Living in a Fairy Tale

Yesterday I had such an eventful day. Some of my new friends and I went out on a tour around the town to see different places to buy various items we need.

During this outing I finally took pictures of different buildings and such so all of you can see what I am surrounded by every time I step outside. The problem is that these pictures do not do it justice. The beauty of every street and every building cannot be captured by a photo. There is a feeling you get while being surrounded by so many beautiful things. It's magical. 

It is as though I have stepped back in time and into this fairy tale land. Especially at night when walking through a Piazza and everything is quiet. The only thing you can hear are the slight murmurs of conversations happening in the distance and the ringing of church bells, announcing the start of yet another magnificent hour in the city of Florence. 

The day time is equally as beautiful, in more city-esk type of way. There is a lot of hustle and bustle, and there are always people lining the VERY NARROW sidewalks. So I walk in the street. I have been walking down a lot of the same streets since I been here, and every time I notice something new to admire. Whether is is the colorful shutters lining the sides of every building or one of thousands of restaurants/cafes I want to eat at, there is always something that captures my attention and causes me to float off to Cloud 9. I am quickly brought back down though when I almost get run over by a bus and I have to squeeze in between 20 Italian locals until it is safe and I can continue on my journey. 

So after the tour me and the girls ventured off the other side of the river. which is more of a local, less touristy area. We got somewhat lost, but that is the best way to discover new things so we were not concerned. I have a feeling we will be spending lots of time over there. 

^^ from left to right is Katery, Gracie, Caitlin, and Emily. Just a few of the girls I have been going on adventures with.

This little corner was my favorite spot so far on the other side of the river. behind me was a church and seemed to be where a lot of locals just hung out on the steps. There is an artsy bar that plays live music to the left of me which we want to go to. The location is away from all the chaos and felt so peaceful. I loved it.

Later on that night we all went out for Gracie's 21st. We had a little pregame after dinner and I got called out for the first time ever on my vocabulary. I referred to Sprite as pop. Laughter filled the store. That has never happened to me.

Later on we went to a club called Space. That was a lot of fun. They do a weird way of paying though. Instead of paying as you go, they give you a punch card and you pay at the end. I don't like that because they don't tell you the price. 

Another thing I have to get used to is that there is no tipping here. I tipped a bartender last night and they laughed. So I won't be doing that anymore. 

That brings us to today. This was my first grocery shopping trip. Seeing that it is Sunday, and most things are closed, I could not go to the famous San Lorenzo market, or any other open market. Alex and I took our little rollie-bag over to the regular grocery store. I thought it was cute that we bring our own luggage to pack our groceries in. This blissful thought was quickly cut off when I then had to schlep the very heavy and stuffed bag up the 5 flights of stairs. I now despise the bag.
The trip itself went okay. It felt like we were their forever. I could not find salad dressing or milk for the life of me. I tried to buy just a couple apples but didn't realize I had to weigh them before I got in line so I had to put them back. It is so difficult because you cannot ask anyone where something is or what it is. It turned out okay though and I am pretty proud. 

As I spend more time here, I will of course get the hang of it- but I didn't do too shabby for my first time.

Tomorrow classes start. I am going to say something that I haven't said in a long time- I AM EXCITED. It is going to be great meeting even more people and to start having things to fill my day that do not require me spending more money haha. 

I think I am going to go watch some Italian TV with the roommates now - Until tomorrow

Ciao!

Operation: The Door

So I have this door. 

It leads to my apartment. 

Therefore that would make it my front door. 

I hate this door.

Let me explain why...

First of all, as you can see, it is dark and scary and from the 1800's. It hates me just as much as I hate it. The real reason is because of the lock..or... one of many locks it has. The key is flat and wide- it turns this weird pole in the ground to come up and allow the door to open. That is all fine and good. However, there is one little bugger that sticks. Try as I might I cannot get this damn door open. I quite literally have calluses on my finger from turning this key so many times. Apparently, as my roommates keep trying to explain, when I get to a certain "groove" I need to push the key in further and up farther in order to get it. According to my experiences, that does not work.

Today I came back after going to another orientation type thing. My roommates were still there. I tried for a good 45 minutes at this door. While taking small breaks for lunch and playing a rousing game of "snake" (the only game on my phone) of course. I was helpless and had to wait for everyone to come back. 

I just went out there again to practice, even tried to figure out the mechanics of this stupid thing. Who has to practice opening their door? This is absurd. I recommend this lock to any high crime areas in the world. NO ROBBER will break into your house if you have this. trust me. 

Now I told myself by the end of next week I would get this down pat. I am a little nervous for that deadline let me tell you. 

IN OTHER NEWS... 

I like Puerto Rican food. Two of my roommates' parents were here with them and tonight is their last night. So they decided to make us authentic traditional food. I was kind of nervous at first I am not going to lie. But  it turned out great. Better than great actually. 

We had fried plantains and white rice with beans and pumpkin and a beef with onions and mushrooms. We had tomatoes with a pesto sauce. It was all good and I even had seconds. Our dessert was Italian and that of course was good too. I saw pictures of where they are from and it is breath-takingly gorgeous. I am determined to go their now.

I believe now I am about to get ready for my first pub crawl. More on that later. 

Ciao!

Como Se Dicce...?

So I just got back from going to my first sit down Italian restaurant. I went with my roommate Alex. All in all I think it went pretty good. 

It is called Tavernette Della Signoria. The food was delicious of course. 

My waiter kept on making me nervous though because I only know basic Italian words, and he realized that very quickly. He kept of asking me different questions about why I was here and what I was studying. Alex knows a bit of Italian and tried to answer but he did not let her after the first time. He got a kick out of watching me squirm a bit, but he wanted me to learn what to say and how to answer people when they speak to you. At the end though he gave me a big smile- I think he liked me.

My goal is to go in there in a month or so and just chat it up with him. Ask HIM a bunch of questions and show him that I can speak Italian. 

Let the Adventures Begin

Last night I slept for 12 hours. I tried to write last night but it ended up looking like gibberish because I fell asleep the second I sat down. 

Yesterday was very long and challenging for me. I wanted to do nothing but go to MY bed and sleep sleep sleep. I wanted to talk to no one and learn nothing. 

I figure I traveled from 5PM- 12PM EST straight without stopping. Mentally, that was draining. 

My apartment is right by campus and the river and the Duomo. Let me tell you my adventure getting there:

After FINALLY arriving in Florence we had to go through a mini orientation, getting our keys and phone(aka the first Nokia ever made).. things like that. Then they said okay off to your apartment you go. At this point all I knew was that it was on the top floor. Yea, that would be on the top of 5 very steep flights of stairs. I am talking straight vertical steps. Need I remind you that I have two 50 lb bags, a massive backpack, and a computer bag coming up the stairs with me. Oh boy- was that fun. After I made it up, I put my key in the wrong door, the door of a local woman, and got it stuck. She did not speak English. I can barely breathe and trying to explain that no, I was not trying to break in, I was just confused. it was a bit of a challenge. Thank goodness a nice man was there to help explain. 

^^The extreme staircase with my roommate Alex.

I was so exhausted, I could not even enjoy my first tour around the city- which is ridiculous and somewhat unbelievable since my mood has drastically changed since then. 

It should go without saying how beautiful it is here. I have already met amazing people who I have become fast friends with. Two roommates, are from Puerto Rico so I may come back speaking both Italian and Spanish. They are very traveled and have been helping me a lot already. My other roommate is from New York, I should not have to explain how I love that. 

I just got back from walking around Florence, pointing out all the fabulous places to shop while eating gelato. Life is good.
All of the buildings and streets are so old and breath taking. It is surreal to think that for the next 3 1/2 months I am going to wake up to this.

The lifestyle is so different from America. Everything takes longer, little things even - like the washer. Or calling a handyman to fix the shower. The heat can only be on 8 hours a day and the required heat level in an housing unit is 20 degrees. 20! And I thought my house was cold. I have already realized how America uses twice as much electricity, if not more, than everywhere else in the world. 

Everyone might be wondering why I only have one picture, of my staircase of all things, but I will have some touristy pictures uploaded by the weekend!

Ciao

Almost

Hello Amsterdam! Almost there- just one more flight.

Here We Go!

Well... today is the day. 

These past couple days have been great. My family, friends, and co-workers have been amazing and I cannot wait to share this experience with everyone. 

My head has been spinning with all of the last minute things I need to do.

I am leaving in an hour and a half for the airport and I feel as though I need at least another day I am to make sure everything is ready to go.

All in all I think I am pretty calm. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. We will find out later I guess. 

Adapting to life out there is something I know I can do- I am pretty go with the flow. Except I have to say that I am uneasy about this no cell phone, lack of communication thing. I can't help to think " this is what people in the 80's must felt like," which is a very 21st century way of thinking and I am ashamed my mind is working that way.. but I cannot help it. 

Once I get my barrings and figure everything out- please believe there will be pictures and postings all the time--

Until then.. Ciao!

Is this really happening?

It is now approx. 72 before I depart. I am currently in that "oh shit what have I gotten myself into" stage. Who decides to live in a country for 5 months ALONE without knowing the language? This girl over here that's who. 

According to my stages of Cultural Adjustment, this is completely normal. However, I cannot help the fact that every time someone brings up how excited I should be, I slightly lose the ability to breath. On the outside I am smiling and nodding like I should be, but on the inside my stomach is in knots.

Now, I do not want to come off so narcissistic and I realize I am right now.I am not always freaking out, I have my good moments too. This just happens to be a bad one. 

I am SO excited to be there to meet people, see the country, see the fashion all of that. I know it will be an amazing experience and I probably will not be the same person when I return. It is just that things like this are a whole lot easier to talk about doing than to actually go through with. I cannot change my mind last minute, the permanency behind this adventure has me a little... queezy if you will.

To be clear, I am so blessed to be doing something like this, and for my parents, family, and friends to be supporting me in many ways through this trip. I recognize that, and as I have my ups and downs during this, please know my appreciation is always there. 

Til tomorrow!

Welcome

For the next 5 1/2 months my life is about to get a hell of a lot more interesting.  I needed a slight change from the Mt. Pleasant MI scene for a while, really any place that has more than two main roads- so I landed on.... (drum roll please) FLORENCE, ITALY. It is safe to say that this will be an adventure and I am bound to get myself in a pickle or two, but hey, its all a part of the ride. 

Before I decided to create this, there was some hesitation seeing that I am the sibling of writing genius who can make things come alive through a simple sentence. I am talking vivid descriptions of everything from her trek up the China Wall which left me feeling winded to the dumplings she ate everyday leaving me with an odd yet intense craving. 

Seeing that I need to start getting used to being out of my comfort zone, I decided her talent will be my inspiration to share what I see, smell, touch, and live through in my own way. 

So buckle u and get ready for a wild ride cuz off to Italy we go...