In My Blogging Era: The Manuscript

...okay, maybe not everything has changed, but a lot sure has! For one, the wifi password at the university... The real difference at play here is that instead of being the newbie TA, I'm the only one who has familiarity with this program and all of its ins and outs. This has rendered me the target of all of my students' questions, concerns, and crises. I've had a shower head complaint, several people who can't find the reception desk, one who needs a specialized contact lens case, a few who don't know how to use the washing machines, many who can't open a door with a physical key, and a couple who simply cannot be on time for things. I woke up Sunday morning to a text from a student who tripped the apartment's circuit breaker by plugging in a steamer, so I put on my electrician hat and went over to fix it for her. The elevator wasn't working in that building, and my electrician skills only go so far, so I walked up nine flights of stairs to arrive at th...

Here we are, at official Day 1 of the program! Time to watch it begin again. Yesterday, I started off by picking up all of the keys for our students and TAs, which reception very helpfully divided into some shopping bags based on when they were to arrive. One of the bags was Gucci, so I felt very fancy! The closest I've ever been to Gucci otherwise was when Anne was with me in Milan a couple years ago, and Prada was her real Kryptonite... We welcomed three students, so things started quietly. I got booted out of my room by housekeeping and made the terrible decision to spend those 20 minutes in the back garden. Let me tell you, mosquitoes suck! Literally! 20 minutes, 37 bites. My professor told me today that he didn't need mosquito spray, he would just take me with him and they would bite me instead of him. Offensive. We had teaching staff dinner last night to prepare for the arrival of the rest of the students, as well as the many tasks we needed to complete today: metro passe...

Dear Reader, It's been about ten months since you last heard from me - welcome back! I'm delighted to report that I once again find myself in Milan, and as I prepare for the descent of 28 eager Harvard undergraduate students into this hallowed city, I'm also preparing to once again share the next nine weeks with you. So thank you for being an avid reader of the stories, jokes, meals, and many brands of chaos that are sure to follow. My students must feel like they're stars of their own show. My flight from Minneapolis to NYC went smoothly despite being terribly early in the morning, and after a few hours of wandering through the airport during my layover, I took my seat in 51J of the plane to Milan. I had mozzarella manicotti for my plane dinner before my extra-strength melatonin bought me 93 minutes of sleep. I awakened, I watched The Office,  and I ate a chocolate hazelnut calzone for breakfast before we flew over the Alps to land in Milan. Such magnificent beauty! I ...