Day 6

Today was my first day with my internship, and it wasn't like I expected. I met my supervisor/boss, a professor here in Milan, and his almost graduate research assistant. We went out to lunch and then he showed me around his offices and the surrounding area. 

The first thing we did was eat. We went to California Bakery, an American style restaurant right near the campus for Universita Cattolica. This bakery had really weird versions of American classics like chopped salad, club sandwiches and bagels. The food was good, but it makes me wonder what Italians think of the Italian restaurants in the US. The Italian food is better here than at home and American food is better at home. That's expected and all, but a little weird on the other side. Food aside, I found out something very interesting about the research assistant and my direct supervisor. He will be going to UNC-Chapel Hill to get his MBA at the Kenan-Flagler business school. He's leaving in mid-July, so he'll be in Chapel Hill before I will! We actually talked a bit about UNC because he's never visited and wanted to know about the campus, weather, best grocery stores, etc.

After lunch, we went to the university and I was shown around both the off campus and on campus offices. The off-campus office is where I will spend about 90% of the time. My office is tiny and in its own room, but it is so well decorated. It has a huge mirror, dark walls, and dark wood furniture. They kept saying it was the bad office, but it was better than I was expecting. Its style trumps Leah and my cubicle and the Gov't. Center =D 

The weird part when he showed me around was actually where we didn't go. When I did the "Rush Hour Test Run" last week, I was told to go to a specific address. I went, took the picture, and followed all of the instructions given, and fully expected that the address was correct. However, after going to the two offices today I asked my boss about the first address and he didn't even know where it was. Now I'm really confused about why I got that address.

On a different note, I discovered something a little different about Italy today. It can be raining outside, you can hear thunder in the distance, and yet you can't tell this by looking out the window. When I took this picture, all of the above was happening, the lights flickered a little bit, and yet this was my view. 

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Trivia:

A Moccachino (basically translates to 'Moroccan') is an Italian beverage. It's made with cafe (espresso), chocolate, and sometimes a little bit of milk. It's actually where the term 'mocha' comes from, at least when referring to coffee drinks. 

Also, moccachino is pronounced mo-ka-ki-no, not mo-ka-chee-no like the mochaccinos in the US.

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As a last comment, some people (Alexa and Leah) finally guessed about the architects obsession from Day 4. The actual obsession was sex. The design is supposed to invoke the image of ovaries, vaginas, penises, etc. throughout the entire building. He was able to do it in such a well executed and subtle manner that no one complained. Also, it's a hotel for one of the most expensive Italian chains