In preparation for sleeping in hostels with my schedule, I brought earplugs and a sleeping mask to rest without being disrupted. It was the perfect combination and I slept for a full eight hours, catching up on sleep from my travel days and adjusting to this new schedule.

I woke up at around 3pm CET/6am PT after working my first overnight shift, and got ready for the day. I was craving something refreshing so I went on a walk and ended up at La Rinascente, which is a collection of high-end stores. I went to the Vivi Bistrot Organic Salad & Juice Bar and got a berry banana smoothie. I forgot to pack a water bottle, so I bought one from the restaurant that looked cute and said, “BE THE CHANGE.”

I had gotten used to being asked for my Green Pass at this point, so I was prepared to show my passport and CDC Vaccination Card while ordering. The Green Pass is the EU's way of implementing a way for its citizens to show proof that they’ve been vaccinated in order to gain access to indoor restaurants, theaters, etc. Everyone has a QR code that gets scanned upon entry, and it’s both quick and efficient. Personally, I wish something like that would get implemented in America so we’re not walking around with a piece of paper or even QR codes from various systems that never get scanned. It’s great that all of these countries were able to come together to implement this system, meanwhile in the United States we can’t even get any of the states on the same page :-)

After getting my smoothie, I decided to go grocery shopping so I could have some food back at the hostel. I went to a small store that was a few blocks from where I was staying. It was in a less touristy area and the cashier didn’t speak much English. My phone service is slower when I’m not connected to Wi-Fi, so I played a guessing game as I maneuvered my way through the aisles. After grabbing everything I needed, I headed back to the hostel to eat “breakfast” at 6pm CET/9am PT.

I hung out a bit in the common area and then went up to my room to relax before work. I decided to watch The Lizzie McGuire movie since I had a Lizzie McGuire-like experience and because I just HAD TO. Afterwards, I headed back downstairs to start my shift.

The second night was even easier than the first and I found myself fully awake. It felt good to be on this schedule and settling into a rhythm. Once again, I went to sleep right after work at 7am.