.  First, I was trying to shove my money in the wrong slot of the ticket machine.  Luckily, someone helped me.  Second, I wasn't sure how to distinguish the first and second class seats of the train.  All of the seats seemed to be pretty good, so I was a bit nervous I was in a first class car.  I was googling "train Italy distinguish first second class" when I heard someone else ask (in Italian) whether the car was second class, so I feel a bit better about myself.

After arriving, I started wandering.  My "Northern Italy" guidebook doesn't actually cover Lecco (though other lakeside towns are included) so I didn't have a plan of specific sights to see, besides the mountains and lake.  On my way to the lake I stopped at a bar to get a coffee - I think I did ok, but I certainly haven't mastered the art of ordering an espresso.  The Italians seemed surprised that I, as an American/foreigner, want an espresso.  I think I should be able to just order a caffe to get an espresso, but even when I order an espresso or ristretto the barista typically clarifies that I want an Italian coffee.

Why yes, that is the Italian equivalent of a "Little Free Library" in the foreground.

After briefly warming up on the ristretto, I started walking along the lake.  It was beautiful, and I contemplated how much of the scenery and experience I can describe in Italian.  A family asked me to take their picture (in Italian) and I managed to respond and do so.  There were some people kiteboarding on the water-  I cannot fathom a wetsuit warm enough for that water!

I walked for some time, passing some restaurants that I remembered later for lunch.  I stopped in one shop (art and jewerly) and possibly managed to construct a sentence that would mean "I'm just looking".  It was the sort of place where there are no visible price tags, and I decided I probably had not fall in love with anything...  Then, I found a tea shop.  Sadly they did not take credit card, but luckily I had a lot of cash.  I think I've now managed to buy at least 3 months of loose leaf tea - two of my favorites (lapsang souchong, pu erh) and an exciting oolong.  

The shops were starting to close for lunch, but many of the restaurants were fairly empty.  I knew I wanted some place where I could sit and eat, rather than a quick bite at a tavola calda/bar.  However, the cheaper ones are all "surgelato" - they prepare and serve frozen food.  This is fairly typical in Italy (for inexpensive fare) and I decided to splurge on a nicer lunch.  I looked at a few menus offering fresh fish, and ended up heading back to one of the restaurants I had passed earlier.

I went to an Indian restaurant for lunch, which was a great idea.  I chose one of their combination lunches which included a fish curry, and had an excellent hot tea.  Even though I didn't finish the main plate or the dessert, I was still so stuffed that I just had to sit by the water and digest for awhile.  So good!  Interestingly, this is one of the few places where the waiter started speaking to me in English (without me asking).  I didn't think of it until later in the meal, but English is widely used in India, so the Indian staff are very likely to speak English.    

I wandered a bit more, taking some pictures and window-shopping.  I contemplated getting a new coat... I was wearing the coat I took to wear if it was raining or if I wasn't at work, and it just isn't warm enough.  Most of the stores didn't open until 3 or 4 PM, and I decided to head home.

Old city!  The remnants of the old walls, protecting Lecco from dragons and whatnot.

Off to Lecco!

My first weekend adventure is to head to Lecco, to the north of Milan, on one of the lakes (Como).  I figured this would be a simple trip, where I don't stay overnight and I do not need to catch the train at 7 AM.  It will, of course, be very cold - so I need to come up with something to do other than "walk around outside".  That might involve practicing getting coffee in "un bar" (which is a cafe here). 

The first challenge is choosing a departing location.  One station in Milano has more trains to Lecco, a different station (of course) has only the fast trains to Lecco.  The second challenge will be actually getting a ticket, figuring out if it needs to be validated, etc.  Beyond that, I am not too concerned - especially if my phone battery doesn't die!

A few things I didn't expect...

I have less time that I expected.  I cannot entirely figure out where my time is going right now!  Some of it is probably the commute - while not long, I am used to a 5 minute commute.  There are likely many small things (making hot water for tea) that are taking a bit more time since they are not (yet) integrated into my routine and are slightly more difficult than what I am used to.  I am also getting a reasonable amount of sleep, which removes about 2 hours from my useful hours.  Then there is the food shopping, which I am doing much more frequently (every day or two), compared to once a month in Atlanta.

It also doesn't help that I hadn't "worked" for the past month, so my brain is comparing "day spent working" to "winter break", rather than "teaching during the semester".  My current schedule is way more relaxed than during semesters, but I had overestimated my free time when I was here.  For instance,  I have no idea how I could schedule Tibetan lessons, as I had hoped to - if I am traveling on the weekends.

Everyone in my office is female (almost).  I sit in a room with other medical physicists - many of them split their time between clinical work and research, so the people there really varies.  The first day there was one guy in the office, but he wasn't there yesterday or today.  Everyone else is female.  There are some other offices in the Health Physics section, and they are mostly male.  Yet this isn't a case of me being "put with the women" - this is where the simulation computer is!  Eventually I will figure out what role, position, and specialty everyone has, and maybe there are gendered patterns.  But at least I am meeting a bunch of (scientific!) women who are about my age.  Today the group at lunch was 8 of us.

I may be a tad overdressed for my workplace.  I am carefully watching how people dress here.  My neighborhood is more immigrant/working class than designer, but I see a mix of people on the Metro and at OSR.  Some people are certainly dressed well, either in a "fashionable" or classy sense.  The gentleman at the cell phone store was wearing a jacket, sweater,  button down shirt, and tie.  At OSR, many people are in scrubs.  There are many young (20ish) people in sneakers and jeans - I assume they are students.  The women I share an office with are at a level or two above jeans - put together, but they wouldn't stand out at an American mall, for instance.

I am walking less.  It is hard to get to 10k steps in a day!  At Agnes, much of my job involved walking short distances repeatedly.  I had to walk across the building for the printer, I paced during lecture, I walked to meetings in other buildings.  Now, I stay at a desk at OSR and everything is right there.  My walk to the metro station is fairly short, and there metro network is very good in the city - I'm never that far from a station.  Since it is so cold, I am not motivated to walk when I could take transit.  It is possible to walk between the Metro stop and the hospital, rather than taking the light rail, which I might start doing.    

Good Luck Today!

So, apparently major things are happening in the United States today.  I received my first message from the consulate here:

The U.S. Consulate General in Milan informs U.S. Citizens that on Friday, January 20, 2017, from 6:30 p.m.  a demonstration is planned at Largo Donegani, in front of the U.S. Consulate General Milan, by a group opposing the U.S. administration.  The police will monitor these events and expect approximately 200-300 people at the event. They expect the demonstration will be peaceful. 

The U.S. Consulate General in Milan recommends that U.S. citizens and their families avoid the areas of the demonstration and exercise caution if walking or driving in the vicinity.

As much as part of me wants to go and join the demonstration, I'm going to listen to the Consulate and avoid the area.  It isn't near my flat nor where my Italian lessons are, so I should be ok.  I haven't even had anyone (apparently) recognize me as an English speaker or American on first sight.

Bottom line: if riots somehow break out at the protest in Milan (I don't think they are the rioting type), I won't be there.

A very successful day

My morning started with the challenge of getting up early into a cold apartment, taking a shower, etc, and getting out the door.  While I didn't leave as early as I had hoped to, I was to the office within the window I had set for myself.  I don't have a badge yet, but I had been told to buzz and that someone would let me in.  I pushed what I thought was the buzzer, but nothing happened... Luckily, someone arrived who was entering the same office area and they let me in - I don't know if I had met them yesterday or not.

Almost no one was around, but I knew what I could make progress on.  One of the people I share an office with arrived a bit later.  Eventually, I worked up the courage to ask her about lunch - I didn't want to eat by myself, but I wasn't sure I could eve navigate the system (whatever it was) on my own.  She happily agreed to take me to lunch.  I also asked her about the Metro transfer back from OSR, since I didn't want to run into the same problem as yesterday where I couldn't exit.

Lunch was fine - cafeteria food, so it won't be providing my most delicious meals in Italy, but it will certainly work for weekly lunches.  Interestingly, I had been warned it was expensive - but it wasn't.  Perhaps I was given the wrong change or the cashier assumed I got the employee/student price.  I'm sure I will figure out the actual price soon.

I made more progress in the afternoon, and I think I am ready to run some (example) simulations tomorrow.  Basically, instead of using my primary simulation tool directly, I am going to be using something that interfaces to it.  I think this will be advantageous in the end, but now I have to deal with a learning curve.  So my achievement for today was reading over 200 pages of software documentation.

Chatting with my office mate, I learned that she dances salsa - including Cuban salsa!  I find it pretty amazing that I have met a small handful of people in Milan, and yet already I have a connection to the local salsa scene.  She also helped me a little bit with the monthly transit pass I hoped to get and explained a little more about the transit pass I currently have.  Her advice was very helpful, as I actually found the machine to validate my ticket to avoid being scolded by the transit employees today.

I stopped at home to change out of work clothes and because I thought I (maybe?) could only use it if I returned to the station I departed from.  I figured out, with the help of the internet, what ticket I needed to buy to supplement it (for today and tomorrow) and headed to the Loreto transit stop.  I was behind schedule, but I hoped to get my electronic transit card and sign up for the monthly ticket today.

My office mate had written down how to ask for the card and ticket, which I thought I could say on my own, but with the nervousness of sorting out the situation it was very helpful to reference something written down.  There was a form to fill out, which I more or less managed.  The fields had English translations, but that wasn't that helpful.  "Civic code?" I took my best guess and left a field blank which I think is for the equivalent of the Italian social security number.  I had read that was needed, which is why I wasn't sure I could get the card at all.  My form was accepted, I had a passport picture with me (since I had read the website ahead of time!), and I immediately had my card.  The entire process took about 10 minutes!

I was right on time for my language lesson, which is also in that area.  I'm very happy with how the lesson went - we mostly conversed, but she would occasionally pause to correct mistakes that I was consistently making.  We were mostly speaking in Italian, but we used English to clarify grammer details (or when I had no idea how to say something).  I'm very optimistic that I will improve over the next week of working with her.  I'd like to sit and practice/review right now, but I feel very tired...

After the lesson, I stopped into a store that had caught my eye yesterday.  It is called "Tiger", and I would describe it as an Ikea of random small stuff.  It seems to be from Denmark, and clearly is design-focused - but there is little pattern to what they have.  I saw they had (European) USB wall adapters, which I wanted to get.  But I discovered they also had stationary, craft supplies, exercise equipment, kitchenware, pet supplies, and spices.  Between the notebooks, glitter, and spices, this is basically my favorite store ever!

I did, of course, look at the spices.  They had a strange mix of spices - including "Dragoncello".  I could figure out what most everything else was, but didn't have a guess on that.  Instead of buying it (because I am a reasonable human being), I took and picture and translated it later.  The English name (Tarragon) isn't that exciting, so I shall call it dragoncello henceforth! 

Just like Ikea, everything was very cheap.  There are a number of kitchen supplies I'd like to acquire for the apartment, but they didn't quite have what I needed.  I did buy a small ceramic (paring-style) knife, which will be an improvement over the steak knives I've been using to cut bread and cheese.  I managed to not buy any glitter.  I had no idea how to ask for the USB charger in Italian, but the cashier spoke enough English that I got it.

I promised myself I would stop at the pasticceria, next to the metro station, on the way home to get bread.  I bought two pastries (I don't know their name in Italian, so I did call them "these" and point) and a small loaf for dinner.  I was fairly pleased with the interaction!  I felt emboldened to head back out to one of the small meat markets, but once I was in my apartment I decided I was too tired.  I've managed to write this and eat dinner, but I think my bed is in my near future...

Just so you know: Earthquakes in Italy

I realize that the American news is probably filled with ridiculous quotes from our elected officials, but there were some devastating earthquakes in central Italy today.  This region has had many earthquakes over the past few years, and the batch today were not the worst. 

I realize that certain people don't have a great sense of Italian geography - but the earthquakes struck about 6 hours from where I am in Milan.  Rome, by comparison, is 2 hours from the area struck by the earthquakes today.  So, I am absolutely fine.

Historically, Italy has had major earthquakes - mostly in the central or southern regions (I am in the north).  I lived in California for 7 years right next to the San Andreas fault line, so I am not particularly concerned about earthquakes here.  I am not planning on traveling to the central region - partially because it has never fully recovered from the earthquakes over the past few years.  Don't spend your concerns and worries on me - do send thoughts and prayers to the Italians near the village of Amatrice (and in the entire region) who have lost homes and loved ones today.

Benvenuto a Ospedale San Raffale

This afternoon I headed to Ospedale San Raffaele (OSR) where I will be working.  My collaborator was going to meet me "at the station" of the light rail at OSR, so I figured getting there would be easy.  I took the metro one stop, then looked for the light rail to OSR.  However, I didn't realize that one didn't "exit" the metro to take the light rail - but then I saw the signs and headed back in.  At the lightrail my ticket was refused a few times and I came to the conclusion that I had to buy a different ticket to get on the lightrail.  Ok, no problem.

I successfully met my collaborator who showed me around the labs and then to the office area.  We chatted about the ongoing research projects, I met many people whose names I will not remember tomorrow, and then I started exploring the software installed on the simulation computer.  I feel like I made some progress today, in only a few hours!

Then it was time to head back to the light rail... I managed to get off the elevator on the correct floor and backtrack my steps.  I was in some underground tunnels for awhile, then into the main hospital area.  I actually made it to the rail station on my first try - there are painted colored stripes on the floor, so all I had to do was follow a line, really.

OSR is very large - it is a hospital and a medical school/research institute.  In many ways it reminded me of the Stanford Medical School, where I worked for 3 years.  There is one atrium area that is effectively a church, which Stanford didn't have.  I'll get a better picture of the stained glass when the sun is shining.

Tomorrow morning I get to see if I can backtrack my steps to the office.  At least I now know (I think) the right way to get from the metro to the light rail.  In my confusion today I had left and then gone back in - apparently this was a problem!  I assumed that it would be fine since it was at the same station and in such a short period of time.  But when I went to leave the station on my way home, my ticket wouldn't let me out.  My ticket is a "one round trip" ticket per day, so the system was fairly sure I had already taken my round trip.  I got to have another conversation with my terrible Italian, attempting to explain to the metro employee what happened.  I couldn't really explain the details of what happened, or understand the details of what he was saying.  He finally gave up and just let me through.  Hopefully I do better tomorrow!

An Italian(ish) Lunch

I have succeeded in cooking beans for lunch - and made good use of the spices that I brought!  Unfortunately, I do not yet have much of a plan for food, other than bread, cheese, fruit, pasta, and beans.  I suppose that is mostly what I live on in the US, but it seems like I should do a bit better here.

I need to buy fresh bread every day or two - and there are many local shops where I can get it.  Much like the fruit markets, I need to figure out (presumably through trial and error) how one actually buys things there.  At least I have a while to figure it out!  I should brave some sort of market tonight so that I have food for dinner. 

Today's Adventures: Crossing a City without a map

After I made good use of my internet connection - and celebrated my ability to get my phone connected to mobile data - I decided to venture out into Milan.  I wanted to see if I could get a monthly transit pass and sign up for Italian lessons.  Armed with my functioning smart phone, what could go wrong?

I found the local subway station and stared at the ticket machine for a few minutes.  I'm not convinced it actually sells tickets, but the tobacco stand definitely did.  I asked for a weekly ticket (in Italian), not really knowing if it was available there.  It was, but then we had a conversation about how it is only for one full trip a day and is actually only good for 6 days.  Fine, Milan, but your idea of a "weekly" ticket is not my idea of a weekly ticket. 

I was on the train, heading in the right direction, feeling very proud of myself.  But then my phone turned off... because the battery had died.  I knew what stop I was heading to, but I didn't know the address of the Italian Language school.  I was optimistic about my ability to find it, since I am very good at cities and very lucky.

The station I got off at had entrances spread over a number of blocks, so I randomly walked around the area, looking for the language school.  I have a fairly good sense of direction, so I could wander in 1 to 2 block circles and then go a different direction.  I managed to find it!  Getting set up with lessons was a bit involved - and the conversation was in Italian for a while, until we reached a question I didn't know how to answer in Italian.  I'm set up with private lessons over the next week - the lessons aren't as late in the day as I had hoped, but I think my work schedule is flexible.

Part of signing up involved taking a 6-page placement test.  I had taken some online placement tests, so I had some expectation of where I would be.  I've spent a lot of time on DuoLingo, which I think is fairly easy and doesn't provide as robust learning as a class.  However, it is an easy platform to practice with.  The placement test was mostly "fill in the blank" - this isn't too hard when it is verb conjugation, but it is much more difficult when it is selecting articles or pronouns or other things.   There isn't an English version of the sentence - one must just determine what Italian sentence could be self-consistent.   I was a bit nervous about man parts, and had to leave some sections blank - but I still placed into the Intermediate level.  I am motivated to cram tonight and tomorrow, so I can start strong with my lessons on Thursday.  I have a lot to review!

After the test, I was feeling rather tired and hungry.  However, I think it was early for dinner and I was feeling too drained to navigate a difficult cafe situation.  They would likely be doing aperitivo, which isn't exactly dinner.  I found a Chinese+Japanese restaurant which had a lot of tables - past experiences in foreign countries have taught me that Asian restaurants are easy in Europe since they are fairly similar to what I'm used to in the US.  Of course, here they all do an "all you can eat" dinner package - which I was told about when I ordered.  Ok, fine.  Also, a glass of champaign was brought (gratis) at the beginning of dinner.  I suppose this is how they compete with aperitivo!  Dinner was good, though one of the dishes I thought would be vegetarian had meat (chicken?  pork?) in it.  I am very lucky to not have any food restrictions, so I can just eat whatever shows up.  I spoke a mix of Italian and English with the staff there.

I made it home safely and look forward to sleeping.  I'm still happy and surprised how well my Italian is supporting me.  I still need to work up some courage to navigate the little fruit markets, aperitivo, and bars - but I have 3 months to learn and practice how to do these things.  This is still years beyond my experience in France and Switzerland, where I could point and smile.  I am surprised that people are tolerating my terrible Italian (as well as they seem to) and that more people don't speak English (to me).  I've learned to not trust my phone, or at least take my portable charger with me. 

Era una avventura! 

Adventurs in Procurring the Internet

Last night I spent some quality time with the user manual for the wifi hotspot in the apartment.  Overall, it seems like the hotspot should be working, except that it doesn't succeed in connecting me to the internet.  I assume that it is out of Bytes or time and that my Airbnb host needs to put money on it.  But without the internet, how will I let her know that?

After breakfast, I went on a quest for a SIM card.  "Potrebbe parlare inglese?" I ask the gentlemen in the cell phone store.  Nope!  Ok, this will be exciting!  I walked out with a contract, a SIM card in my smartphone, an understanding that it would be an hour before messaging and internet would be ready... But I think there is something else I need to do.  Possibly add more money?  Or verify a credit card number?  I received text messages, in Italian, with numbers to call - but those menus were in very fast (and low quality) Italina.  The helpful gentlemen had written down what numbers to push to navigate the menus, but once I did that I had no idea what to do next.  I think my phone is working, but I can't get data.  I do not know if that is a network/SIM problem, or if I need to change a phone setting somewhere.  Yikes.

As the posting of this blog entry indicates, I do have internet.  I gave up and purchased access to the local Vodafone wifi network.  I may have done so 4 times, oops!  At least I can let everyone know that I am alive and that I am difficult to reach, given that I do not have internet.  I've contacted my Airbnb host about the wifi hotspot, and I'm navigating the Vodafone menus to try to figure out my cell phone data problem.

I don't know the last time I went 24 hours without any type of internet access at all.  I don't think I am particularly internet-dependent, and I am certainly not addicted to Facebook or texting.  However, it was strange to be without a conduit to information.  I wanted to google the best way to utilize radiators (I seriously need some sort of "radiators for dummies") - nope!  It was nice to wake up and not be able to check the news or e-mail.  However, I do hope that I can secure a permanent means of getting internet in my apartment soon.

Hello Milan

The flight from Paris to Milan was beautiful - all I did was look out the window at snow covered farms and the Alps.  When we landed, all my baggage appeared and I even figured out the baggage cart system.  I hopped in an (expensive!) taxi and headed to my apartment.

My Airbnb host had let me know she was at the apartment, but without the airport wireless I had no way of contacting her.  I stood outside the building and tried to figure out which buzzer it was.  The Airbnb listing said "7th intercom", but that isn't helpful when they aren't numbered and are in a grid.  I tried two buzzers that seemed promising - and was met with one woman glaring down at me from an upper floor.

Eventually, an older gentleman came to enter the building.  We discussed my situation - in Italian!  I felt very proud at the time, though I later realized I botched some of the verb conjugations.  Eventually the glaring woman came back and joined in on the conversation - finally, my host appeared and all was solved.

After a brief tour of the apartment, I vaguely unpacked and went to sleep for a few hours.  The trash system here doesn't quite make sense to me, but that may have been because of how tired I was.  I made sure to get up before it was completely dark, and I went out to see the nearby main street.  I was hoping to locate a mobile phone store, some food, and possibly a place where I could access internet.  There is a wifi hotspot in the apartment, but I have yet to get it to work.

The area has many small markets and bars (cafes), but is short of 'proper' (in my mind) restaurants.  I did locate a mobile shop, but decided I am too tired to navigate that exchange - which may need to be in Italian - and will do so tomorrow.  I didn't see anywhere with Internet.

I was debating whether one of the small markets would fulfill my needs, but then I found a supermarket.  I picked up food for dinner and breakfast.  At the checkout though, I was scolded for something involving the onions.  I didn't know the word, but the cashier pointed at the self-weighing system I had missed.  Oops.  This is why I went with the supermarket over the small markets - I don't know how to navigate a small market!  On the bright side, being yelled at in Italian didn't make me panic.  When I lived in France, whenever someone spoke to me in French I vaguely panicked. 

So far, I consider my arrival a success.  I knew that connecting with my Airbnb host and getting into the apartment (without a way to reach her) was going to be difficult.  I managed to have a conversation in Italian, even in a stressful situation and when tired.  The final obstacle is sorting out this wifi hotspot.  Without internet, I can't communicate with my Airbnb host, so I can't ask for her help easily.  Luckily, the instruction book is here and I think my Italian is good enough to read it!  

Goodbye Atlanta

With all of my travels to India, I am getting used to flying Air France and through CDG.  My first flight had no issues - we left on time, my two bags were checked for free, and no one hassled me about the size or weight of my carry-on.  I was nervous about the short layover in Paris - given that I was staying in the EU, I realized that border control would be here.  At some places (maybe only the US) that means getting your bags, going through border control/customs, then re-checking them.  Not possible in 1.5 hours!  I almost followed the signs to baggage, but that was the wrong thing to do.  "Border control" consisted of someone stamping my passport without asking any questions.  Even with the detour and needing to get to the other side of the airport, I made it before boarding started.

Even though the plane was much smaller, I had no issues with the size of my carry-on bag.  The only issue was that my seat was switched when I was boarded - otherwise, I would have been upgraded to business class!

Packing Haikus

it's time to check in
should probably be packed
but oh wait i am

seriously though
my spices are essential
better take a lot

too bad air france bites
i'd like to take way more bags
delta would let me

hiding bags from cats
they're suspicious anyways
i can't make them sad

trying to plan for
lost luggage at CDG
i need my stuff though

some major projects
are not done but i'm packing
procrastination?