A Year and Three Days

It's been quite a while since I wrote anything. A lot has happened but nothing that forced the words out.

Last Friday was one such occasion. On the 11th of October I officially finished a year in Milan. An entire year.

I remember the day I came last year, it was bright and sunny. The sky was blue, the air was crisp, and I had a whole new life to look forward to. A year down the line, the day was dull, cold and depressing. But somewhere within me, the warmth of last year still survived. It permeated through me and made me smile all day.

One year, 365 days, gone in a flash. So many places, so many faces, so many experiences, now just memories. And still a lot more to come. The relativity of time always becomes obvious on days like these. When just a few short weeks ago I was in India, back home for a vacation that went by too quick. A vacation where a life altering event happened, the effects of which I still have completely understood or appreciated or even realized. A vacation that made me long for life back in Milan, just as I longed to go back home when I was here.  When I realized that nothing changes back home and yet everything and everyone was different, including me. That old habits die hard, and new ones can be costly. That culture shock is very real even when returning back home. That India is dark and grey and dirty, but so beautiful that one can't compare. That the connections made in this past year, with people and with places are precious. I missed my friends even though I was away for a few weeks and they missed me back. Such strong bonds made in such a short time. That coming back made me happy but also restless and alone.

A month before that, I was still struggling with the final submissions for school. The last project, the last presentation, the last of school. Finished again with the comfort of education, and thrust unwillingly into reality. Then there was the presentation that kept on going. The sunglasses that we kept working on. That project culminated with a trip to Austria.  A final presentation to the company and a final comment, "It's ready for production."  Something that makes you smile, happy because your work has been worth it, sad because it the end of it.

There was the Venice Architecture Biennale. Something every architect dreams of seeing and being part of. An amazing experience in a beautiful city. One that is now forever stuck in my fancy as one of the most enchanting places I will ever see. A chance encounter with Shekhar Kapoor, that turned around an otherwise dull night. A live quartet, that made my eyes water.

Then comes the most recent trip, Oktoberfest. An experience of a lifetime, and another thing checked off the list. Beer and roller coasters and chocolate and beer and pretzels and beer and giggling drunk through the streets. Where did it end and when did it begin? It's all a haze of colours and faces and beer.

The internship has also begun bringing with it new challenges. The commute to work being the first one.

Being thrown completely at the far end of the pool and realizing that your paddling skills aren't as bad as you thought they were. Understanding that a good environment, good people around and a good attitude can make even supposedly mundane/ unwanted work enjoyable and fun. That "what's for lunch ?" is an ever pertinent question in school or work. It's just that at work you ask it to yourself the night before..... :P

Lastly, the weather in Milan is changing. It is getting to that time of the year when the cold nips at you but just enough to make its presence felt. When the warm clothes start coming out, when the meals start getting bigger. A light drizzle, a cold shower, just a gentle warning, winter is here.