wednesday in milano

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Today is Wednesday in milano. I got up at my normal time and was out the door on time to get to my class with a few minutes to get settled and wake up my brain. In order to get to my school I walk about 15 minutes maybe a little more depending how fast or slow i go. i get to the metro stop and take the underground train that is very similar to the train we took in paris with our daughter. it was very crowded this morning and i love to look at the people and listen to see if i can understand their conversations yet. way too early but i hope. Beggars are on the stairs going down the steps to the metro. beggars on the train this morning too. i laughed once because it sounded like the guy, was quite overweight, was asking for money to feed his children. it seems very similar to the u.s. because we have often commented that the homeless dress better then many working people.
So i get off the train and and see again the Duomo. I have to say that as i watch the people rush to their work or get involved in their conversations, i think of the times people would say to my husband and i about living in such a beautiful place and ask how we dont think about it all the time. Well it seemedlike that. Here I am gaziing at this amazing cathedral and rememberinghow that feels. The Duomo i learned today is just that. Duomo. not, Santa Maria of Somethng or San Bernardo Something as most Catholic churches are. Just Duomo. I suppose its grandeur stands alone. ok so anyway i am walking to class and suddenly realize, just as I go up the steps to the school, that i fogot my glasses. so I start looking for a cheap place to pick a pair up but nothing is open or the ones that are doneàt carry them (Occhiare) So i walk and metro all the way back to the apartment. Ding dong. Ernesto or Siria no one home....so I start walking back hoping there was a farmacia open and one was. but they wanted 29 E for them....yikes I paid it but i will not forget again....sheesh.So I buy the glassesand walk back to class. I go in and the the teacher (maestra) makes my late entry a sentence for the class to work on...great. would have been fun if i hadnàt felt so tired just then, i couldnnt thnk at that moment very well and just looked stupid at her. She jsut went on thankfully.

my aunt has spent so many hours with me talking and teaching. She is really a wonderful person to be so generous with me. Everything is a lesson. The morning meal and coffee, the preparation for the day, the returning from the day, she wants to hear all about it. This day was the first day I could think in a relative sentence format. I ordered my metro pass by saying Tutto Oggi. All day. I spoke with peopleand thought better in sentences when I wasnàt in class than when i was....itàs not that i feel a little nervous but with the nerves am just so distracted with what is happening right in front of me i cannt answer the question. The teachier is very good that way in that she has people act out a normal everyday thing and the class describes it. I am dealing with the fact that most of the class already speaks Spanish. Really used to that😊 So they pipe right up when she asks questions. It bugs me when someone notices me lookiing up words and they say well this is very difficult especially for someone who is 50 anni (years old) I just swallow and know that dementia hasnt hit me yet. its pretty funny that the word for forget is dementicare the root of our word for dementia. itàs ok, they can think what they do. all the people in my class are young enough to be my children except one. its ok. they will see that we live all our lives not just when we are young, but all of our lives. my aunt and uncle are great examples of that. They nap a bit and their energy isnàt high but their interpersonal interest is intense and i really feel cared about.
one morething and then ill stop. Milano isnàt a beautiful city. i think americans think anything italian is way cool, but really it reminds me of detroit just like my uncle said that day a year ago. some very pretty neighborhoods, pretty parks, beautiful buildings likethe duomo but in general not lovely like i hear other cities are. Peoplesay they love it here because of the food or the whatever. i love the coffee and the goodies. i have had a panini and it was very good. but the city in its appearance in my opinion isnàt worth coming back to unless you had people here you loved, which i do now. so thatàs it for today.

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