If no other time in my life firmly grounded me in the belief that "everything happens for a reason," my first day living abroad and the 24 hours leading to that moment did. To begin, I had been in such a frenzy to pack up my apartment in New York City because it was official: I was moving abroad, and to do that, I needed to put as much distance as possible between "my boyfriend" -- NYC -- and me. So as much as I wanted to hold on, my cozy little Midtown Manhattan studio had to go. And bittersweet it was!
After packing aaaaall the stuff I had accumulated over the years, I hadn't gotten a real chance to tell NYC or my lovely friends there goodbye. However, as I say, "Jesus is my homeboy," and on my way to the airport, I got an alert that my flight was delayed...by fifteen whole hours! Thank God -- yay! I can do a lot of x's and o's and street running in NYC in fifteen hours.
It took no time to schedule a small goodbye dinner (NYC has no shortage of delicious food!). We chose old-faithful Eataly (which, according to their website, "stands for Eating Italian”) -- didn't even realize that I was pre-gaming on my upcoming trip/life abroad in Italy (or so I thought...). Eataly was Eataly: consistently delicious (but more about that at another time).
The real treat was getting to have dinner with a dear NYC sister-friend before embarking on my journey abroad. I had become so accustomed to constantly rushing around in my daily life, even running through airports to catch flights. However, enjoying a relaxing dinner and bidding farewells (with hopes of meeting again soon) helped set my trip in motion in a more calm and affirming manner. Plus, a good ol' meal goes a long way, especially after many long days and nights of packing!
Feeling a tad bit calmer, I headed off to Milan. Unbeknownst to me, the calm was preparing me for the storm that was coming in Milan. Let's say things got real crazy, real fast...and I do mean crazy! Given a love affair I had with Milan years prior, which left me yearning to return, I wasn't ready for the new and (un)improved Milan. #iwasntready
Check out my next blog post to see the treachery that happened next...