P.S. I Love This Place

Another week in Italia and, though I have proved unable to find my way perfectly around central Florence, I am starting to recognize landmarks to get me around. With Google Maps to help, of course. This Friday was my final exam, officially marking the end of my three-week intensive Italian course. We went out to “celebrate” with the people in our program, our Italian professors, and the program coordinators at a pizzeria. It was amazing pizza, but at the table of five that I sat at, we were expected to eat four large pizzas. It seemed like all of the food we’d been eating was in preparation of this day. Four monstrous pizzas for three girls (one didn’t eat) and one guy were almost too much, but I can proudly say we didn’t leave a piece! Not to say we didn’t have any problems afterwards (as one so affectionately called our “pizza brains”), but we had a lot of fun talking and eating and then talking about how much we’d eaten. I have really come to like the people in my program, although I know not everyone feels the same. It’s easy to keep an open mind when dealing with natives in a foreign country, but less so with the other American students you’re with. The best thing I’ve found, at least to get along with everyone, is to stay positive and open to whatever is going on.

Starting with the first exciting trip we went to was for class. It was an introduction to the Collaboration class I’m going to be taking. After going through boring classroom things, we went to the Florentine Baptistery and listened to Professor Solberg tell us all about it. At first I was a little doubtful of how I would like the class, but during our time in the freezing baptistery, I learned so much and got to look at so much. I now know a little of what to expect from on-site classes and I am really excited for more.

The view from the historical entrance.

A view of the stories and angelic hierarchy.

The view of the breath-taking ceiling.

The (former) Baptistery itself was so beautiful that I can’t even describe it with words. There was no real pool to baptize people in anymore, hence the “former,” but the marble designs on the floor and the walls were really interesting. It was fascinating to see how the Florentines thought so carefully when building their baptistery, with the octagonal shape and carefully decorated floor. The floor was mosaic as was the beautiful domed ceiling. I couldn’t believe that the ceiling, which depicted stories from the Old and New Testaments as well as the hierarchy of angels and heaven and hell, was a mosaic. So much time and effort had been put into it and it’s obvious that these builders were adamant not only to build a beautiful place for God, but to wow their competitors. It was definitely one of my favorite places just for the ceiling and I think one guy got it right when he just laid down on one of the pews to see the ceiling without bending his neck back for hours like I did.

Even the cinema has a dome in its ceiling.

The right side of the cinema from
where I was sitting.

On Friday night, my host mom, my roommate, and I went to the cinema to watch Quartet. It was an OK movie, but what really got me was the theater itself. I couldn’t stop staring at everything around me. I knew I probably looked like a tourist, but the inside of it was so beautiful. There are sculptures all around Florence, and this cinema was no exception. Even the pillars were carved with gorgeous designs. I could hardly pay attention to the film with all the décor around.

My host mom and roommate
looking intently at the
cinema program.

I really like my host mom and I want to do more things with her, but, being a little shy, I’m just starting to get more comfortable actually speaking to her in Italian. It’s not always very good, of course, and she corrects me a lot, but I’m starting to talk to her more and form a relationship. I hope we get to go out together again sometime soon!

We just got back from Fiesole today, a smaller town twenty minutes away from Florence by bus. It was in the middle of two hills and we did a lot of walking just to get around. The view, however, was beautiful, and you could really see so much of Florence from the top. It was and still is a popular place for the wealthy and royalty because of the amazing view and the nice weather if one faces south and avoids the northern wind. There was an excavation there of pre-Roman times, such as the Etruscan theater as well as baths that were just outside of the theater. There were also altars to cultish gods that were pretty impressive findings.

The museum very close to the excavation site held the artifacts from the digs, I'm assuming. There were vases with Greek-influences as well as decorated urns and partial statues that had been found. 

On the left is the water storage, on the right
is the larger pool/bath.

The back view of the pools. Where I'm standing
is where the latrines would have been.

Vases that predate the Romans.

The remains of the theater.

One of the several altars.

Another pretty vase.

The view from the top of Fiesole of both the outside and inside of Florence.

It’s really funny to me how much history can be found in Italy just by digging down. That sounds obvious, but digging down in the country is different than digging down right in the middle of a city. First there were the Etruscans, who may or may not have migrated there from Eastern Europe, and when their civilizations crumbled, the Romans built on top of it. And after the Romans, the earth eroded until it covered it all up, and then Fiesole was built on top of that. And then the Italians dug back down to find so much history and an archeologist’s dream. It's all just piled on top of each other. It is unfortunate, however, that so much of these findings are right under modern Fiesole itself. It would be hard to just stop the civilization we have now to discover and learn more about the civilization of the past.

I would take a bus back to Fiesole just to picnic there on a really nice day and enjoy the view. It was cold when we went, but that was to be expected in January. We found a nice little caffé and bar there that served decently priced lunch food. The group split up, but it’s nice to mingle with people we usually don’t hang out with or talk to. Finding little places to eat in Italy is fun, though comparing prices is always where the difficulty lies. If you’re not careful, you could be paying €4,00 for something that usually only costs €2,50. 

It’s really hard to choose a favorite place that I’ve gone so far, so I’m not even going to try. I bought books, though! The cozy English bookstore here is called Paperback Exchange and has become my favorite little haunt. I needed to buy one textbook for class and ended up buying Persuasion by Jane Austen too. I really had to keep my wallet in mind to keep from buying all of the books I wanted. If you love books as I do, it’s pretty much the best place ever. Besides, well, the rest of Italy. I am having so much fun here being in another country, living in an apartment that feels like home, and learning so much about the cultural differences between Italians and Americans. I can’t wait to see what next week will bring! 

More Travels All Over (And Shopping!)

It’s been another busy week of class, shopping (I caved), and travels galore. This week we went to Orsanmichele, a beautiful church with amazing sculptures of disciples and saints, Museo Galileo which held a lot of Galileo’s telescopes and little contraptions, the excavates of the old Roman Theater, and Palazzo Vecchio, translated to “The Old Palace.” It’s hard to believe that in only a week I have gone to so many different places and learned so many new things. Was it really just last Saturday that I went to Pisa?

The view from the third floor of Orsanmichele.

One of the many sculptures outside of
the building.

Orsanmichele, to begin with, is a church with statues standing in the niches built into the walls of the outside. The original statues were moved to the first floor of the building (second floor to Americans), but the copies were still amazing. Looking at the statues, Jodie challenged us to try and “read” the statue and describe the differences in their design. As an English lit major, I’m used to reading and analyzing passages, not sculptures, so I struggled while the other art majors seemed to get it quickly. Hearing other people analyze the sculptures, however, as well as having Jodie tell us all about it, helped get my feet wet in this new way of interpretation. It was fascinating imagining these sculptures being built back in the 15th or 16th centuries. 

Galileo's old telescopes.

Museo Galileo was one of those places dedicated to astronomy and science, two things I do not understand very well. But it was really awesome to see the old telescopes and learn more about Galileo. We had a guided group tour as we walked around looking at everything and taking pictures. Along with Galileo’s telescopes, heliocentric globes, and his body parts (no, seriously), there were giant maps of what the world used to look like to the explorers of that time. Looking at the tools the people in Galileo’s time used to look at and document what they saw in space, which seemed like an impossible place to go then, is fascinating. Even without the technology that we have now, they could still see and interpret so much of the world in their desire to understand it.

The old Roman Theater was an optional tour, but it was well-worth it and almost everyone signed up for it. It is one of the many archeological finds that would make any archeologist or historian excited. Underneath the Palazzo Vecchio and probably some of the streets is a theater where the Romans would watch their shows or plays. From the excavates, the architectural design of the theater can be seen as well as the layers of history along with it. Our tour guide told us that, as erosion went on and land started to cover up the remains, people would build on top of it. In the Middle Ages, after the Romans, people had built houses on top of the theater, and on top of those houses was built the Palazzo.

Digging down, it’s crazy to find so much history underneath when there seems to be so much history just on the surface. Watching the history channel or movies set in ancient Rome is nothing compared to seeing the real thing, or at least the remains of it. Archeologists really glean so much from the things that they find.

The room where the mayor would
give his speeches or whatnot.

After seeing the old Roman Theater, we went on a tour of Palazzo Vecchio which used to be, and still is, City Hall. The mayor’s office is still there and so many different people have lived and worked there. The decorations and designs all along the walls and ceilings were really beautiful and told so many stories of its own. Though the palace was used as City Hall, it also used to be the Medici family palace, and it’s obvious from the designs in some of the rooms. Other rooms used to be the offices of governors, and there was one that was once used by Machiavelli, a fun find for me.


Machiavelli's old office including his bust.

One of the beautiful ceilings.








All of this traveling really is a tad overwhelming, but the good kind of overwhelming. I love being immersed into all this history and art and getting pictures and windows into what life may have been like thousands of years ago. It always makes me wonder what life will be like for people thousands of years ahead, if the world will erode enough to cover our own houses to be dug up by archeologists then. Certainly the people in the past didn’t think about leaving behind remains for us to find today, but I’m really glad they unintentionally did.

Statue of David by Michaelangelo in front of
Palazzo Vecchio.

There is one more week until the two electives are added on and it starts feeling more like school. Most of the classes are going to be on-sight, however, which will make it feel less like a class and more like a field trip every time. There is an English bookstore that I fell in love with called Paperback Exchange. I really want to buy everything there and they do have used books for cheaper. It’s also a good place to buy textbooks for class, though the little ACM library has many of the books the professors want on reserve for us. I’m planning on waiting to buy textbooks until the professor tells us specifically what he or she wants.

Several people on my program and I also bought tickets to the theater. The two that I am planning on going to is a concert and an opera. ACM is already planning on taking us to one opera, but I’m excited to go to another. We got a piece of paper from ACM called a Maggio Card that gets us discounted tickets. So for the opera, the ticket was ten euros. Not too bad, I think. When I go to these things like the theater or the cinema, I really feel like I’m living like a local than a tourist and I love that.

Concerning shopping, one of my favorite things (besides buying things 70% off) is that the Italians include tax in the prices they show for things. So when clothes seem a tad more expensive than the US, it's nice to remember that there won't be tax charged at the register. And it's none of those lame $29.99 prices plus tax. The shoes here are also really nice (Italian leather all the way!) and right now is the time to buy them. Apparently these sales go on till March, so I'm in luck!

This coming weekend we’re taking a day trip to Fiesole. Hopefully the weather will be better then. It’s been rainy and cold all week, so I don’t have high hopes, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed!

A Time to Travel and a Time to Relax

The Arno River in Pisa!

The Baptistry in Pisa

Just five days since my last post and I have gone to Pisa, hung out with some of my program buddies, bonded with my host mom's cat, and have started learning how to read statues and the architecture of buildings. 

"I blame Galileo."

And I thought I was going to have a restful weekend.

Starting with Pisa: it was a planned trip by the program, all of it paid for except for lunch. We went to the Piazza Dei Miracoli where the Leaning Tower of Pisa stands as well as the cathedral and baptistry of Pisa. It was a beautiful area with fields of green grass (and you don't see much of that in the cities) which just added to the dream-like feel to it. Not to mention that there's a leaning tower nearby that looks like it's going to crash down at any moment. Not to scare anyone.

The beautiful bronze doors to the Duomo, or
the medieval cathedral, by Bonanno Pisano.

I learned a lot about Pisan architecture and the art adorning the walls, some of which have been moved and restored or are in the process of it. Jodie Mariotti and Professor Solberg were our tour guides and Professor Solberg especially was very knowledgable about everything. And I mean everything. As an English literature major, learning about all this history is fascinating. It almost makes me want to add an art history minor just to learn more about these beautiful pieces of art when I go back to school. Pictures can explain better than my words can, but it was all very beautiful.

The inside of the Pisan Duomo.

After Pisa, we had an opportunity to go to Lucca but most of us passed it because it turned into a really wet and terrible day for traveling. I want to plan a trip there on one of our free weekends because Lucca is supposed to be really beautiful as well. Later that night, a few people from the program and I went to a pub called Kikuya near my host mom's apartment. We had a few drinks while we talked and got to know each other. It was a really great bonding moment for all of us as we hung out with both locals and other international students. Kikuya is a small bar with two rooms, one which consists more of the bar and informal area while the other seemed to be made for bigger dining groups. It was a really nice place, cozy and intimate (like everything else in Italy).



The next day was a quiet day to relax and bond with Caprizzia (the cat) while my host mom was out. After six days of walking around, studying Italian, and traveling everywhere, it was a much needed day of rest.

Otherwise, having only one class for three weeks (two now) has given me a lot of time to focus on practicing my Italian outside of the classroom. I also have time to spend time indoors and get to know my host mom too before the other two electives get added on.

I'll be taking Florence Through the Eyes of the Victorians and Collaboration in Early Florentine Renaissance Art, both which sound a little intimidating, but I don't think it'll be too horrible. If the program is still planning field trips during that time, we'll have to have at least some time for that. So far, though, I'm impressed with how ACM has been keeping this schedule going and I'm definitely in love with Italy. I still can't believe I'm here, but it's really starting to feel more like home. How am I ever going to leave?!

Currently, budgeting has become really important for me because so many things are on sale right now. Apparently the month of January is the best time to go shopping (that I know of) because the sales are really great. Imagine getting Italian leather jackets and boots for 40 to 50% off. It's amazing. I'm going to have to budget carefully though and make sure I don't overspend even if it's so tempting!

Fino a più tardi!

Classes, my Host Mom, and Adventure Times

Italian language classes began on Monday and already I know so much more than before. When ACM advertised these as “intensive,” they weren’t joking. Four hours of Italian makes my brain especially tired after awhile, but it was definitely worth it for me. If I know so much more in three days, I can’t imagine what’ll happen after three weeks! I can’t get my hopes up too high, of course, but learning in Italian in Italy is so far my favorite way to learn a language. Knowing another romance language before has helped me immensely and I’m very glad I took both Spanish and French to prepare me for the language that, in a sense, is a combination of them.

 

I have Professor Umberto for my class who is hilarious and a good teacher. Random dancing, impersonations, meticulous whiteboard erasing, and the freedom to ask how to say words we don’t know before he has planned to teach them has been a great experience. The intensive class is more work, but the load really isn’t too bad; it takes less than an hour to do, and then I’m free the rest of the time to explore the city.

 

Just last night I received my roommate assignment and moved into my host family’s apartment. A handful of my classmates were nervous about whom they were going to live with and where because we didn’t get to know until the day we moved in with our Italian families. Most of us, however, seem to be getting along really well and we all love our families.

 

I am living with an older single woman who lives with just her cat, Caprizzia. She has a son who is now out of the house, so she has students living in her cozy apartment for most of the year save Christmas time, a holiday which lasts from December 15 to January 6. She is such a lovely lady who speaks more Italian than English, but can understand us well enough. It motivates me to learn Italian faster so I can have actual conversations with her. Our first night in the apartment, we had a two-hour long dinner than consisted of two (amazing!) courses, dessert and tea, and conversation. Jodie and Kate weren’t joking when they said Italians had long dinners. It was great getting to know my host mom even if I was a little awkward and shy to speak English to her at first. She was really nice and I already like her a lot. 

 

As for getting to and from the apartment to Linguaviva (the school where we’re studying Italian), it’s either a twenty minute walk or a fifteen to twenty minute bus ride. My roommate and I decided to take the bus today and getting to the school was no problem. It was coming back that she and I got lost for at least half an hour. In this case, thank goodness for iPhones and Google maps. We were going the wrong way and conveniently got off at a bus stop where the right bus was coming in five minutes. Then we ended up getting off at the stop after ours, but it was a short walk from there to the apartment.

 

It was definitely an adventure and we both became a little bit more aware of our surroundings. Not bad for the first day, in my opinion! However, I find myself napping a little more which could possibly be because the days are just so packed, but also because of all the traveling I’m starting to do just living here. The public transportation, though a bit scary and unreliable sometimes, is one of my favorite places just to listen to people talk. A caffé would probably be safer, but with the bus pass ACM provided it’s free to eavesdrop! Perks, I say.

 

ACM is taking us to Pisa this Saturday for a half-day trip and I’m really excited. We’ll be taking a train there and a train back, but in between we’ll have a two hour or so long tour and then we’ll be free to get lunch on our own and visit Pisa or the neighboring towns all day. Well, until our train ticket expires, of course. I love the freedom I have to walk around the cities to explore without having a really tight schedule to follow. It’s the perfect amount of guidance and freedom. I am really glad I decided to join this program because so far it’s been such an unforgettable experience.

 

Tomorrow there is going to be a scavenger hunt which Jodie and Kate split us into groups for, and we’re responsible for taking pictures of certain things or places in Florence, I don’t know what yet. It’s going to be a lot of fun racing through the city streets (being careful of Italian drivers, of course) and getting gelato at the end as our “prize.” I can’t wait to get to know Florence better!

Learning as I Go

Chiesa di San Miniato al Monte

The first real day of sightseeing and I have already fallen in love. I have never seen so much of one city in just a day, and yet there is still so much. Florence is a beautiful, beautiful city and I feel like I can really mean that now that I’ve come to appreciate the culture and the historical architecture, some that has been around for almost a thousand or more years.

One of the first places we went to was Chiesa di San Miniato al Monte which was a church on top of a hill outside of the city. Because it was high up, we could see nearly all of Florence and I got a pretty good idea of the city’s layout. And, of course, got to appreciate such an awesome view even if it was a little foggy.

After that, we walked back into the city by going across the Arno River and Jodie, one of the awesome program directors, was so entertaining as she told us everything. On the riverside near Ponte Vecchio, a lot of the shops made me feel like I was in the Medieval times. There’s nothing like old architecture that sends a person back in time.


The view from Chiesa di San Miniato al Monte with the
very prominent Duomo in the center.

We had lunch at a cute little place which was just enough to fill us up. I’m not a big fan of the fizzy water they offer, but I like how they give a choice between that and mineral water. Also, wine with dinner every night is amazing. Wine in Italy is fantastic (which the program pays for), but I’ll go on about that later. Maybe after I go wine tasting.

I got the feeling that every place we went to wasn’t used to large groups like ours and the restaurants were barely big enough to hold all of us. Things run kind of small in Italy, but you get used to it after awhile. One thing about traveling so much is that you learn how to adapt quickly to different cultures.

The three Magi in the parade.

Afterwards, we got to see the parade honoring the Magis since Sunday was a holiday for the Italians. It was a very long procession line that was both loud and pretty. The costumes (traditional dress, I should say) were beautiful. We followed the procession from Ponte Vecchio to the Duomo. It was a nice walk, though crowded, and we explored the city ourselves for at least an hour and a half.

I was really grateful for the time we got to relax after all the traveling we’ve all had to do. We got started at 10:30 because the program coordinators were trying to help us out. It’s also been great living in such close quarters with everyone in the 18-week program. We have time to get to know one another before separating to live with our host families (which I can’t wait for!). I think many of us are a little nervous for what kind of family we’re going to be paired with, but I trust that the program coordinators will pair us up with great people.

All in all, the food here has been wonderful and, if you can find the right places, decently priced. I’ve also started thinking of places to travel to on the weekends with a few others in the group. It’s always smart to plan early, but there is just so much to see of Italy and I don’t know if I’ll have time to go all over Europe like I want. With the little time I have here, I’m determined to make the best of it. As long as I keep my budget in mind too.

Classes start tomorrow and I am so excited. I’ll finally be able to say something other than “grazie” or “ciao” and, hopefully, learn how to talk to the natives at least on a basic level. I’m a firm believer that experience is the best way to learn and hey, every Italian here will become my teacher in this beautiful, historic classroom.

One of the things I am bummed about is that there are no Protestant Christian churches around my area. Not only that, but our weekends are going to be pretty full. Though I'd like to attend church, I don’t think I’ll have too much of a problem making time for God on my own time while also making new friends and enjoying my studies abroad. This trip has been so great so far, and I can’t wait to see more of Firenze! 

Florence, Finally!

I am in Italia at last! After nearly twenty-four hours of traveling, I’m sitting in the hotel room in Florence, trying to relax before the program meeting. It’s been a couple of busy days. Being organized and thinking ahead has saved me a lot of time especially when the airlines didn’t help much. My traveling partner and I flew out to Rome because it was cheaper, but we had a layover in London Heathrow where they misplaced our checked bags. Once we landed in Rome, we had to wait six hours at the airport to pick them up. Insane, sure, but my traveling buddy and I got to know each other better. It was very helpful having someone to travel with. We helped each other out: she read signs, I reminded her of things we had to do, she read maps and directed us, I was the time keeper, and we kept each other company when we had to travel around midnight to our hotel in Rome.

Going a day early was definitely worth it. All that trouble would have made us really late if it had all taken place the day we were supposed to be in Florence. Not only that, but I have experienced no jet lag whatsoever thanks to all that traveling. Taking an overnight flight was definitely a great idea.

It’s been much easier than I expected getting around Italy. The Italians are nice and the ones who can speak a little English try to help as much as they can. People had always told me that the native people usually tried to help out the tourists, but I had never believed them until I actually experienced it myself. When we were traveling around the Roman streets at night, a taxi driver got out of his car to direct us to our hotel via a map. He didn’t speak any English (except numbers), but thank God for hand gestures.

My friend and I took a train from Rome to Florence which wasn’t bad. I’m sure we looked lost a lot of the time, but we got on the right one; that’s really all that matters. That and we didn’t lose our luggage. All in all, it has been one stressful trip, but it has definitely helped me practice my independence. I usually don’t like asking for help direction-wise, but being in a foreign city where I don’t speak the native language forces me (ironically) to ask for help. Yes, help from those who can’t speak much English.

Anyway, I’m really glad I didn’t pack heavy. Besides the fact that I’m going to be living out of a suitcase for nearly six months, there is also so much to buy! The street vendors have everything imaginable and the scarves especially are so soft and pretty. But I need to keep my budget! It’s definitely going to be difficult to practice self-control. I’m probably going to need to organize my budget a little better and give myself some wiggle-room or I may break it…

The program meeting is in a few minutes and then dinner! I must say that the food here is fantastic. I had breakfast in Rome, which was simple, and lunch in Florence. The pizza was delicious, as I expected. Also, “caffè” actually means “espresso” in Italy. I don’t think they serve the regular black coffee we Americans expect. I’ve only have “caffè” and a cappuccino here because those are the only two Italian words I actually know concerning beverages, but I’ll pick up the language quick enough. Needing to use it to talk to the natives while I’m here is definitely going to help a lot, although, as I’ve experienced so far, it’s not totally necessary. But to act like a native, which is my goal, I’m going to need to speak like one. That’s enough motivation for me to learn Italian as quickly as possible!

The orientation really helped as well and getting dinner and walking around the city was a lot of fun. Getting group dinners is a nice way to get to know people quickly in a short amount of time. We also had to work together to find our way back to Hotel D'Aosta because we left our group coordinators, but having walked around once, it was a little easier to navigate our way through the city. Florence isn't horrendously big which makes it the perfect city to study in as well as easy to get to become familiar with it. Once I have to start depending on the public transportation, however, I may get lost again. Day 1 has proven to be awesome so far, but I'm stoked for the walking tour and meeting my host family in just a few days!