Classes are finally over for the week! I live for these three-day weekends. I'm actually surprised at the amount of work that we're expected to do for the my classes. Along with Italian, which isn't that bad at all, I'm taking Florence Through the Eyes of the Victorians and Collaboration. The first class has a lot of little projects which are easy to forget until the last minute. I've barely been making the cut so far, but I'm using this weekend not to travel, but to catch up on all that I should be doing. The second elective I'm taking isn't bad; the professor is really knowledgeable, but there's more lecturing than I like. I guess that's expected from an art history course, but I wish there was less of it.
Having classes onsite can be tough sometimes. One of the coolest places and also the worst places to have class is the Uffizzi Museum. It's an awesome, huge museum with so much to see, but there are so many tourists because it's so well-known as well as so many students. Not to mention there aren't any places to sit. For one of the 2 1/2 hour classes, I had to stand in front of paintings and walk around with all of my things on and it was torture. Really interesting, but torturous on my back. I'm really glad I brought hiking boots with me. After breaking them in, they make walking all over the city so much easier. I do, however, feel like I don't fit in and am currently looking to buy some new Italian leather boots. Let's hope the sales last for awhile!
I have classes every day now Monday through Thursday. Italian is everyday in the afternoon, but my two electives change. On Mondays and Wednesdays I have the Collaboration class; it's for three hours in the morning on Mondays and an hour and a half in the afternoon on Wednesdays. I have my other elective on Tuesdays and Thursdays; three hours in the afternoon on Tuesdays and two hours in the morning on Thursdays. The schedule is spaced out which I'm really glad for. Some of my friends only have class on Tuesdays and Thursdays and are so burnt out after running around everywhere Wednesdays and Fridays don't feel like days off, but time for recuperation.
On Tuesday we, as a program group, went to see the opera Don Giovanni. It was my first time seeing a real opera and I really enjoyed it. The theater seating confused me a little, but I got a pretty good seat accidentally so I didn't really mind. The only thing was that I didn't get all that was going on in the opera. I had to look it all up afterwards and then it made sense. My Italian class helped me understand a lot of the subtitles that were on the screen above the stage, but of course I don't know it all. I'm going to see another opera tomorrow night and not make the same mistake. One fun factor is that I get to dress up. I only brought one nice dress for events like these and it has really come in handy. It's all thanks to the Maggio Card from the program that these theater shows and concerts are discounted. Perks to being an ACM student, I say!
So far, I think my favorite museum is the Bargello. I went there with my class today and it was so cool. It used to be a prison, but I didn't really get that vibe. They have a lot more things on display and things that span from the Medieval times too, not just the Renaissance. I am very interested in that time period, so seeing suits of arms and Medieval weapons and such was really cool. There was also a Michelangelo room for his sculptures and a variety of other artists. I didn't get to see it all, but they didn't have many paintings like the Uffizzi nor was it so big and busy. Not only that, but it was a great place to have class because there were large benches in the courtyard that we could all sit on. They also had seats that we could move around to sit and draw inside the museum. I hope to go back there again and maybe try my hand at sketching some of those beautiful sculptures and pieces of armor if the room is open.
Buon Giovedì Grasso!
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