La Porta

Porta is an important word in the city of Milan. Translated, it means "door" or "gate", and the city is full of them.

Shaped like a spider-web, Milan has been architecturally influenced by all those empires, forces, etc. that have captured the city throughout time. For example, all over the second "ring" of the map are Roman gates that marked the entrance to the city when the Roman's controlled the area (e.g. Porta Romana, Porta San Lorenzo, etc.). While they may be a metro stop for some people, for history nerds like me it is a chance to silently geek out every other bus stop.

What's the point of the Porta? For me, it's the idea of an opening, an opportunity.

I do not speak Italian.

It was my biggest reservation when deciding where to study abroad. I did not want to be an "ignorant american" prancing around in mono-linguistic shame. That is why, ever since I stepped foot in Italy, my ears have not ever closed. I think some days I'm drained just from listening, from constantly trying to learn and understand.

And it's amazing how much you hear when you are desperately trying to listen for anything you understand. Not only am I aware of all the Italian I hear but I also notice what isn't in Italian. I notice if something is translated or not, if the message over the metro is repeated in another language, if someone is speaking something other than Italian or English...the list goes on.

Long story short: I feel present, I feel like I am seeing, not just looking. Listening, and not just hearing. Living, and not just being.

I don't think I could say I was doing the same in the U.S. I tried, absolutely. But I didn't know how much credit to give myself until I went from mostly understanding how the world worked around me, to starting from scratch.

There are two ways to see the gates around this beautiful city: to see them from a distance, take an artsy photo, and move on to the next...

or... brave that circle of traffic and walk straight through it. Don't let anything just be in your life, make sure everything is present, including yourself.

Here's to walking through as many gates as I can.