Geplaatst in Milaan forum
I am from South Africa and speak Afrikaans and English, I will be studying in Milan from the 12th of April 2010 Fashion Photography at the Up-to-date Fashion Academy. I only know a little basic Italian and would really like to better my Italian while I’m there and be a part of some Italian cultural experiences. I understand the Municipality of Milan and the Chamber of Commerce offer courses such as language, theater, etc. Is it possible of foreigners to take a course at the municipality of Milan? Also, is it possible to get around the city with basic Italian? Do a lot of people speak English? And how is the city life like? Is there any tips you guys can give me for living in Milan? I would really like to have as much cultural experiences as possible while I'm there, is there any you can recommend?
one more thing
geplaatst door Jaro K in Milaan forum
I forgot to mention, that there are few websites, where you can find out information about events that groups together expats and english speaking locals.
One of them is www.partyamo.com another (as mentioned in other thread) is http://aperonet.too.it. I think both have actualy facebook profiles, so you can follow them on FB...
J.
Milano
geplaatst door Jaro K in Milaan forum
Hi there...
if you go through the posts in this community, you may find lot of useful information.
To answer few of your questions:Language: The better you are, the easier life you can have. As mentioned elsewhere, it is better to know a local language. Italians are not very linguistic and sometimes it might be very hard to communicate only in English. Get around city with basic Italian might be ok, but in a case you would need to go to doctor or do some paperwork in some office, maybe it is better to take some italian speakers with you.
I am not sure, whether there are any language courser organized by Comune di Milano. Definitely better do some research on this topic.
Life style: As in any big city, life migth seems a bit hectic. Normally the working hours are from 9:00 to 18:00. Italians tend to dinner quite late compare to other nations. If you go to restaurant before 20:00, you may find lot of restaurant closed or "in preparation" for the evening shift. However to bridge the period from "work leaving time" to "dinner time" in Milan, they created "apperitivo". It is a "snack time", where you pay slightly more for a drink, but within the price of drink you can have some warm and cold plates like salads, pasta, slices of foccacia etc. In fashion photografy, you might have a lot of events on your own as the fashion culture organize many events.
Where to live: If possible, try to plan this little bit ahead. On the map, check where you will spend most of the time (probably Fashion Academy), check what is the public transport in that area and try find accomodation somewhere, where you will have easy access to your school. Commuting to work might be sometimes very frustrating, as the streets especially during the peak hours are very often stuck with traffic jams. Also underground can be overcrowded in the peak hours. The best thing is to avoid long hours in the public transport and find living as close to your place as possible.
I can imagine that more and more questions come to your mind. Don't worry, even though the living in Milan has some disadvantages, it has also lot of positive sites and I believe that you will have a pleasurable stay...
Good luck
J.