This may come off as a little bit of a ramble- so please bare with me.
During my time here in Florence, I did a lot. I saw many things and met many people. I learned about culture, about myself, and gained a lot from my classes. I had moments where I wanted to come home and others where I never wanted to leave.
With all of this being said and done: I want more.
Mostly, I think I want more time to see and get to know the girls I hang out with better. We are so so close, but there is always more to learn about a person and I felt that because our time was so limited, we were always so busy and we were so rushed.
However, I know I will see them in America and I am so excited to continue these friendships.
Aside from that, I am completely and utterly satisfied with my time here. It really flew by but I loved every minute.
I did not write we much as I thought I would but I did try.
In case any of you are wondering:
Yes I went to church.
I wanted to make sure I did that before I left.
Surprisingly, Florence is not as religious as you would think it is. Southern Italy, yes. Religion is a more important part of the culture, for northern it really hold a historic importance and has shaped the culture in that way.
When I went with Alex, we got to go to a mass up at the top of Michaelangelo and the view was just incredible. The church was old and gorgeous. It was led by the benedictine monks and was said in both Italian and Latin. Afterward, feeling very peaceful and reflective, we walked back out into our fairy tale of a life, looking at the whole city view of Florence. It was unreal.
As far as school...
my best semester by far. The classes themselves did not require a lot of busy work which was nice- because the teachers knew we were all traveling every weekend and that we were there to absorb the culture as well as go to school. We did a lot of great projects though. Things I can take with me in my career and things I would never do at home. For example, we got to work with a renowned winery in Tuscany, and help create a new wine product that is going to be sold in America for the first time this July. It is from the Mazzei family and it is called Phillip. The bottle will look like this:
I can guarantee good quality =].
We also got to work with a tourist company, and create a field trip program for our university.
With wine- I feel like I absorbed everything that was taught. I can see a major difference in my wine knowledge, since before it was pretty much as nothing. The problem is, I know Italian wine- so now I need to learn about wines from home =].
The only thing I was actually surprised and a little sad about was the amount of Italian I learned. Which honestly, it gives me a a greater reason to extend my lessons here.
I feel like now- I have more of an open mind about traveling, other cultures, and different ways of living. I want to explore more and suck the marrow out of life every day.
I wanted to make sure I did that before I left.
Surprisingly, Florence is not as religious as you would think it is. Southern Italy, yes. Religion is a more important part of the culture, for northern it really hold a historic importance and has shaped the culture in that way.
When I went with Alex, we got to go to a mass up at the top of Michaelangelo and the view was just incredible. The church was old and gorgeous. It was led by the benedictine monks and was said in both Italian and Latin. Afterward, feeling very peaceful and reflective, we walked back out into our fairy tale of a life, looking at the whole city view of Florence. It was unreal.
As far as school...
my best semester by far. The classes themselves did not require a lot of busy work which was nice- because the teachers knew we were all traveling every weekend and that we were there to absorb the culture as well as go to school. We did a lot of great projects though. Things I can take with me in my career and things I would never do at home. For example, we got to work with a renowned winery in Tuscany, and help create a new wine product that is going to be sold in America for the first time this July. It is from the Mazzei family and it is called Phillip. The bottle will look like this:
I can guarantee good quality =].
We also got to work with a tourist company, and create a field trip program for our university.
With wine- I feel like I absorbed everything that was taught. I can see a major difference in my wine knowledge, since before it was pretty much as nothing. The problem is, I know Italian wine- so now I need to learn about wines from home =].
The only thing I was actually surprised and a little sad about was the amount of Italian I learned. Which honestly, it gives me a a greater reason to extend my lessons here.
I feel like now- I have more of an open mind about traveling, other cultures, and different ways of living. I want to explore more and suck the marrow out of life every day.
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