Erin's Exploits and Adventures
Below are the 15 most recent journal entries recorded in the "Erin" journal:[<< Previous 15 entries]
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02:45 am
[Link] | Cancel that last post. All Italians are cheating assholes.
I'm coming back to San Diego June 16th, if not sooner.
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11:32 pm
[Link] | So that whole "work visa" thing didn't work out because it turns out it takes 2 years to get one...and you have to wait in the US for that entire time. But I came back anyway because I wanted to see what would happen with Sergio - we're still together and now we're even living together!
The problem is I have no idea what I'll do after this. I'm going home June 16th and then driving back to San Diego - that's for sure. But I really don't want to come back to Milan anymore. It's surprising that a lot of it boils down to the fact that I hate cold weather, therefore I hate the majority of the time that I am here (I honestly think this is more important to me than the illegality of the situation). I just miss having a normal life - playing soccer, driving a car, working a 9-6 (I still love my job, but my hours are really kooky), having my own friends, not just stealing my boyfriend's friends. I hate the fact that if I get sick, I can't go to the hospital, and if (god forbid) my parents get sick, I can't go home. It's very strange because last year, I was the one telling some of my American friends, "Well, I don't hate Milan." and now I'm the one saying, "GET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE."
Problem is, Sergio. I can't imagine leaving a relationship this great, but there are so many things I'd have to give up for our relationship, I don't know if I can do it.
Right now I'm still working freelance for my school and my hours are INSANE. When I was thinking about doing this, a lot of people said that you don't get paid anything, but this month I actually made my highest salary ever. I'm lucky because my school is very fair with money (ex, we get paid for travel time and reimbursed for the ticket), but private lessons are still far more lucrative. If I come back next year, for sure I'm going to do more private lessons. I am working my ass off for that high salary though - for example, here is my Tuesday schedule:
6:50am - wake up
7:45am - leave house, about 1 hour travel time to lesson (metro and bus).
8:45am - 12:15pm - arrive at airport, teach two 1.5 hour classes.
12:20pm - 1:30pm - travel time to San Donato, eat lunch on the bus
1:30pm - 2:15pm - plan lesson, make photocopies, leave for high school lesson (walking).
2:30pm - 4:30pm - lesson at high school
4:45pm - 6pm - Go to school, plan lessons for lawyer and evening student
6pm - 6:30pm - Travel time to lawyer (metro)
6:30pm - 8pm - Class of legal English
8pm - 9pm - Private lesson (near lawyer, about 15 minute walk)
9pm - 9:40pm - travel time to my house.
Wednesday is my "relax day" in that my first class is at 3:30pm, BUT, I teach 4 classes from 3:30pm - 9pm with a 30 minute break (and one is a kids' class) so that means I have to arrive at like 1pm so I can plan all my classes. My boyfriend rags on me sometimes and says I don't work very much because I only have 30 teaching hours a week, BUT as you can see, I have a TON of travel time (6 paid hours per week, I don't want to think about how many unpaid hours) and I have to find time to plan my lessons too. I'm thankful that it's a busy period now though - for example in December everyone cancels their lessons and sometimes I can get down to like 17 hours a week (I obviously don't get paid for cancellations unless they cancel within 24 hours of the lesson).
Anyway...you can see why, even though I love this job, sometimes it really wears on me, especially when you factor in that I'm traveling in cold and often bad weather. Having a car wouldn't really help me because it would be difficult to find parking at every place, not like I can drive here anyway.
Sorry this is kind of a bummer entry - really I'm ok here, but I don't see why I would want to spend time in my life being ok and not great.
Current Mood:  okay
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11:58 pm
[Link] |
Rap Song Lyrics That Mystify Me:
10. "I'm gonna lick you from your neck down to your navel." - Boyfriend #2
Sorry, but isn't the post-navel part where it gets really fun? In fact, I'd be pretty pissed if someone stopped at the navel.
9. "What it do." - Paul Wall
Please explain to me what the proper response to this is. It does well?
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01:06 am
[Link] | Did I ever mention that I love my job?
Seriously.
It's one in the morning and I'm up practicing the pronunciation I'm going to teach tomorrow and I couldn't be happier.
Current Mood:  content
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12:09 am
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Not that I think anyone reads this anymore, but just in case...
Two weeks ago my work offered to get me a work visa.
This is AMAZING and NEVER HAPPENS. I really hope everything works out!
I'm so excited about going back to San Diego! I go back on June 16th. I'm going to start a facebook list of all the foods I'm going to eat when I get back.
I'm still with my boyfriend, but we're going to break up for the summer and "see what happens" when I come back.
BEACH!
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09:46 pm
[Link] |
Going Home
I still love my job. Seriously every day I am thankful that I found something I absolutely love to do. There is never a day that I wake up and I'm not happy to go to work. I just hope that I can learn how to do it well!
Most of the other teachers at my school bitch about Milan all the time. They had completely different expectations about teaching in Italy (Tuscany or Rome). It makes me feel kind of defensive about the city and brings me down a little bit. I can't really say amazing things about it, because I see their point...but I still like this city. The only thing I don't like is winter, but now that it's spring I'm a lot happier. Plus, I like that in Milan I get to teach a little bit of everything...from kids to businessmen to students to doctors. I don't think there's the same opportunity in other cities just because there isn't as much business. Anyway...a lot of the teachers are leaving at the end of the year (as they do every year), so it will be interesting to see what it's like when I come back in October.
Which brings me to....I'm going home for the summer! From mid-June to October 11th (so I can FINALLY go to one of my friends' weddings). Now that I'm in the process of booking my flight I'm SO EXCITED! I can barely think of anything else! I keep thinking of all the restaurants I will go to...and how I will be able to walk to the beach again...but I really hope I get a teaching job for the summer so I can continue to grow and not forget everything I've learned! Luckily, San Diego is a hotspot for people to learn English during the summer.
I have a new boyfriend. It's my first boyfriend in a really long time. He's half Italian and half Domenican. I like him :)
I do feel bad that my life here is going so well and so many things are going wrong back home with both my family and my friends. It's starting to be a little painful that I've been gone from home for so long, and really there's still a long time before I go back. But I think it's a good idea for me to stay here another year, because I still feel like I know nothing about Milan (and I'm FORGETTING my Italian!).
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10:40 am
[Link] | I've been meaning to write something here but I was without a computer from Nov - January so I'm still catching up on all the celebrity gossip I missed. Plus, I'm incredibly lazy.
It will happen. I'm in Italy and happy.
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03:16 pm
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I don't think this is new information for anyone...
But this is the letter I just sent my family and it's so fucking long I have to reuse it somewhere. If anyone has advice, shout it out.
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So here's a little life update for everyone.
I just started looking for new apartments and it seems like there are a lot of them so I am less worried. Plus, now I am more informed about the areas that are okay to live in and I know more websites to look through :) Yhehimmy (my Columbian friend here) wants to try and share a room with me but I think I'd really prefer to have my own room - haven't shared a room since sophomore year, I'd prefer to keep it that way! Plus, sometimes friendships can get messed up when you live together and I don't know how I feel about risking that.
As you may or may not know, I got offered work here. Right now I am freelance and work 12 hours a week for them (full time is 20-25 hours a week), but in the spring I will be able to work more hours. Plus, I am giving private lessons when I am not working, and those pay more anyway :)
I was very very wary about working here illegally, but with this school I feel okay about it because 1) they are probably the best language school in Milan (I was actually really surpised that they wanted to hire me) 2) Their director (who unfortunately is on maternity leave) is American and worked here illegally for 3 years 3) They said that someday they will probably be able to offer me a visa, just not at this point.
The school is amazing and I'm really excited about my schedule because it's so varied. For example, on Tuesdays, I go into AXA insurance and teach there, then I go teach another company at the school and then a group of 11 year olds. I also have one group of high schoolers, which I'm REALLY REALLY excited about, and have some individual lessons and a group of beginners. Beginners are probably the hardest to teach, but I'm one of the only teachers that speaks Italian (??), so I think I will get more of those groups - but at the same time, it's a good opportunity because this way I can teach them proper grammar from the get-go :) The other teachers are really nice and helpful, the school's facilities are amazing (they gave me my own ipod!), and just in general I feel so lucky that they hired me.
Unfortunately me working here brings up a lot of legal issues. In case you were wondering, the way they're paying me is that I'm doing "translation services" for them from the United States. I'm going to have to invoice them and do my own taxes on it, which I'm not excited about (although some of my friends have said that I should just not pay taxes :P). I think it will be worth it though because this is really something that makes me happy when I wake up in the morning and know that I get to go teach English.
The big question right now is whether or not I should come home for Christmas. Legally, for every 90 days that I am in Italy, I must spend 90 days outside of the country. If I come home, there is a chance that they would not let me back into the country. However, it would be very useful for me to go home because I specifically didn't bring as much stuff with me last time (walking through the airport with 100lbs of luggage last time taught me a lesson). Additionally, if I go home, I can move my car out of storage and drive it to Texas which, while not fun at all to do during Christmas, would save a lot of money from California insurance on my car.
Right now I am thinking that it is probably best for me to go home, if for no other reason than that if they indeed do not let me back into the country, then maybe working here illegally is not such a good idea after all. This brings up other issues (everything brings up issues!), such as, Should I bring all my stuff back to the US or leave some of it here? It would obviously make my life easier if I left some of it here, but then if I can't come back, that creates problems. And if I can't come back, what happens to my apartment, etc.
My apartment in San Diego is only mildly a problem. The girl who is in my room now will be happy to stay there until June, when I think I will come back to California at least for the summer because there isn't really teaching work in the summer (but I guess we will see). I will eventually have to figure out what to do with my bed/mattress, but those are "far in the future" problems. Plus, if they don't let me back into Italy, then I don't have to worry about any of this, really! :) Even if they don't let me back in, I can come back in September on a tourist visa and legally work 20 hours a week - which is full time for a teacher! I'm sure my school would love to have me back :P
I start work on Tuesday, so I think I want to wait until the end of this week to make any decisions to make sure I still love this job, but it really looks like I will. My life here is really exciting and even if everything is not perfect, I'm getting paid to do something that I would happily do for free :)
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01:40 pm
[Link] |
Working!
I started applying for jobs right after I finished my CELTA. I didn't know where to start so I started with some kind of crap schools that I knew hired illegally but none of them got back to me. There was one reputable school that I was in touch with because I wanted to do my CELTA there, but I figured there was no way in hell they'd hire me because it's such a good school and I just barely finished my CELTA...but they called me in for an interview and sure enough, I got hired! I'm working part time and illegally for now but if it works out, it is a possibility for me to get a work visa through them. I'm SO happy :)
I also put up an ad on kijiji.com for private lessons and got several other offers from language schools and more private lessons than I have time for! Things are really looking up (except that I have to find a new apartment - AGAIN)!
There are still several legal logistics about this, but hopefully everything will work out...I had my first day of training today and it went really well and I really think I'll be happy here!
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10:12 am
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I'm Thinking Out Loud
There are a million questions I have to deal with and hopefully by writing them here I can sort through them.
Background info:
If I go back to the US before December 15th, I have a job waiting for me in San Diego. It's at a company with an environment that I like in an industry that I think is growing (online universities). I feel like, since our economy is so shitty, I should stay with something that will for sure make me money. However, I don't particularly believe in my company and my job is essentially data entry, and given that I do have a degree from a top-20 university and I am not an idiot, maybe I should look for work elsewhere and not sell myself short (and, more importantly, find a job that I love).
The job that I love is teaching English as a second language.
So this is nice to know but also scary. This means there are many hurdles to figure out.
To start, English teaching doesn't make much money. In foreign countries, yes, in the US, no. Will I still love it as much if I do it in the US? Italians are special because they like to talk so much. I'm sure I'll need more qualifications to teach in the US, but which ones? If I teach ESL in the US, will it make me more marketable later to schools in Europe? Do I even want to stay in the US or in Europe? Honestly another huge problem with all this is that I LOVE my house in San Diego and I don't think it's possible to find anything better for the price ($650 a month and 3 blocks from the beach??). If I go to Europe I will have to give it up, because while I think it's okay to cheat and sublet for 3 months, I don't think I can do that for much longer than that. Plus, what will I do with all my furniture? My storage unit was $60 a month, and my bed was around $1000...it makes more sense for me to sell mine and buy another one than put it in storage again. And don't even get me started about my car.
So about the Europe thing, how much am I willing to commit to this? Am I willing to work illegally for a long time and risk the consequences when I return to the states (if I don't get deported first)? Go to an Italian university to get a student visa so I can work 20 hours a week? And if I go to university, what will I study??? I guess how to be a teacher? I can't study Italian because apparently they don't give visas for that (or, they do, if you go to study at Dante Alighieri which is supposed to be really expensive)(edit, the one in Milan costs about 4,000 euroes per academic year, which, considering, really isn't that bad, but I'd still have to pay for housing, etc). Should I work in the US for another year, save some money, and then come back here? That seems like the best of both worlds, really, but I don't want to forget my Italian and there's always the danger I'll get attached and settle down or something. I haven't lived anywhere for more than 6 months since I graduated from college, am I supposed to be settling down?
Anyway, those are my 10,000,000 questions. I'm sure I missed some. My mom gets here on Thursday and while that is another source of stress for me, hopefully she can help me sort myself out.
When I first came here and everyone told me they were proud of me, I was really confused because I didn't understand how running away to Europe for essentially a 3 month vacation was something to be proud of. But really, a lot of people don't have the courage to follow their dreams and that's what I'm doing - hell, my mom is terrified to even come on vacation here without a gigantic group tour. So yeah, I guess I'm starting to be proud of myself too.
Current Mood:  confused
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04:13 pm
[Link] |
One week left on the CELTA
I realize that I said that I would update this often...well, it turns out I am lazy.
Coming to Milan was "un casino." Remember how I chose this course because they might be able to assist with housing? That was a complete lie. They just told me about the same websites I was already using. At first I was staying with my friend Isabella but she had to change apartments, and I couldn't find anything until the last minute...finally I found this beautiful apartment on Corso Garibaldi (a REALLY nice part of town) with a really nice woman. It was supposed to be a double, which was fine with me, but then two other girls moved in and four girls for one bathroom was too much for me! At this point Isabella found a new apartment, even though it's kind of far away and not in a super-fun part of town, it's absolutely beautiful, so I moved back in with her and her friend Marco. I've heard horror stories from other people about finding apartments here - one girl lived in a hostel for a month (and I think the director of the center told her something like, "I've never had anyone have as many problems as you," like it's her fault)! It is hard out here but I'd like to think that if I were Italian, I'd still go through all that rather than live with my parents :)
I'm going to write about something that only a select few of you know about, just because you never hear about the other side of the coin. There was an Italian guy that I fell for really hard last time I was here. We kept in contact over the summer, and I was so excited to come back here and see him. He for sure was not the reason I came back, but definitely an added bonus :) Anyway, that completely went to shit - three days after I arrived he told me that he kissed someone else right before I got here and now he "has" to stay with this girl. He still wanted to see me but I am not down with that. I was and still am completely broken hearted...and did I mention this happened the day before my class started? So yeah...all those stories about falling in love and crossing oceans for people - bad shit can happen too. I'm sorry to make broad generalizations, but I really don't want to date an Italian man again - this is two strikes.
My CELTA course has been amazing and it feels so good to get back up in the classroom. It truly shows you how much work should be put into a lesson - now I can see all the millions of things I did wrong when I did my internship! When I'm up teaching I forget about all the problems in my life and I'm truly happy with what I'm doing. I love TEFL because I know it's something that's actually important for these people and I know I'm an expert at the English language (I've seen other teachers make grammatical errors during class - thank you, copy editing internships). I'm not the best/most natural teacher in the class, but the trainers keep saying I have above-average rapport with the students (let's be honest, I'm sure a large part of that is because I'm pretty)...and if I have that, hopefully I can charm someone into giving me a work visa :)
Speaking of, I have to start applying for jobs now and I'm afraid I'm too late - I think most schools started classes at the beginning of October! I still don't know, monetarily, what kind of commitment I can make to finding a job here. I hope I hope I hope it works out, because I love living here and teaching Italians (even if I am homesick right now). I'm sure I can make it work out eventually, but I want it to work out right now, and I don't want to have to be too illegal! I've heard few suggestions about schools that hire illegally (the language schools vary by city, so whether or not they hire illegally depends on each school. In Brescia it's Inlingua and British Institutes, here supposedly it's the Lima Berlitz location). One of the girls on my course has a roommate who's been living and working here illegally for a year...my question is, what happens when you have to go back home?? I just don't understand how it happens! Although, "it is Italy, after all."
There is also a fullbright scholarship to teach English in Italy for a year. I think that when I go back home, I'll go up to Rice and talk to the guy about that - in theory you can apply even if you're not in school, so we'll see about that. I just want a chance to do over my internship, because I seriously had no idea what the fuck I was doing and I know I can do so much better now!!!
Current Mood:  pensive
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01:53 am
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I leave tomorrow (today) and I am so scared!!!!
I hope I find an illegal job! I just have no idea where to start!
I still need to find an apartment too.
Why are things so difficult to do?? Oh yeah, because I live on another continent :P
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08:46 pm
[Link] |
Yay!!!
I got into the teachertraining.it CELTA course! I still have a few doubts about the course, honestly just because the guy I had the phone interview with was so laid back (for example, he sent me a pre-interview task and then was surprised that I sent him the answers before the interview...he says that usually that is what he talks about with people during the interview - ?). It's good that I got into this one because the other place isn't offering their September course, so I'd have to wait and take a part-time one from November to January, which would be fine, except that if I want to do private tutoring, I think September is really the time to get there to get started on that, since schools start in September. He did assuage my fears that the area was not safe, and he seems to be kind of knowledgeable about the "illegal" way to do things, which is something that I didn't think the other school would be as willing to talk with me about. However, I can't help but wonder if the other school is better for some reason...I almost want to email both of them and ask what the advantage is of taking it there vs at the other place.
But if it all comes down to timing, September is the right time for me to be in Milan. I'm going to be working my ass off, and I'm actually happy about it!!!
I've been talking to some of my students and they all keep asking me if I will come visit the school again. I really want to, because I miss them, but it would definitely be bittersweet, since, essentially, Luvie' is blocking me from getting the internship again, and clearly gave me a really bad review. I know I've said this before, but I really wish I could do that whole 4 months over again!!!
Ugh I need to get that tutoring application done...I love filling out forms, I don't get why this is so hard!!
PS - Thank you Alex, nothing like random acts of kindness from strangers on the internet!!
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09:57 pm
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More Decisions
I don't know where I got this indecisive thing from. Both my parents don't seem to have problems making decisions. I guess that may be what's wrong...they just made all the decisions for me?
So, here is the latest one I've been troubling myself over:
I want to take the CELTA class on how to teach English, as previously mentioned. There are two course providers in Milan: Teacher Training and The British Council/International House. The International House is a respected international chain, in fact, there is one in San Diego (one of the like 6 cities in the US that offers the CELTA certification...however, I feel that job-wise, it is more useful for me to go to Italy, since you have to be there to find a job). The one girl that I've read about who is legitimately sponsored to teach English in Italy went through the International House in Prague, and said they offered her a job afterwards. Their location is also pretty much ideal, it's in the center of Milan, near the University. The cost is also about 50 euroes less than Teacher Training. Their schedule is also slightly preferable; class starts at 10 and ends at 6 (as opposed to 9:30-5).
Teacher Training is a small operation, run by someone who used to work for the British Council. I can't decide if this is a good thing or not. Since they are smaller, they might be better connected and more helpful, or they might not be and might not be as prestigious. They said that they may be able to assist in finding housing, which is KEY (more on this later). Their location is less than ideal - it is near the Central Train Station, which unfortunately is not the best part of town. They have always answered my emails promptly, and seem to be nice though.
Either way, I end up with the same certification. What I wanted to do was apply to both, see where I got accepted, and then make the decision. However, right after turning in my application to Teacher Training (I turned this one in first because I initially preferred them, as they have been so responsive), I saw a clause that said the following:
"I understand and accept that should I be offered a place on the course I have applied for, I am committing myself to completing the course, and am therefore liable for payment of the entire course fee."
This worries me. I believe that I will find out if I am accepted after the interview. So, if I am even offered a place, I MUST take the spot, or pay for the entire course?! That seems 1) sketchy 2) desperate. It made me think that the International House was a better option. I am just really not sure. Either way, I sent in the International House application on Friday and am waiting to hear if I got an interview; I sent in the Teacher Training application on Wednesday and sent an email on Friday saying that this coming Friday would be best for me to interview...so hopefully I will have my interview with the International House first! But what if I don't get accepted to either?!?! The classes I believe are kept to a maximum of 12 people, I am a little worried I won't get in - the applications for both were actually really intense. I hope I get in, because I am really excited about this!
So, the housing issue. One of my students said that his 21 year old sister lives by herself and I could stay with her, so there's one option, although this would be in Corsico, where I taught (which is accessible to Milano by metro). I could also stay for short periods of time with various people I know, ask Anna to rent the room to me again (it might already be rented, she might not want to rent to me, and either way, I can't have overnight guests), check the easymilano.it listings. It's hard to worry about all this when really, I need to find an apartment here in San Diego for the month of August only and I'm too scared to ask my roommate :P
Anyway, good news on the $ front, my mom's company is doing a trade with continental airlines and I might not have to pay for my flight to Milan (and my mom wouldn't have to pay for a flight to come visit me!!). This is all so exciting and stressful, and I'm not even there yet! I know it will be more stressful when I'm taking a really intense class and trying to scrape out a living with tutoring jobs (assuming I can find some...still haven't sent in my application for that!). I hope I can get everything to work out. And not be homeless in San Diego for the month of August.
Also, I can't decide if I should fly out of San Diego or drive home to Austin and leave my car there. I just don't want to make the 3 day drive, honestly :P
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04:25 pm
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More About Italian Laws, My Plans:
I think in the last post I didn't thoroughly explain why I can't go back to Italy, so let's start with the visas:
Italian Laws:
You can legally stay in Italy for 90 days. From what I understand, this is 90 out of every 180 days, meaning, for every 90 days you are in Italy, you have to spend 90 days in another non-Schengen state. While you are there you are a tourist. Legally, you CANNOT WORK. This is why I'd be going to Italy illegally, I plan on trying to find some private tutoring to support myself.
If you wish to stay longer than 90 days, you must have a visa. Italy doesn't have an INS or anything so the chances of me actually getting caught while overstaying my 90 days are basically nil. I talked to someone who was in Europe for 6 months without a visa (before 2001) and someone who overstayed his visa by 4 months (maybe 4 or 5 years ago). However, I can't decide if I am too scared to do that. I want to stay in Italy for 4 months. Since I want to be working legally, so I can get paid more, I'd prefer to go the legal, visa-getting route. Basically, there are 3 types of visas: work visas, study visas, and extended stay visas. On an extended stay visa, which is basically only for retired people, you can't work and you must show financial proof that you will not be working. I had a study visa last time, this permits you to legally work 20 hours per week. Then there's the infamous work visa. There's this website that I use to find out all of my information, www.expatsinitaly.com and there's a discussion there where various people argue whether or not this visa is even possible to obtain. If a company hires a foreigner for a work visa, they have to pay higher taxes because they are not employing an Italian citizen, which, when unemployment is 11%, kind of makes sense. I really feel like there should be an exception to this for foreign language teachers though, since Italians SUCK at English. Basically they are dependent upon Italians teaching English, Brits (who, as members of the EU, can legally work in Italy. bastards), and Americans who have married Italians, thus gaining citizenship.
Anyway, I literally have no idea what is required for the work visa. It's one of those things that seems like a simple process, but in reality there are all kinds of unwritten things that you need to do. For example, people in the forums keep talking about quotas...I guess only a certain number of people are allowed in every year (forgive my ignorance about this stuff, I never paid attention to immigration laws).
Ugh I'm just scared. I mean, I love challenges, but this is an extremely expensive challenge. Sometimes it seems pointless when I KNOW I want to come back to live in San Diego (I couldn't put up with Italian bureaucracy for more than a few years...can you imagine what you have to do to pay taxes??). It sucks that I love that job so much, and I don't think I could find it here. I talked to my mom today because we were discussing how it's probably a lot easier for me to go back to Italy on a student visa, but I don't know what I'd go there to study (apparently, Italian language is not an option, they won't give you a visa for it). She said, "I don't know what you'd study either...you're not really passionate about anything. The most passionate I've seen you be is about this teaching thing."
*sigh*
I'm passionate about men too mom, don't you worry :P It's true though, this job was just so amazing, but like I wrote last time, I don't know if I can separate the job from the experience, and what if the experience gets old...
So this has kind of segued into...
My Plan (as of today :P):
I'm going to go back to Italy for 3 months starting in September. While there, I get a CELTA certification (and my bank account will cry). Hopefully I will be able to pick up enough (illegal) private tutoring jobs to get by. If not, I'll change my ticket and come back sooner. I will also look more into possible work situations and possible routes of study. Ideally I would find a teaching school to sponsor me for my visa, but let's be honest, that probably won't happen in 3 months. If I'm lucky, I'll find one that will take me on when/if I come back to study and can work legally, and if we can build enough of a relationship, will then sponsor me.
Can you believe I'd be moving to Italy though??? For like, years??? I guess I should think of it like college, in that you move to a new place for a few years and then decide what to do :P Anyway, applying to Italian university is a whole other process, especially since Italian schooling is very specific...you may recall you have to "choose your path" in middle school by choosing a specific type of high school...then going to a specific type of university (if you want to be a mechanical engineer, you would never take an English or a psychology class in university!), so I don't know if they'd accept me in a non-biology program (Why the fuck did I make that my major, again???). Apparently they won't give you a visa to study Italian language/culture, which makes ZERO sense to me, but whatever. Also to graduate from university there is apparently a ton of work, and no one wants to help you do it.
Also, if I move there my parents would want me to sell my car, which, as most of you know, is an extension of myself. I can't imagine selling it, I refuse!!!
I feel weird being this much of a vagrant too. It's like I'm running from something.
I wish I could redo the last three years of my life with this redirected goal.
Anyway, back to reading the blogs for some help...
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