In this episode, we talk with Mili, a friend of Alessandra's, whom she met in Seville. She was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, but lives in Minnesota. They recall stories from their time studying abroad, some funny and others unfortunate.
Alessandra: Hello everyone! Welcome to another episode of Madre Mía! I’m Alessandra.
Veronica: Hi, I’m Veronica!
Evelyn: And I’m Evelyn.
Alessandra: And today we have a very special guest, my friend, Mili. How are you?
Mili: Hi, how are you? Good.
Veronica: Hi Mili, how nice to see you and listen to you.
Alessandra: Yes. Mili and I met in Seville when we studied there. And yes, we have kept in touch--
Veronica: We’ve kept in touch?
Alessandra: Yes. Okay Mili, tell us about yourself. Where are you from, where do you live, anything else...
Mili: Well, I'm from Argentina, I was born there, but I moved to Minnesota when I was four years old. So I've been living in Minnesota for a long time, and now I'm still in Minnesota, in the Twin Cities. I spend time in St. Paul and Minneapolis, so all over here. And I study biomedical engineering at the University of Minnesota. This is my last year but I'm going to do a master's degree, so I'm going to continue studying, but--
Evelyn: Wonderful!
Alessandra: Congratulations!
Evelyn: What a nice career, a very nice career.
Mili: Yes, the truth, I really enjoy it. I like it a lot.
Veronica: What would you like to do when you finish your studies?
Mili: And this is the question, right? No, the reality is that I don't know very well. I would like to, I think, work in the industry. I have an internship this summer with a company called Boston Scientific that makes medical products, and I think I'd like to do that, but I really don't know. I'm going to have to see once I get out of college and see what life is really like.
Alessandra: You're going to find something very, very good, I think. You are very smart.
Mili: Thank you.
Alessandra: You're welcome. And yes, the last time we saw each other was in the summer of 2019, I think, in Philadelphia.
Mili: Yes, so long.
Alessandra: When you were doing an internship there. Well, you visited me in New Jersey, but--
Mili: Oh yeah. Yes, it was nice that summer, that I could see Ale and Deanna, our other friend from Seville, on the east coast.
Alessandra: Yes, yes. Okay, I already said that we met in Seville, but do you remember the exact moment and want to tell that story?
Mili: Yes, yes, a very funny story. So we were-- what was it? The first week, I think, in Seville, and we were with our group, a large one of 60 people, I think, touring the city. And we went to the Real Alcázar, right?
Evelyn: Alcázar, yes.
Mili: Alcázar, yes.
Evelyn: Like that, the Alcázar.
Mili: The Alcázar in Seville which is the palace that is there, and my friend Deanna and I were in a group together and-- to tour the Real Alcázar. We wanted to go on the tour in Spanish because we were there, you know, to learn Spanish and practice our Spanish and I don't know, we didn't have a reason to go on the English tour. And then a girl comes along that we didn't know like that and says, "Hi, uh, can I be your friend?"
Evelyn: How cute.
Mili: And we obviously said yes because, why not? You know, we are studying in another country to make more friends and this girl seemed like she is going to be normal at least.
Evelyn: Not a crazy person out there, not a crazy stray person out there.
Alessandra: And then you found out that no, it wasn't true.
Mili: But you're weird like us, so perfect.
Alessandra: Yes, it works. Yes--
Mili: You compliment me.
Alessandra: I, like you, wanted to do the tour in Spanish, and my other friends wanted to do it in English. So I was alone and wanted to talk and meet other friends, and yes.
Mili: Yes, and I remember that we were doing the tour and taking a lot of photos because the place is very beautiful. And Ale knew all the poses to do, she would put her hand in her hair, look up at her side. And we thought she was a model, but--
Alessandra: No.
Mili: She knew how to take photos and how to look good in photos. Or at least, better.
Alessandra: The thing with the hand on the head was my "go-to."
Mili: Yes, all the pictures!
Alessandra: I don't really know what to do.
Mili: Oh, so funny.
Alessandra: We have many stories from our time there, in other countries as well, and we have the story of the Hammam spa in Morocco, right?
Mili: Yes, that story was painful, let's say.
Veronica: What happened? What happened? Tell.
Alessandra: Well, what is a Hammam, first?
Mili: It's like a public bath in Arab cultures where you-- I don't know, you bathe there instead of bathing at home. It's very hot, it's quite humid, the floor is made of--
Evelyn: Slabs? Of slabs?
Mili: Yes, of slabs. Yes, so it is very slippery.
Evelyn: Oh, my god.
Mili: But we went in-- with our group of, from studying in Seville. We went to Morocco and this was one of the events, you know, to be part of the culture there as well, to learn a little more.
Evelyn: Sure.
Alessandra: And also with the Hamman the idea is that you’re naked. Well, no, you don't have a shirt, or a top.
Evelyn: You do not have any coverage up top.
Alessandra: Yes, yes.
Evelyn: You don’t have-- yeah.
Alessandra: Yes, so--
Veronica: You go topless.
Mili: Yes, you’re topless. It was a lot of bonding. We got pretty close in that moment.
Alessandra: Yes.
Mili: But--
Alessandra: Okay--
Mili: So, and they warned us that it is very slippery, to be careful, and well, we were careful, and I was one of the last to leave. There were two steps, there were two, only two and almost, I don't know how I slipped, but I slipped and fell down the two steps and I got a giant bruise on my butt. Black black black black, I don't know.
Evelyn: Oh poor thing. Ow.
Alessandra: We heard in the other room, we heard a plop very--
Evelyn: From the fall. Oh my!
Veronica: Loud.
Evelyn: Good thing it was nothing serious, for God's sake.
Mili: No, yes, luckily, and it was a little funny because I fell, and well, you know when you fall, it hurts a little, but you have all the adrenaline and yes, well, I'm fine. It is not so much the women, the other women there from Morocco who came to me and asked me if I was okay, they wanted to make sure that I had not been hurt worse, but I could not, I could not answer them, I could not tell them that I was okay. And that was, I felt a little bad because I told them, “Don't worry, it's all good.” And the truth is that I did not believe that the fall was so ugly, but later, at night we are in our hotel and the __ to the other girls that in the room I said, “It hurts a little when I sit down, do I have a bruise or something?” And I took off my bottom and they yelled, they said, "Milagros, what happened? Mili, no, but okay. What have you got, no, how can you sit down? That's black, giant!”
Evelyn: Oh wow.
Mili: Yes, it hurt for a couple of weeks later, and now I have a funny story of that experience.
Evelyn: Yes, but how scary. Poor thing. Poor thing, poor thing, what a horror.
Alessandra: It's funny and we laugh a lot, but I actually feel bad for you-- or felt bad.
Evelyn: For you, for you.
Alessandra: For you.
Evelyn: For you.
Alessandra: Another story was at the Sebastián Yatra concert, and well, in another episode, in the second episode I told a little bit of this story, but Mili and her other friend from Minnesota, Bridgette, well, she visited you, and she came with us. And yes, Yatra threw his shirt into the crowd and I wasn't looking at the stage at the time, and well, the girl behind me caught it.
Veronica: She caught it.
Mili: That was a very sad moment in our life.
Evelyn: Well so what-- tell me one thing. What would you have done if you had caught the shirt? What do you do with a sweaty, stinky shirt?
Mili: Well, first yell with happiness and then I don't know what you do with the shirt. You sell it on eBay, I don't know!
Evelyn: That, okay, well, well, first thing, to the washing machine.
Alessandra: Yes.
Evelyn: Because, oh my God. After all, it's someone's sweaty shirt, right?
Mili: Yes, but Yatra for some reason at this concert changed his shirt like six times.
Evelyn: Oh, okay.
Mili: I don't know why, because he threw them, then he put on another one.
Evelyn: Ah, okay, okay. So they were clean.
Mili: Relatively.
Evelyn: Sure.
Alessandra: His dance moves were very weird, remember?
Mili: Yes! It was an experience.
Evelyn: His dances? Were they dance moves of his?
Alessandra: Yes.
Evelyn: Oh. What? Elvis Presley wannabe or what?
Alessandra: Uh, maybe, I don't know, but we had a lot of fun.
Mili: Yes, I am thankful that you convinced me to buy tickets to the concert because before I did not know who Sebastián Yatra was, and now I always listen to his music. My friend Bridgette who is from Minnesota and doesn't speak Spanish also always has Sebastián Yatra on and follows him on Instagram and when he puts on a new song, she downloads it and shows me.
Alessandra: I love it.
Mami: He is very cool. I love his music. And you can see that he has a good personality.
Evelyn: Yes.
Alessandra: The last story of our adventures was in Budapest and Prague. But something in Budapest happened to you, right? On the street, you were singing, and what happened?
Mili: Yes, Ale and I went to Budapest alone, it was our trip that we were independent like that. And we are on the street going back to our Airbnb, and I think we are speaking in English and singing a song a bit, I don't remember which one, but not so loud. And a man walking by us came and just spit, in my face I think? The truth is that I do not remember much. I try not to remember much of that moment. And we just kept walking and he kept walking because the truth, again, we cannot communicate. No, it was not a time where we wanted to fight with anyone, the truth is better nothing more to get to our apartment where we are staying, that was a couple of blocks away, so yes. It was an experience, let's say.
Evelyn: And what language were you speaking in, Spanish or English?
Mili: No, in English.
Evelyn: In English. And what would it be? Why, why, what would have prompted such a thing?
Veronica: They were talking in English.
Mili: I don't know if he was just having a bad day or if it was, you know, anti--
Alessandra: American.
Mili: Visitor, anti-tourist, anti-American. The truth is, no, I don't know where it came from. If we were for a reason being disrespectful and we did not realize it. The truth is I do not know.
Evelyn: What were you going to do, what were you going to need to do that would have offended him, my God, what a thing. A fanatic, a madman.
Mili: Yes.
Evelyn: Xenophobe, surely.
Alessandra: It was a very weird moment.
Mili: Yes. And Ale felt really bad, she told me, “No, poor thing. Are you okay? Why did she spit on you and not on me?
Evelyn: Oh god.
Mili: I told her it wasn't her fault, that it’s okay! Don't feel bad. And we went back to the apartment and I think I bathed because, to get all that off myself.
Evelyn: Of course. Yes. Imagine, of course.
Alessandra: Why does everything bad happen to you?
Evelyn: Poor little thing.
Mili: No.
Alessandra: The Hamman, and there. But, no. I wanted to say that the good moments outweigh the bad moments.
Mili: Yes, again, another story to have.
Alessandra: What?
Mili: Also again, it’s another story, you know, after. In the moment, yes, it is not the best, but then now I have something to tell. We have content for this podcast.
Alessandra: Yes, thank you!
Mili: Yes. Do you also remember in Budapest when we were going from Budapest to Prague on that bus at 11:30 at night, that we didn’t have to do anything more than get on the bus in I don't know, on the side of the street they don't know, nor do we know where, we couldn't speak the language, we couldn't find the bus, we couldn't find where it was, and that was a huge dilemma. And that there we had our backpack with all our things. At this point I seriously believed that something bad was going to happen to us.
Alessandra: No, there weren't other people also in our positions, but yes, no.
Mili: Mmmm.
Alessandra: It wasn’t the best.
Mili: Yes. But we arrived in Prague and returned to Seville well, happy.
Alessandra: Mom is worried now.
Evelyn: Well, it's too late. Tell me, did you make all those trips by train or plane?
Mili: No.
Evelyn: You went by plane, or how?
Alessandra: Some by plane, but from Budapest to Prague it was by bus because they are close.
Mili: Yes, more than anything we went by plane because Seville is far to the south, so to go anywhere else it was easier, faster and cheaper to go by plane.
Evelyn: By plane, yeah.
Mili: By RyanAir.
Evelyn: Wonderful.
Alessandra: Have you seen RyanAir’s TikTok?
Mili: No.
Alessandra: I think I sent you a video. Well--
Mili: I don’t remember.
Alessandra: You have to see the Tik Tok account because it is very, very funny.
Mili: Okay, I would love to see it.
Alessandra: Well, I lied that that was the last story because I know that one of your favorite trips was to Amsterdam, the last trip together. And do you still want to live in Amsterdam one day?
Mili: Yes, I really loved Amsterdam. It was so beautiful. I did not know, I did not remember that it was our last trip, but the truth, it was what, three days? And wonderful. We went to see the plants, the tulips one day, and we went to the lakes. We were also in the city, we went to all the museums, we ate delicious food. I don't know, really we had such a nice time and the people were so good, cool, funny that it made me want to, when I was there, I told the girls that it made me want to go live there for a while, a couple of years. And I started looking, you know, if there would be things for biomedical engineering in Amsterdam or in Holland, out there. And there are a couple, there is not much, there is like a little to do, but yes, I keep looking, I keep seeing if it is a possibility, I would love it at some point. But soon, because I would not like to be living outside the country when my sisters start to, you know, raise their families and already raise little grandchildren or nieces everywhere too. I would love to be there.
Alessandra: You started learning Dutch after that trip too?
Mili: Oh yeah. Yes, after the trip I downloaded three different apps to learn Dutch and used them, like, a month I think? One month and a half? And I learned, I learned a little, but then I went back to my normal life, not my study abroad life, and no, I didn't have the time and I stopped. But I still have the apps on my phone, so one day I'll start over.
Evelyn: And everyone there speaks English, everyone speaks English in the Netherlands. It is a big advantage.
Mili: The truth is that we had an ideal trip. I don't know why, how it happened, but it was all-- it went well.
Alessandra: For me, no.
Mili: Well.
Evelyn: What happened?
Mili: You came later because you didn't-- at first you didn't want to go or you wanted to stay longer in Seville, you said, and when I planned the trip, you signed up later and no, it didn't work out the same.
Alessandra:No, I almost missed the flight because no, I don't know, I had to catch a bus to the airport, but it was - the bus was late. And I was nervous all the time and the driver was very slow and I also forgot to check in, check in. And I forgot to do that and had to pay € 50 as well.
Evelyn: Oh my god. That's why it hurt you so much.
Alessandra: And that lasted more time when I was already late.
Veronica: You were late.
Alessandra: Yes.
Mili: And this was in Holland?
Veronica: Going to Holland, on the way to Holland?
Alessandra: No.
Mili: Getting back.
Alessandra: Returning to Seville.
Veronica: Oh, returning to Seville.
Alessandra: Okay.
Mili: Yes, and I remember that your flight was not leaving Amsterdam, it was from another place that began with "e".
Alessandra: I do not remember anymore. Speaking of your siblings, how many do you have?
Mili: I have three sisters and one brother.
Evelyn: Wow, five! So beautiful. Big families are beautiful. Very funny.
Mili: Yes, I love it.
Alessandra: How was that for you growing up and now? And that you are the baby.
Mili: Yes, like I said before, I don't know. My siblings are-- they are twelve years older than me, ten years older, eight years older, and two and a half years older. And there are the three oldest sisters and my brother and I are the smallest. And the truth, when I was growing up I loved it, and I still love it, but it was different. It was a dynamic more like girls and boys. Because at that age when you are younger there is a difference between the ages, there is-- you can see the-- this difference and when I was in fourth grade, my older sister left-- she moved to her grad school, to Boston. So that was really difficult for me because I liked being with my family, but luckily all my siblings had gone to college here in Minnesota, and half or the two oldest lived at home, so we could have a lot of time together, they didn't leave when they were 18 years old. And I appreciate that very much, but the truth is, I don't know anything-- I don't know what it's like not to be the youngest, I don't know what it's like not to be the youngest having such older siblings. And it has many advantages, the truth. I love it, I always had other places in the United States to visit because my sisters lived in Boston, in Seattle, in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York. So I could always go visit new places and be with them. They also taught me a lot and took great care of me. They always took me to do the things I wanted to do when my parents couldn't, or didn't want to. And I don't know, I appreciate them very much. And with my brother, I have a-- he's not that much older, so no, or he's not so-- yes, older. So no, we don't have such a different relationship like that, he didn't take care of me so much when I was little. With him I fought a lot more and we had more problems but now, now we are friends again.
Alessandra: I love it.
Evelyn: That always happens. How cute, how cute. What a beautiful family, it sounds. How great it is, right? Having a family, growing up with so many siblings and--
Mili: I love it. I would love to have many children just so they have the same experience.
Evelyn: And do you have nephews or nieces? How many nephews or nieces do you have? You don’t have any yet?
Mili: No, not yet.
Evelyn: No, not yet.
Alessandra: Maybe soon.
Mili: Maybe soon, yes, but I don't want to put pressure on them. That-- that's what mothers are for. I’m just the sister, I am here to help.
Evelyn: Of course. How sweet, how sweet.
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