Kylie in Italy : Expats Eye

Kylie in Italy: Weekly Editorial Column from Milan:

When I touched down in Milan nearly 18 months ago, I was so very very foreign. I'm a small town girl from New Zealand - we don't have an underground metropolitan system, nor an above ground tram system actually, so navigating the bus timetable is as complicated as it gets (and even that has me in a pickle on the odd occasion). So the prospect of handling alien modes of transport, in a foreign language, spoken by people in outlandish dress style, was all rather disconcerting. But not now.

Now, I'm a pro. Oh how I've come a long way. Arrogant, I know. But I have reason to be. I can't be modest about triumphing over this battle of survival anymore, because I see the new girls arrive, all cheery faced and ready for the challenge - and I see them a week later, downtrodden and wallowing in their own self-misery of homesickness and loneliness, and I know it's not easy. So yeah, I am proud to have come out the 'better' side of the challenge against the Italian mentality, culture, and customs.

I graduated from university in NZ at the end of 2004, and as with many new-grads, there was something not pleasing about entering the corporate world. So, with my journalism degree safely tucked away for future use, I made the move to Milan. And now, I'm a nanny - it's an intermediate step, I assure you. But it's a challenge. Nannying brings trials and tribulations incomparable to any other profession. The classic problems of being a foreigner in an overpopulated, bustling city appear somewhat grander when you're negotiating it all with a young children in tow. It's all well and good getting disorientated on the way to the park when you're alone and have oodles of time to relocate the right street, but how do you explain to a five year old the reason why you're walking this segment of pavement for the fifth time in as many minutes?

"Oh, we're lost. I don't know the way home. But don't worry little kid, we'll just use that language that I have no clue how to use, to ask for directions."

The beginning was, undeniably, a challenge. But one that has brought rewards nothing can compare to. A year and a half on, I am still in Milan, and still loving it. Italy is a beautiful country, and Milan is an amazing city.

Weekly, I will keep you updated on the happenings of life in Milan through my eyes - the eyes of a foreigner. I hope the future columns bring enjoyment, as well as enlightenment.

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Kylie in Italy : Expats Eye

Kylie in Italy: Weekly Editorial Column from Milan:

Moving to Italy