It all started when Michelle added us to a group WhatsApp chat, titled “GO BIG BITCHES!”
Shortly after, we established that she meant to add a comma after big, i.e. “go big, bitches!”
I rather liked the original title though, which suggested we were each a big bitch, presumably in comparison to the rest of our MBA class. The real irony is that none of us are bitches really—in fact we are all well-liked among our colleagues.  But, we have bonded over the shared experience of being North American in Italy, and with it, learning the language, looking for jobs, being frustrated by bizarre social customs, and traveling together.
Mike & Lauren at my club’s opening event, an aperitivo and talk with the CEO of Dondup, an Italian denim brand
In July, we visited Genova for Michelle’s birthday. In September, Mike, Lauren, and I went to Naples. And for Halloween, we missed Jenn in Slovenia.
We would travel more together I am sure, if we weren’t all broke, approaching the end of our budgeted time to be unemployed and drawing down savings.
At the Cipriani Hotel, Venice (me with my eyes closed, damn!)
The title stuck, by the way, even though someone tried to change it to a more festive but less comical name for the holidays.
Of course, SDA Bocconi MBA41 includes other North Americans, but the five of us (Alex, Mike, Jennifer, Michelle, and Lauren) have been happy in our little group, with the occasional joiner-inner: Jenn’s boyfriend Carlos, from Costa Rica; Miriam, the exchange student from Vancouver; or Emma, our British bestie.
We all bring something different to the dynamic, and it has been a great meshing. Mike and I are both gay and introspective thinkers, and we both led clubs at school this year (Ethica and Luxury/Arts, respectively). Lauren is like the troop mom, always responsible, easygoing, and optimistic. She is great at counseling us.
Michelle in Slovenia, posing
Michelle is really smart and witty, and did a great internship over the summer with Yoox, one of Milan’s biggest fashion retail companies. She and I also share a trait in that one of our parents is deceased.
Jenn, Mike, and I are all quite introverted, so we love to be alone and do nothing. She is also going to start a job with Campari in the new year (congrats Jenn!!), we just learned.
The Big Bitches is my first significant experience with Canadian friends (Michelle and Jenn are both from Toronto). It has been fascinating to understand their cultural background, which is in some moments quite shared with us the Americans, and in others, much more liberal, European, or just different.
I had no idea they are still tied (albeit superficially) with their sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II.
Lauren attempting to eat a sfogliatelle in Naples
Mike and Lauren were both in Manhattan before the MBA (and both attended College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts for undergrad). Being around them and learning their stories makes me less scared to potentially live there, as I have applied to quite a few jobs in the city recently.
It goes without saying, but I will really miss the big bitches. In a year of change, of high moments and low moments, they have been a support system for me, and me for them. I feel a lot of gratitude to have encountered such a sweet, caring, but never boring group of friends.
Lauren and Jenn in Bordeaux
We will be parting ways—Michelle and Jenn plan to stay in Milan, while Mike, Lauren, and I are destination unknown, at least for now.
There is a lot of trite talk at the end of something like a graduate program as small as ours (98), of friendship and love and fuzzy feeling that doesn’t resonate with me. I have enjoyed everyone, but that doesn’t mean I will miss seeing their faces everyday.
The big bitches, on the other hand, have genuinely touched my heart, however impenetrable it can sometimes be. They have heard my tales, my “secrets,” and we’ve grown close. I think it is a good sign when we start discussing ways to see each other into the future—like regrouping in Milan next December, or planning brunch and shopping days in Soho.
Dovunque siamo, ci vediamo presto, stronze! Andate!
Lauren and I in Lerici for the sailing weekend, when I got terribly sunburnt
