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Good old-fashioned cultural exchange
One of my behind-the-scenes bucket list items here has been to visit a hospitality house (government name: National Olympic Committee House). Basically, various countries rent out cool venues in Milan — from historic halls to popular pubs — to use as home bases for fans and events, some private and some open to the public by reservation. I hadn't heard of this tradition until I got here, by which point everything was pretty booked up.
Fortunately, I was able to visit the Korea House on Tuesday — and not just any Tuesday, but Lunar New Year, or Seollal!
The Korea House is operating out of Villa Necchi, a beautiful 1930s villa-turned-museum that boasts lush grounds, marble bathrooms, an art collection featuring works by Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse (displayed in one of those climate-controlled bathrooms) and Milan's first private swimming pool. It was featured prominently in Luca Guadagnino's 2009 film I am Love, and less prominently in 2021's House of Gucci.
But I didn't know all of that when I arrived. I only knew I was at the right gate because, minutes before the event's 1:30 p.m. start time, there was already a line down the street. As people filed in, they made their way to an airy, greenhouse-like structure (formerly a tennis court) with a bunch of vendor tables (Korean ramen, beauty products, fragrances) and a big stage, offset by Italian and South Korean flags. There was also a downstairs area where people could try on the Team Korea uniforms, play games and pose for photos.
The celebrations included a series of performances: pansori, a Korean genre of musical storytelling, then a romantic folk song that morphed into "Volare," and a sassy trio nailing the choreography to "Golden" from K-Pop Demon Hunters. The crowd — representing a wide range of backgrounds and languages — clapped along and filmed on their phones, clearly enjoying it. There were speeches, including by Korea's ambassador to Italy, and a few interactive moments, like when the crowd got help trying out a hacky-sack-like game and wished our neighbors a happy New Year. I heard there was traditional rice cake soup, but I missed it because I went inside the house looking for a bathroom and ended up on a lovely personal tour led by a museum volunteer.
It was awesome to reap the benefits, however briefly, of that shining Olympic promise of camaraderie and cultural exchange among strangers — especially in the context of something happy like a holiday meant to be shared with people (with no judgement or competition involved!). I never did find a usable bathroom. But I left feeling very content.
A tail of two dogs
I hope you've read about (and seen the video of) Nazgul, the two-year-old Czechoslovakian wolfdog who broke loose onto the cross-country ski course in Tesero yesterday and raced his way to a photo finish.
But let me introduce you to the other dog of the day: Margo. We found her snoozing peacefully in the Scandinavian gummy candy store we've been frequenting here in Milan. Maybe she was dreaming of her own Olympic moment, or just of marshmallows.
What I'm hearing
A handful of songs have come to define these Olympics for me, specifically at the figure skating rink. We hear the same playlist on loop throughout the night — every night — during Zamboni breaks and skaters' warm-ups, and while they wait for their scores.
These are just a few of the standouts, by which I mean I'll probably never hear them again without feeling a little nostalgic and a phantom chill in my fingertips:
- "I Follow Rivers" by Lykke Li
- "This Girl (Kungs Vs. Cookin' On 3 Burners)" by Kungs
- "Roadgame" by Kavinsky
- "Sapphire" by Ed Sheeran
- "I Gotta Feeling" by The Black Eyed Peas*
*I will always picture Tina — the adorable, always-beaming stoat mascot — jumping up and down to this one: It's her favorite.
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