Dopo Una Settimana...

So it has been one full week in Italy. It is hard to tell whether the time is passing extremely fast or slow, because I feel like I have been here a lot longer than a week, but also like there is still so much to see and do. There are a few things about the Italian lifestyle that I have had to get used to. For instance, not eating breakfast really, then eating a late light lunch and a really late really huge dinner. My Signora is proving to be an amazing cook who has realized that I eat a lot and therefore serves me bigger portions than the other girls and told me after our first dinner "I can tell you have brothers".

She also had us watch "Chi Vuol Essere un Milione?" (Who Wants to Be a Millionaire) with her the other night and read every question aloud to us, she is very patient and helpful with our language skills and I think we understand each other fairly well.
We started classes this week and I feel a little swamped. None of the professors here speak any English (or it is very limited) which is both good and difficult because some things are extremely hard to describe without any translation.

The nine hour time difference has been hard for me to get used to and I find myself getting extremely tired in the late afternoon but then waking up wide awake after dinner (around 9 or 10 p.m.). This also makes it difficult to talk to people from home since our sleep-awake schedules are pretty much opposite. The lack of wireless internet further exacerbates this problem. Hardly anyone has it in their homes because it is so expensive and internet cafes are fairly expensive as well and harder to come by in residential areas like where I live. It is interesting to think that a country like Italy, which is just as modern of a society as the United States finds a way to live without things we have decided are necessities. Although that is definitely telling of their extremely laid-back culture. And the importance that Italians seem to place on actual human interaction; Italians say hello to each other on the streets, they go out at night, they eat late and always with other people. It is definitely a different way of life.

I have been getting lost every day from my house on the way to school because I think I am heading in the right direction but none of the streets here are straight so I always end up somewhere completely different. After a while I'm sure I will figure it out, but for now it is a bit frustrating. The city is getting a little stifling and I am already planning on seeing more of the countryside soon.

This morning we had our art history lesson at a church in Piazzale Michelangelo which overlooks the whole of Florence, of course it was a day I decided not to bring my camera, but I am sure I will be back soon to take photos. We hiked up about a thousand stairs to get there and were all sweating by the time we reached the top. It reminded me of the temples in Thailand that are all built up a million stairs, interesting how most religions end up with the same ideas. Although, I'm glad I at least know something about Catholocism because that is definitely helping while learning about the architecture of the churches and the history of the entire city, some of the girls are not so lucky and hearing vocabulary in a foreign language that you never learned in your own is a bit confusing.

Sorry this got a little long and probably seems disconnected I'm still trying to wrap my head around my life here.
A Presto Tutti!

Le Mie Foto

one of the billions of churches on the streets of Firenze.



Me on the Ponte Vecchio!



A group of us during one of our many explorations.



The sunset seen from my director's apartment.



One of the most amazing sights to see, you will be walking and walking and all of a sudden the duomo peeks out from around a corner, it takes your breath away.




my little loft room at my signora's house.



the view from my tuscan window of my tuscan rooftop.

Finalmente Sono Arrivata!

Finally making it to Firenze is indescribable. This place is a city that I have read and studied about for years and finally am seeing in person, because of this it feels distantly familiar but also incredibly exciting. I have spent the last three days living in a hotel in the center of Florence with the rest of the girls on my program, 23 Smithies in all. Our hotel was a two minute walk from the Sede (the Smith College Center) which is in la Piazza della Signoria, the original place of Michalangelo’s “David” and the place where it’s exact replica among many other beautiful buildings and works of art stand today. The view from the Sede is like looking at a picture book, in fact all of Florence is a picture book, but somehow when I try to capture it with my camera something is missing, it is impossible to impart the ancient grandiose significance that this place exudes.

The Sede’s central location is due to its longstanding tradition, Smith College was the first American college to open a center in Florence, and the first group of women were here in 1931. The last few days we have spent exploring Florence on our own, trying to disguise ourselves as natives instead of just one more of the hordes of American “turisti” that fill the streets daily. My language skills are a bit rusty thanks to the long summer break, but I feel surprisingly comfortable attempting to speak it with shopkeepers, waiters, and passersby. Mostly we have been trying to speak it with each other before our orientation classes begin Monday and we are given a much needed intensive refresher course. The bells of the Duomo have woken us up every morning at 7 a.m., and I have seen more art than ever in my life and I haven’t yet set foot in a museum.

Today I moved in with my host, Signora Dionisi, a single woman who lives in a beautiful home in the center of Florence. I live with one other Smith student since Signora Dionisi has a lot of room and there is also a student here from Switzerland, who seems very sweet, but does not have as much language background and so is very quiet. Signora Dionisi is amazing, hospitable, and so incredibly sweet, she started hugging us the moment we arrived and hasn’t stopped yet. My room is up above the rest of the house, kind of like a loft, and the bathroom that she has for the students is up here too. My little window looks out at a horizon of Florentine rooftops. She made us our first dinner tonight “Pasta al Ragu,” some salad, chicken, fruit and crème caramel for dessert; my director was right when she told us our host mom was the best cook in the program. Signora Dionisi also assured us her cooking would not make us fat, which after eating here for four days, is kind of a relief.

Today is the first day we don't have to do anything, so I am planning on taking some time to rest, I have a feeling it is all catching up with me. Our orientation classes begin Monday, a cooking class, language, art history and an introduction to the city with the grad student we knew last year at Smith, it should be wonderful!