Week 4 marks a whole month completed in Milan! Can you believe it?? For any newcomers, I’m posting weekly updates on what I did while studying abroad each day and any new self-discoveries/reflection points I may have. So… here’s the run-down on my fourth week abroad:
Monday, 9/20/21: Today I had a very early morning flight back from Vienna to Milan! My first class wasn’t until 4:50pm, so I figured I should extend my trip in Vienna to spend the whole day there Sunday and catch a flight back at 6:30am Monday. So, that’s what I did. I got back to the Collegio di Milano around 10:30am and immediately took a nap - I was exhausted! When I woke up, I showered, did some grocery shopping, then went to my history class at 4:50pm. This was the first day of our real classes here, so I was excited to start them! Luckily, our history teacher took us on an impromptu walking tour of some historical sites in Milan for our first day of class, so that was super fun! Later, I spent the night at Collegio just doing some homework and lounging around my room.
Tuesday, 9/21/21: Today marked the first day of… wait for it… MILANO FASHION WEEK!! I woke up early to put on an especially cute outfit for the week, then headed to my 9am Italian class. Following that, I had a 10:55am class on Managing Fashion & Luxury Brands, which turned out to be a really cool and interesting class! Afterwards, I quickly headed back to Collegio to make myself some lunch, then I lounged around for an hour before heading back out to my last class of the day at 2:55pm: Venture Capital & Entrepreneurial Finance. I then worked out at the Collegio gym after my class and ended the day by eating dinner at Collegio and then lounging around my room, checking the calendar for Fashion Week events and making a plan for myself for the rest of the week!
Wednesday, 9/22/21: Today I slept in a little since I had no morning classes, then went for a run. I then got ready, dressed up especially cute, and headed to the Fendi Fashion Show! I was able to stand outside it and for about 30 minutes I got to watch a bunch of celebrities and socialites (including Anna Wintour) walk into the show! Afterwards, I returned back to Collegio to grab something to eat, and then I went to my history class. I ate dinner with friends at the Collegio then spent the night outside on our soccer field with a bunch of students from the Collegio, including many Italians! Everyone was just hanging out, drinking wine, and listening to music. We also had some friendly competition with an Americans vs. Italians soccer game, and guess what? The Americans surprisingly won! The whole night was a ton of fun and it was great getting to spend more time with the Italian students here.
Thursday, 9/23/21: Today was a busy day as I had three classes again! My 9am, 10:55am, and 2:55pm. After my 2:55pm finance class though, I headed to the Furla store by the Duomo with my friend to check out their brand new RE-CANDY collection they just launched for fashion week. We then walked around a little and stopped at the Starbucks Reserve for some coffee. Later, the Collegio di Milano had a special dinner for all of us outside in the garden where we got to meet all of the staff at the Collegio and enjoy many small plates for dinner! I worked out in the gym after dinner and headed to bed early so I could wake up early for a special trip tomorrow!
Friday, 9/24/21: Today, many of my friends and I went on the IES Abroad sponsored field trip to Cinque Terre! It was a great opportunity to see the ocean-side area for free as IES Abroad covered all of our travel expenses! We took a train there at 8am, and got there around 11am. We then walked around, shopped a little, and had an amazing lunch where I enjoyed a Moscow mule and salmon tartare! We then took a ferry to another location on the coast where we spent a couple hours sipping some hugo spritzes and laying out on the coast and swimming around. It was so warm, beautiful, and really relaxing! We enjoyed some pesto focaccia, burrata, and french fries for an early dinner before heading back to the train station around 6pm to head back to Milan! Our train ended up being delayed about an hour though, but it was okay because I just grabbed a cappuccino and walked along the beach with my feet in the water as I watched the sun set. Needless to say, it was a great day!
Saturday, 9/25/21: Today I slept in a little and then got dressed in a really cute dress with boots for one of the last days of fashion week! I spent the early afternoon going to a fashion week event that was a type of art show called “Tokyo and Its Contemporary Artists,” which had really beautiful artwork! I then did a little shopping around the area and then met up with some friends later outside the Giorgio Armani Fashion Show where I saw Anna Wintour yet again!! I worked out in the gym later when I returned then had dinner at Collegio. I spent the night in as I was pretty tired and many of my friends had stayed in Cinque Terre for the weekend, but all around it was a really cool day!
Sunday, 9/26/21: I slept in a little today and then worked out in the gym around 11am. I spent the rest of the day catching up on some homework and just spending an all-around chill day in my room reading, journaling, cleaning up, and watching some Netflix! It was a much-needed relaxation day to wind down from my busy week and prepare for the week ahead!
Overall, this week was full of class and Fashion Week events! I also started to get into a real schedule of working out and taking time for self-care, which I’ve realized is so vital, especially when abroad. Since being abroad, I have surprised myself with how dedicated I am to not only bettering myself, but also bettering my experience abroad in every way possible! I’m so proud with how I’ve been sticking to self-care and working out consistently, and I am even prouder to how dedicated I have been to finding the best things to do around Milan and even Europe as I took a lot of time this week to plan out Fashion Week events and also just future trips I’ll be taking around Europe. I love feeling myself grow into a more independent and resourceful person who can plan just about anything and is staying dedicated to working towards my main goals abroad which are seeing and doing everything I can and taking good care of myself while I’m at it :)
Oh, and check out some pics of week below!!
Victoria Pembroke
<p>I'm Tori and I'm from North Bennington, Vermont USA. I'm currently a third-year student at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts studying Finance with minors in Spanish and Information Design and Corporate Communication. At Bentley, I'm treasurer of the Ski and Snowboard Club, Scholarship Chair of Phi Sigma Sigma Sorority, and a member of the Women's Leadership Program, Bentley Literary Society, and Habitat for Humanity. After graduating Bentley I hope to work in corporate finance or investor relations for a few years before eventually following my life-long passion of starting my own fashion brand! I'm therefore so excited to study abroad with IES Abroad in Milan through their Business Studies and Internship program because I'll not only be able to grow as an individual, meet so many new people, and experience an entirely new culture/see new places, but I'll also be able to have hands-on experience in this huge financial district and fashion capital of the world! In my free time I love to alpine ski, read & write, explore new restaurants and visit Boston, have fun with friends, and of course, shop!</p>
