italians have a weird sense of beauty, thanks to the toni n guy 'professionals', i look like dalki/china doll now. bah.
hair grows for a good reason.


off to copenhagen/lund n malmo/bergen/oslo.
fjords: here i come!
tty in a week's time.

Palazzo Clerici, 1 of the jewels of Milan.  

mega huge Armani building. even the pet dogs brought inside have it better.  

Cova goodies. *drool* 

note the anorexic manequins (accord9 to our guide in the pic) 

e 2 clowns playing bollywood 

da armani spazio. note the minimalist architecture. nothing = high-class 

our classy guide...we had a private english tour! so blessed! n she was really nice.  

costumes! 

visit to the La Scala production factory. AMAZING. tt's a painted backdrop 

dinner time 

alice -miss scooby doo n me at meimei n jac's resort like home 

Spring's here! The central was just swarming with people in for musical treats, museum visitations etc (swarming is an understatement)

i attended a seminar on Business History, not much value added though. It wasn't an expository, more of a debate. hmm.
And i was just thinking of our history...made up of all kinds of experiences...versus genetic makeup...the 2 important determinants of us today. to a certain extent, both factors influence each other...how interesting if a part of each were to change. how would the present be altered? i wonder.

ah! i miss Girls & Co!

oh by the way, i won't be arnd during Christmas.

n Hannah says, 'Well done!' well done indeed. hahaha.

sheesh, there's so much i want to do i don't want to ever go back home. I better write down a priority list and assume that i'm going to die in July, so at least I'd narrow down my choices. And if i should really die, I'd die without regrets. haha.

yay! birthday package from my darlings, it has part of my name too! thank you dears. Love you all! 

celebrating early easter with Alice! 

well, aside from the all rosy side of travelling, seeing beautiful places, beautiful people and loads of new experiences...refreshing perspectives from straight, structured and perfectionist Singapore...
being on exchange has got its down sides which hardly ever get mentioned.
but i strongly believe the minus sides really teach you the best lessons one can never ever learn unless put in that exact position.
it's a tacit knowledge, if i may put it that way.
just like cooking - something that i'm getting more adept at. Watch my spatula sparkling! bwahaha.

(i) planning IS a bitch, logistical nightmare, something that makes people wanna stay put at home.
air tickets, timing, accomodation, sights, timetable, scheduling, travelmates, toiletries, backpacks, temperature, contact numbers, railpasses, currency exchange yadayadayada

(ii) cleaning your own dishes, washing clothes, being responsible for your own meals, being responsible for the neatness of your bedwardrobedesk blablabla, handling bills, apartment hunting, handling tons of applications thanks to the bureaucratic mess here...well, hailing from a highly sheltered home, it's definitely much more responsibility that people have to face on exchange

(iii) people problems - problems with housemates, roomates, travelmates, thank God i haven't experienced such eeky affairs, but i've heard tons of stories from friends here. it's like several cold wars reaching a peak all of a sudden...pple in different camps, backstabbing, childish arguments, weirdinsane quirks, highly selfish behaviour, negative EQ....

(iv) homesickness, friendsickness etc etc etc and esp when you suffer problems of the heart. the culmination of loneliness, pain, blablabla....can be the perfect murder weapon.

(v) misc things like being treated differently, racism IS an issue unless you're hiding in your wardrobe or are blind/deaf/dumb, organisations going on strikes, serious inefficiency, language barriers

And esp if you haven't gotten accustomed to life on your own in the first few weeks (or months for some) it can get really depressing. I can't say I'll speak for everyone. But just attempting to paint my picture, which I'm really thankful for. the opportunity to travel out of my comfort zone...to learn to be more independent, a more giving person, a more tolerant n patient person,(throwing tantrums doesn't solve anything, your dirty dishes remain unwashed in the sink) hopefully a more loving person, and someone more open, less ignorant, instead of having my head being preserved in the tiny lil elitist environment of Singapore's.
I'm still please to say that I chose to come here alone, as in without anyone I'm close to because I grow much more. It's a matter debatable I guess, I'm made to be more reliant on God alone.

busy busy day which was pretty fulfilling haha
retail therapy with Lena and we saw a cute lil chihuahua in the shop window wonder if it's put there on display haha
retail therapy is therapeutic..i bought skinny jeans! (pressure to stay skinny...sheesh)
n looking at the long list of souvenirs/presents i need to buy, i'm in deep trouble.
project meeting which was surprisingly pleasant and productive! tho the italians do procrastinate a lot, and we would have discussed the same things in SMU for abt a quarter of the time. but oh well...italians...haha
photography exhibition, i love looking at great pictures that just capture the moment so real so in touch with the human soul. - Piergiorgio Branzi who took black n white pics of the mediterannean society, amazing artist (got this pic off the net but it wasn't on display)














indian dinner with meimei, jac, alice. I love naan...and their nonsense.
I really wonder if it's the exchange students here that are so different/innately problematic.

oh sheesh i'm gonna miss the milan vs lyon match. *pouts*

up n coming travels:

29th Mar - 4th April : Copenhagen, Lund, Bergens, Oslo
with junyi, kaixin, charlotte, janice, sharleen n meeting Isabell my fave strawberry girl

11th - 18th April: Bratislava, Vienna, Prague, Munich
with Van n Aman

21st - 26th April: Sicily - Catania, Messina, Lipari, Palermo
with Van, Aman, Jingzhong, Meimei n Jac?

29th April - 3rd May: Rome
with Sharmaine

10th - 14th May: hmmm....


*poof* i go. contact me via eejia.tan@gmail if you really need to tell me something ok!

Peectures <----


Weekend Getaway with a big V- Vanessa in Verona, Venice!

The area's 3rd largest in the world. currently preparing for the opera season in June/July.


We were also stuffing ourselves silly with loads of gelato, sheesh, see the extra weight i put on? My current fave is Malaga - rum n raisin! haha. i'm so gonna try every single flavour, maybe 1 a day in Summer. *drool*
Verona's hills housed loads of huge houses, fortresses, and castles. I just found out that my Milanese classmate, Nicola, has a holiday home on those hills!


I loved the Giardino Gusti gardens, the amazing garden which is the highlight (since i love parks, flowers, all things natural to a certain extent) it resembled the ones in London - with neatly trimmed bushes, fountains, pine trees, statues, mazes.



Venice, just like any other bella (pretty girl), has hordes of admirers all year round, except March. hence, we shunned those disgusting crowds and chose to visit it again. It's really much prettier when it's quiet, a rarity. the lil bridges across the tiny canals, and quaint looking houses. We didn't hear any serenading by the Gondola men tho.
Navigating through the narrow pathways and ridiculous-numbered streets was pretty challenging, and we walked so much during the entire trip our calves possibly grew larger.
the Jewish Ghetto offered a sudden lapse into silence. the entire square was so quiet, and contrasted greatly with the rest of bustling Venice. seemed as though the silence was reserved for those who were persecuted and confined in the lil area which also housed Venice's tallest houses.
The islands of Murano and Burano were amazing! Burano was filled with brightly coloured houses, how adorable. The lace-making island was just so cute, they had pink, purple, yellow, baby blue, luminous yellow houses! the whole place was like struck by the rainbow. haha.

For dinner, we had Israeli food! which was mouth watering. the appetizer n the falafel was heavenly. ironic that we can't appreciate italian food in Italy and end up eating the best from other nations. And during dinner, we had an unexpected companion. Uncle Matthew? Matel? ok let's just call him uncle M, all of 38 years old, balding, with a jolly round belly, pink shirt, very smiley and asked us twice if he could join us for the dinner. I was busy ignoring him when he was smiling at me by trying to chew my fish dish, being unaccustomed to such friendliness. Well, he's very sociable, and his heritage was mind-blowing. Half Austrian, half French, he knows enough languages to conquer the world (according to Van) and he lives in Milan.
*sugar daddy bulb lights up* We'll see how it goes, he has our numbers anyway. haha.

Visitation to the Ducale Palace n the St Mark's Basilica was..overwhelming. Yes, the grandeur of the palace did strike me. but the brilliant works of frescoes was too much to bear. I wonder how i'm gonna tahan Vatican City. Ack. After Westminster/chapels in Cambridge, I think i've had enough of Churches. Anyhow, colourful Venetian history was peppered with loads of wars (typical of any european county), saints sent from above to aid with the protection of the Venetian state etc etc. I was just wondering how true everything was, or if everything was simply an allegory. The institution at that time was surprisingly complex, and probably attributed to the richness of the Venetian state. Till now, it is still a powerhouse generating loads of income coz of tourism n such.

chicken rice! yummy! 

my taste buds have just been spoilt.
i just had the best korean food (i don't recall eating korean food, food in korea doesn't count) in milano. ironic.
how silly, we didn't take photos because all our senses were too carried away by the spread.
BBQ + hotpot + kimchi
*drool*
the company was fabulous as well..
meimei n jac -> smu girls
valentina n patrizia who are italian bocconi students, great people.
+ van of coz.


verona n venice this weekend!
we missed varese coz of unwell bodies n souls. next time!

it was such an eventful day i couldn't stop talking when i came home
to tell aman n van of the assortment of people i met.

italy..everything's just the opposite of singapore
the people are just so alive, passionate, expressive...
i met this sicillian girl - and she just blew me away with her wit, humour, intelligence and beauty and openness and friendliness and bubbliness. *whistles*
she's doing her phd in bocconi and spent 3 yrs in Ireland.
extremely well-informed, with her own mind and definitely someone you would love to talk to. think she's one of the rare ones who approach students from other parts of the world.
well sicillians are known for tt, while prudish milanese prefer talking to their pradas and ferragamos. ok i'm being biased coz i haven't really met milanese except the old lady who lives next to us and gets aman to wash her hands before helping her put on her pearl necklace.
and i don't know why, i always become the victim of an italian trying to be funny by scaring me with a sudden appearance in my face (+ various antics tt i shan't be bothered to explain)

and then there was this italian guy...who was being rather cheeky like all the rest
i was waiting for aman's ah mat, and reading a book.
and here's how the conversation went

'hi what are you reading?'
'oh hi...an english story book.'
'but people in Bocconi don't read that.'
'???'
'you're not allowed to read that. people in bocconi only read books in economia (business)'
'oh...but i'm an exchange student and exchange students don't need to study.'

aman says that's a good pick up trick.
sg guys: buck up. learn their wits, romantic ways, and sexy and dangerous ways

it's funny how colonialism leads to so many similarities across countries. the hongkees use the same 3 pin plug as we do! i guess the imposition of similar systems can be pretty useful, especially when it comes to electricity points. hurhur.

a lil takeaway from class:
from history, it seems like the countries that grant its citizens autonomy in running the country as well as running their money....gets an edge. just look at Great Britain.
downside of it is of coz the focus on inhumane capitalism, Blake's poetry clearly expounds on that. so does Munch's Silent Scream.
the brits seemed to be really open to different concepts too, and pretty much adaptive
all forms of tolerance included...I'm quite glad Singapore pretty much matches up to those conditions, not much racism or intolerance is experienced back home. perhaps a bit of oppression but we still pretty much get to do whatever we want. hopefully that will continue to spur us forward.


this sat: Varese
Next weekend: Verona/Venice
29th Mar - 4th Apr: Lund/Bergens/Oslo
wheee. =)

aniwae visitors to our rafflesian piccolo greenhse (+black +white) shall chant a rafflesian cheer (complete with a low bellow) before stepping in.
or bear the consequences of the rg toughness.
thou shalt not shed tears for the fools. bah.
raffles (girls) rock.

since italian time is rubber band, time just floats along and we try to be productive simply by getting out of bed.
a large proportion of the time is spent on thinking what to cook for dinner, how to cook and cooking.
and then it's back to attempting to do readings, planning for trips, catching up with people back at home.
you're busy with nothing.
i miss the pace in smu, and the intensity of it all. yes, crazy me, i know.

anyhow, pple in Europe...
i end exams on 12th June. Tell me your plans etc yea! =)

dinner! woohoo.  

view frm outta our balcony. pretty blue sky! 

entrance into our apartmt block 

e oven n fridge (hidden) 

kitchen cum living rm 

e kitchen! My territory! 

our bedroom, mine's blue, amanda's pink, van's orange 

my wardrobe. hmm it's neat ok.  

my 'shrine', awwww 

e toilette