The title for this post is appropriate because I am currently drinking hot chocolate that was dispensed from a machine. I know that this is not a completely new idea, but it excites me immensely nonetheless.
I am currently typing away in the student lounge of our school, where I get to go every day for a half hour as my class gets out earlier than everyone else. Today was okay. The language is difficult to be "good" at, in my opinion. I struggle understanding conversation and then, of course, responding. But I am pretty good with grammar. I did pretty well on our first quiz today, only making one minor mistake. So that was encouraging. I have asked so many people for advice on how to improve speaking and reading and listening, and they just say practice, and that it will take time. Good advice, but it gets frustrating along the way.
Yesterday, I went to the .99 centissimi store, equivalent to our dollar store. It was AMAZING. I bought two notebooks and some lotion for 2.97 euro. These stores are like all over the place. I really hope they have them in Roma. Other than that excitement, I didn't do much yesterday, with the exception of getting thoroughly confused about my Italian phone...it's incredibly difficult to have a broken English-broken Italian conversation about something as important as my means of communication here. I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually.
Today, I'm going to tour the Uffizi gallery and then off to the opera! This opera is called "L'Italiana in Algeri," and my Italian professor tells me that it is a comedy. I'm very excited. Tomorrow morning at 8 AM (ugh), we leave for Venezia! It's going to be unbelievably cold there. I'm literally already wearing all my layers here in Firenze - we're talking layers and layers...leggings under jeans with boots zipped up to the knee, multiple long-sleeve shirts with my rugby, sweater, and pea coat, as well as wool gloves and hat. If I freeze to death this weekend, it was a pleasure knowing all of you! Kidding! It should be fun, I'm sure, despite the weather. I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and journal so I will be able to relay my adventures to you all on Monday.
Abbiate in cura! (Take care!)
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Buon Giorno! (Good Day! or Good Morning!)
This title is appropriate because it truly is a beautiful day here in Firenze! I just got out of Day 3 of Italian class. It's a bit tough at times, but I am enjoying myself.
Yesterday we went to Pisa. We left here around 2 PM and arrived in the quaint little town slightly after 4 PM. We had two hours to walk around and then we departed. You may be thinking,"ONLY TWO HOURS?" But believe me, that is all you need in Pisa. We were given a tour of the Piazza dei Miracoli, also called the Piazza del Duomo, meaning cathedral. That is because there is a cathedral in the center of the piazza. It is quite pretty standing there, even in the pouring rain we endured for the entirety of our visit. The main doors are enormous and covered with carvings depicting different stories of the Assumption of Mary (I took a moment to make a silent shout-out to all my Assumption bests). From the cathedral you can also see the Baptistery, standing tall with a statue of St. John the Baptist at its peak.
Then...drumroll...the leaning tower, which was originally built as a bell tower for the cathedral. I laugh out loud when I say this because due to poor construction and location, resulting obviously in the tower's lack of ability to stand straight, a project taking nearly 200 years, the bells of the tower have actually never been rung as they were intended. It's a sad sad story. But the bright side is, I was able to take the ultimate tourist picture (soon to be seen on facebook)!
After our quaint tour, we went to the fanciest looking McDonald's I have ever seen. Everyone was ordering food, claiming that the European quality was superior (secondo me (according to me), "superior McDonald's quality" is an oxymoron). I decided to wait for our usual three-course, delicious, and most importantly, free meal at the hotel.
After dinner, I walked my roommate, who now has tonsilitis, to the gelateria to help her sore throat. Did I mention my roommate has tonsilitis? And by roommate, I mean the person who sleeps literally one foot from my own bed? Yeah, fun, I know. Last night, we slept with the window open, and I was sure to "steal" as many oranges as I could manage from the dessert tray last night. Vitamin C overload. I am determined to not have need for Italian medicine.
Today is actually a pretty chill day. Nothing is planned with the exception of academic advising, simply meaning that we will officially register for our courses in Rome. I plan on figuring out my Italian phone situation as well so I can finally get in contact with the people here. I also have to study for my first Italian quiz!
Tomorrow I will be touring the Uffizi Gallery, an art gallery in Florence, checking out a food tasting at school. (That should be interesting...in a room too small to even fit 100 people. Add free food to that mix and you've got yourself a problem.) At night, we will be attending the opera. I'm beyond excited to dress up and even more excited to actually go to an opera.
In conclusion, everything is going well. I miss home a lot, but there is plenty going on to distract me. I even had a really good conversation yesterday about using this time for self-exploration. This is the best time for it, as I am completely separated from everything familiar. I hope to grow while I'm here and come back stronger and ready to face my last year of college.
Thank you again to everyone who has been supportive through this. I will try to get photos up so you can keep up with the stories!
Arrivederci!
PS. I fixed a few spelling errors in my last post. There still might be some (as well as in this one). Sorry about that! I only have so much time to be online :)
Yesterday we went to Pisa. We left here around 2 PM and arrived in the quaint little town slightly after 4 PM. We had two hours to walk around and then we departed. You may be thinking,"ONLY TWO HOURS?" But believe me, that is all you need in Pisa. We were given a tour of the Piazza dei Miracoli, also called the Piazza del Duomo, meaning cathedral. That is because there is a cathedral in the center of the piazza. It is quite pretty standing there, even in the pouring rain we endured for the entirety of our visit. The main doors are enormous and covered with carvings depicting different stories of the Assumption of Mary (I took a moment to make a silent shout-out to all my Assumption bests). From the cathedral you can also see the Baptistery, standing tall with a statue of St. John the Baptist at its peak.
Then...drumroll...the leaning tower, which was originally built as a bell tower for the cathedral. I laugh out loud when I say this because due to poor construction and location, resulting obviously in the tower's lack of ability to stand straight, a project taking nearly 200 years, the bells of the tower have actually never been rung as they were intended. It's a sad sad story. But the bright side is, I was able to take the ultimate tourist picture (soon to be seen on facebook)!
After our quaint tour, we went to the fanciest looking McDonald's I have ever seen. Everyone was ordering food, claiming that the European quality was superior (secondo me (according to me), "superior McDonald's quality" is an oxymoron). I decided to wait for our usual three-course, delicious, and most importantly, free meal at the hotel.
After dinner, I walked my roommate, who now has tonsilitis, to the gelateria to help her sore throat. Did I mention my roommate has tonsilitis? And by roommate, I mean the person who sleeps literally one foot from my own bed? Yeah, fun, I know. Last night, we slept with the window open, and I was sure to "steal" as many oranges as I could manage from the dessert tray last night. Vitamin C overload. I am determined to not have need for Italian medicine.
Today is actually a pretty chill day. Nothing is planned with the exception of academic advising, simply meaning that we will officially register for our courses in Rome. I plan on figuring out my Italian phone situation as well so I can finally get in contact with the people here. I also have to study for my first Italian quiz!
Tomorrow I will be touring the Uffizi Gallery, an art gallery in Florence, checking out a food tasting at school. (That should be interesting...in a room too small to even fit 100 people. Add free food to that mix and you've got yourself a problem.) At night, we will be attending the opera. I'm beyond excited to dress up and even more excited to actually go to an opera.
In conclusion, everything is going well. I miss home a lot, but there is plenty going on to distract me. I even had a really good conversation yesterday about using this time for self-exploration. This is the best time for it, as I am completely separated from everything familiar. I hope to grow while I'm here and come back stronger and ready to face my last year of college.
Thank you again to everyone who has been supportive through this. I will try to get photos up so you can keep up with the stories!
Arrivederci!
PS. I fixed a few spelling errors in my last post. There still might be some (as well as in this one). Sorry about that! I only have so much time to be online :)
Monday, January 25, 2010
Una lunga settimana... ( A long week...)
It has been one week in Europe and I feel as though I have been here forever. Literally. Everything is different, and at first, everything is horrifying. But every time I do something once, I am less afraid. And I have done some AMAZING things in the last week, things I could not have imagined before coming here. Get ready for a week's worth of updates:
It all began in London. Day one was the longest day of my life. I had no idea what time it was. Ever. But it was still fun. I was sick from the plane, so as soon as we arrived at our bed & breakfast, I napped. Then I joined a group of explorers, and we wandered around the beautiful city. Our bed & breakfast is a block away from Hyde Park, which is equivalent to NYC's central park, but not nearly as large. We walked around there looking for what was called the "Princess Diana Memorial" on our map, but instead we stumbled upon a playground...a playground which is actually the Princess Diana Memorial, but they wouldn't let us in because we didn't have children. So, then we checked out some museums, science and natural history. Pretty interesting stuff. Down the street from there was the famous Harrod's department store. This place was intense. There was practically a food court inside. That night in the apartment we had a welcome "drink"/social. After this, starving and exhausted, we found ourselves a pub and tried the local cuisine of fish and chips, which is apparently very bland in England. Then we called it an early night after drinking a beer at another pub, called the Black Lion.
Day Two we had a bus tour of London, led by scottish Sean, who claimed to be a direct relative of Sean Connery. We saw all the major sites: Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, London Bridge and Tower Bridge (which, according to Sean are often confused - just a fun fact). After the bus tour, we went off on our own in a group of six or so, which due to different lunch preferences quickly became a group of two, myself and one other girl, when we went to find ourselves some asian food and forgot to pick a meeting place for the rest of the group. No worries, though. It was a great bonding experience, and we saw so much...Platform 9 and 3/4, enjoyed street performers who begged us for money after the show in Covent Gardens, toured the Globe Theater, where I learned a lot about theater in London during the time of Shakespeare, the Tate Modern, and we walked across the millenium bridge at night: absolutely gorgeous. Last event of the night was the "broadway" show, Blood Brothers, starring sporty spice. True story. It was pretty good, but definitely weird. Those brits...
After London, we had another long travel day to Pisa, and from Pisa to Florence. We were thrust into Italian-speaking everyone and Italian-written everything. I was pumped. I jumped right in and started trying it out. I'm no where near good at speaking it, but I hope by the end of this I will be a master. The important thing is that I can get my way through any given day here. We just started language classes yesterday, and I tested into the highest level. So far, it's not too bad. I have some trouble understanding what is being said sometimes, and thus, I have trouble responding sometimes, but all-in-all, it's not too bad.
Florence has been a lot of fun. Our Hotel is called the Hotel Anglo-American, and it has the most elaborate rooms. I don't mean it's fancy - but every room is different. Some actually have staircases IN them. It's sweet. We also get breakfast and dinner at the hotel, and let me tell you, Italians like to eat. A lot. All the time. Get ready, friends and family, because I will be coming back at least 30 pounds heavier.
The first night here we went out to a bar called the Fish Pub, or something along those lines. It was a distinctly American bar. 5 shots for 5 euro. It was a lot of fun. The next day we had orientation. Playing those fun games that we all do at student leader training, you know...build a tower with balloons, grab a nametag out of a bucket and go find that person, human knot, all the good ones. Of course, it was actually heartbreaking when no one was as excited as I was. Oh well. I'll just save my ice breaker enthusiasm for when I'm back at Assumption. Also during orientation, we were explained the safety precautions we should take against the evils of Italian pickpocketers and men, in general. I'm pretty sure 70% of the listening group were slightly distracted by the gorgeous Italian cop giving the presentation. All of our eyes went to his left ring finger. Fail.
The next day, we took a walking tour of the beautiful Florence and at night, I went to mass in the Duomo. It was amazing...the mass was in Italian. Before the mass, the priest walked up to us and just said "USA?" We must havebeen given away what with all staring up, with our mouths wide open. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen, and by far the most beautiful cathedral. That night I found an internet cafe for only one euro per hour. I got to see my parents and brother, and matt. And almost Carleigh, but not so much. So yesterday we fixed that problem and I got to see her. After skyping and beginning this post, I went on an art tour of Florence with an adorable English-speaking Italain man who made fun of the security guard at one of the cathedrals we entered, who interrupted him and told him "sotto voce" - to lower his voice. "He disturbs me," he said in his little Italian accent.
After the tour, we met the whole group (all 100 of us students) at a bar and got a free drink. All the girls ordered this drink with a silly name and too many ingredients to count: lime, brown sugar, strawberry, grenadine, and too much smirnoff vodka. It was a nice pink color. We felt bad for the bar tender, as he literally made about 50 of these, and the process requires smashing the limes in the glass with a twisting motion. We didn't feel too bad though - watching the smoking hot bartender flex those arms muscles, we really couldn't complain.
For the next two weeks we will be in Florence, we have class 4 hours a day and extravagant trips planned:Venice for the weekend, day trips to Pisa and Siena, and a wine tour in Tuscany, just to name a few. I'm having a lot of fun, despite various instances of homesickness. I miss everyone so much. Pictures to come to facebook soon!
It all began in London. Day one was the longest day of my life. I had no idea what time it was. Ever. But it was still fun. I was sick from the plane, so as soon as we arrived at our bed & breakfast, I napped. Then I joined a group of explorers, and we wandered around the beautiful city. Our bed & breakfast is a block away from Hyde Park, which is equivalent to NYC's central park, but not nearly as large. We walked around there looking for what was called the "Princess Diana Memorial" on our map, but instead we stumbled upon a playground...a playground which is actually the Princess Diana Memorial, but they wouldn't let us in because we didn't have children. So, then we checked out some museums, science and natural history. Pretty interesting stuff. Down the street from there was the famous Harrod's department store. This place was intense. There was practically a food court inside. That night in the apartment we had a welcome "drink"/social. After this, starving and exhausted, we found ourselves a pub and tried the local cuisine of fish and chips, which is apparently very bland in England. Then we called it an early night after drinking a beer at another pub, called the Black Lion.
Day Two we had a bus tour of London, led by scottish Sean, who claimed to be a direct relative of Sean Connery. We saw all the major sites: Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, St. Paul's Cathedral, London Bridge and Tower Bridge (which, according to Sean are often confused - just a fun fact). After the bus tour, we went off on our own in a group of six or so, which due to different lunch preferences quickly became a group of two, myself and one other girl, when we went to find ourselves some asian food and forgot to pick a meeting place for the rest of the group. No worries, though. It was a great bonding experience, and we saw so much...Platform 9 and 3/4, enjoyed street performers who begged us for money after the show in Covent Gardens, toured the Globe Theater, where I learned a lot about theater in London during the time of Shakespeare, the Tate Modern, and we walked across the millenium bridge at night: absolutely gorgeous. Last event of the night was the "broadway" show, Blood Brothers, starring sporty spice. True story. It was pretty good, but definitely weird. Those brits...
After London, we had another long travel day to Pisa, and from Pisa to Florence. We were thrust into Italian-speaking everyone and Italian-written everything. I was pumped. I jumped right in and started trying it out. I'm no where near good at speaking it, but I hope by the end of this I will be a master. The important thing is that I can get my way through any given day here. We just started language classes yesterday, and I tested into the highest level. So far, it's not too bad. I have some trouble understanding what is being said sometimes, and thus, I have trouble responding sometimes, but all-in-all, it's not too bad.
Florence has been a lot of fun. Our Hotel is called the Hotel Anglo-American, and it has the most elaborate rooms. I don't mean it's fancy - but every room is different. Some actually have staircases IN them. It's sweet. We also get breakfast and dinner at the hotel, and let me tell you, Italians like to eat. A lot. All the time. Get ready, friends and family, because I will be coming back at least 30 pounds heavier.
The first night here we went out to a bar called the Fish Pub, or something along those lines. It was a distinctly American bar. 5 shots for 5 euro. It was a lot of fun. The next day we had orientation. Playing those fun games that we all do at student leader training, you know...build a tower with balloons, grab a nametag out of a bucket and go find that person, human knot, all the good ones. Of course, it was actually heartbreaking when no one was as excited as I was. Oh well. I'll just save my ice breaker enthusiasm for when I'm back at Assumption. Also during orientation, we were explained the safety precautions we should take against the evils of Italian pickpocketers and men, in general. I'm pretty sure 70% of the listening group were slightly distracted by the gorgeous Italian cop giving the presentation. All of our eyes went to his left ring finger. Fail.
The next day, we took a walking tour of the beautiful Florence and at night, I went to mass in the Duomo. It was amazing...the mass was in Italian. Before the mass, the priest walked up to us and just said "USA?" We must havebeen given away what with all staring up, with our mouths wide open. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen, and by far the most beautiful cathedral. That night I found an internet cafe for only one euro per hour. I got to see my parents and brother, and matt. And almost Carleigh, but not so much. So yesterday we fixed that problem and I got to see her. After skyping and beginning this post, I went on an art tour of Florence with an adorable English-speaking Italain man who made fun of the security guard at one of the cathedrals we entered, who interrupted him and told him "sotto voce" - to lower his voice. "He disturbs me," he said in his little Italian accent.
After the tour, we met the whole group (all 100 of us students) at a bar and got a free drink. All the girls ordered this drink with a silly name and too many ingredients to count: lime, brown sugar, strawberry, grenadine, and too much smirnoff vodka. It was a nice pink color. We felt bad for the bar tender, as he literally made about 50 of these, and the process requires smashing the limes in the glass with a twisting motion. We didn't feel too bad though - watching the smoking hot bartender flex those arms muscles, we really couldn't complain.
For the next two weeks we will be in Florence, we have class 4 hours a day and extravagant trips planned:Venice for the weekend, day trips to Pisa and Siena, and a wine tour in Tuscany, just to name a few. I'm having a lot of fun, despite various instances of homesickness. I miss everyone so much. Pictures to come to facebook soon!
Monday, January 18, 2010
It Begins... (Comincia...)
I decided to start this blog as a way of keeping in touch, and of course as a way for friends and family to "stalk" me if they so desire. For those of you with no Italian knowledge at all, "la dolce vita" means "the sweet life," the life I hope to have for the next three and a half months. I will try to keep this thing updated, but my internet access is limited, so bear with me.
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Tonight is my last night in America for the next 107 days.
I have just finished dinner with my family. A nice sendoff: steak, potatoes, green beans, and salad, followed by a nice big cake to celebrate my brother's 25th birthday early. A nice American meal before I venture Italian cuisine for a while, for which I am very excited. And I definitely am excited, but more so nervous. I have never been one for uncertainty or spontaneity. But that's the really beautiful thing about this experience. I will have to be. I will be thrown into a completely different world, and my sheltered lifestyle will finally be shattered, in a good way. I will be introduced to things that I have never seen, people that I have never met, and food that I have never even heard of. I will be the most independent that I have ever been. But I will be sure to keep in touch, of course.
I have been looking forward to this experience since the summer before I was a senior in high school, when I began touring colleges. So this is it. I'll probably be up all night, as I am absolutely too nervous (and excited) to sleep. So arrivederci a tutti! And a special thank you to everyone who has helped me through the predeparture process, especially my parents.
Good luck to everyone while I am away, and know that I'll be thinking of you when I go wherever la dolce vita takes me.
-----
Tonight is my last night in America for the next 107 days.
I have just finished dinner with my family. A nice sendoff: steak, potatoes, green beans, and salad, followed by a nice big cake to celebrate my brother's 25th birthday early. A nice American meal before I venture Italian cuisine for a while, for which I am very excited. And I definitely am excited, but more so nervous. I have never been one for uncertainty or spontaneity. But that's the really beautiful thing about this experience. I will have to be. I will be thrown into a completely different world, and my sheltered lifestyle will finally be shattered, in a good way. I will be introduced to things that I have never seen, people that I have never met, and food that I have never even heard of. I will be the most independent that I have ever been. But I will be sure to keep in touch, of course.
I have been looking forward to this experience since the summer before I was a senior in high school, when I began touring colleges. So this is it. I'll probably be up all night, as I am absolutely too nervous (and excited) to sleep. So arrivederci a tutti! And a special thank you to everyone who has helped me through the predeparture process, especially my parents.
Good luck to everyone while I am away, and know that I'll be thinking of you when I go wherever la dolce vita takes me.
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