Journeying Through Italy

There are so many things one can see and do in Italy in such a short amount of time. This is for two reasons. 1. Everything is wicked close. I mean the whole country is roughly the size of Florida. 2. There is a TON to see and do here. I mean, of course the USA has a lot of history to it and there is plenty to see (and I have not yet done that all), but Italy has been developing for centuries compared to America. That means everything here is much older, and has a deep rich history.

I have been thoroughly enjoying learning about this magnificent country. I have officially been to Carrara, Ravenna, Assisi, and Perugia. Carrara is a white marble city. Many famous sculptures visited to get the best of the best marble, including Michelangelo. It was an awesome day. We toured the caves where marble is still taken from today, then went and saw people actually sculpt! It is incredible what people can do with a block of marble.



Next was Ravenna. Again this was a beautiful city. We visited many churches and saw the most gorgeous mosaics. The way these have been made are by people carefully hand selecting the tiny piece of glass to created the perfect image. And I mean perfect, right down the the skin tones and shadowing of the figures. On this trip, we had a tour guide. The trips set up for us by the school for everyone to attend always have a tour guide. I love this because then I actually can learn about what I am looking at. Most of the churches had images of Christ and his followers. To be honest, I really don't know too much about religion. It is so dense, but super interesting. I kind of wish I had a bit more of a background because seeing these types of things would be easier to understand. But then again, that is what the guide is for. And they do an excellent job. So it was really cool to see and learn about; but at the same time it was freezing inside these churches! Almost colder than outside because of the high ceilings and everything was marble. After we had visited three sites and were finished, it was time for a nice warm lunch. Pasta and red wine did the trick! I was warmed right up!


Those two trips happened two weekends ago. This past weekend was Assisi and Perugia. Assisi has been my favorite trip so far. I was absolutly enchanted by this little town! I would love nothing more than to move there. It was so cute and quaint with its cobbled stoned streets and picturesque buildings. I absolutely fell in love there. Assisi is know as the town for Saint Frances. We visited his baptistry and learned about his life. How he one day had an awakening and decided to devote his life to Christ and give up everything he owned. These churches were more medieval in their nature and everything was painted not mosaics. Again, after the tour some friends and I went to find a place to eat. The food, of course, was delicious! We strolled around a bit and went in and out of the adorable shops. The guides had told us about a climb up the hill that Assisi was built on where one can see magnificent views. I am so happy I took their advice and saw it. I will let the pictures speak for themselves here.


My friend Lauren and I had decided to continue our journey onto Perugia, a town nearby to Assisi. We had a hostle booked there for one night and were excited to check out a new place by ourselves. Of course when we were trying to figure out how we would get there from Assisi, we were informed that all the buses and trains were on strike until 9 pm that night! This actually happens pretty frequently in Italy, and is rather annoying. We end up finding a nice taxi driver who gave us a great rate. It all worked out! I was really excited to go on my first independent adventure. We spend the rest of the afternoon checking out the shops around the area and then went out to a nice dinner at a little restaurant next to our hostle. I had my first bowl of soup in Italy, and it was freaking amazing! Both Lauren and I were pretty tired so we had a low key night and were in bed at a good time. This was perfect because we woke up and had the rest of the day to be tourists in Perugia. We had done some research and found out that there was a fortress built under Perugia, so that was a must see! It was really cool to be walking around in a huge underground area. There were streets and Plazza's and everything. It was crazy. Then is was time to get some chocolate, which is what this town is known for. Yum!! It was such a lovely day, but we were lugging our bags around the whole time and decided to head back. We jumped on a direct train back to Florence. I was pleased to feel like I was home when we reached the city. I truly am starting to feel a little less like a tourist, and a bit more accustom to Florence.

Oh, STUDY abroad means I have to take classes..

My first weekend in Firenze was amazing! I am all moved into my host mom's apartment and I couldn't feel more comfortable. Her name is Teresa and is an older woman. She reminds me of my grandma, which is awesome but makes me miss her. All the same, I love where I live. It is a ten minute walk to school and I feel really safe. The actual apartment is a decent size and cute. My roommate is a girl named Anna who is really cool. We share a room and good sized bathroom. Overall, the living situation worked out well.

As I mentioned I wanted to do in my last post, this weekend was dedicated to exploring. Anna and I walked around the Duomo on Saturday and really got a feel for the place. I don't think I will ever get used to the huge dome just appearing out of nowhere. On the way there we stumbled across an awesome panini place that was cheap and so delicious. I will for sure have to go back there. we also walked in and out of the many adorable shops in the area. It was really fun! Of course it is important to not get too carried away with pictures and the sites in such a touristy area because looking distracted could mean you get pick-pocketed. I think I am so aware of this that hopefully I will always be able to keep my stuff in check.

This weekend was also dedicated to really bonding with your host family. And it just turns out that my host mom is friends with a few others in the area. So of course we all got together for three HUGE meals this weekend. It was really great! This way I get to know a few more kids in my program who live close to me. But seriously we had three course meals on Saturday for dinner, Sunday for lunch and Sunday for dinner. It was delicious but so much food! we would start with some sort of pasta, then move into a meat with a side dish, and end with dessert.
After lunch on Sunday the host moms took us all on a lovely hike. When I say "hike" I mean trek up a mountain. But it was totally worth it for the views of Firenze. They were molto bello. Especially when the sun was setting and you could easily pick out the Duomo in the distance. Of course my camera died halfway through the hike, but I will have those memories forever. But despite the gorgeous views, I must say my favorite part of the hike was talking with the host moms and listening to their conversations. They are just happy people who are always laughing and living life to the fullest. I love when they link arms with you and just start a conversation. It can be about anything. They genuinely enjoy talking to us, even though it is in broken English on their part and broken Italian on mine. The fact that we can still communicate and understand one another is very special.

But oh, right, class. After such an amazing weekend, I forgot that I came to Italy to STUDY. No but seriously, classes stared today and they were great so far. I had my Italian 102 class where the young Italian woman asked us general questions in Italian and we had little conversations. I was pleased to find i knew what she was asking, but answering was a bit more difficult. It was only the first day however. Next was my Italian Renaissance history class. I love the teacher. I think he knows a lot on the subject and it will be a really interesting class. Finally was Mediterranean City: Architecture, Ritual, Power. Again I really think I will enjoy this class. We have a ton of site visits, which means we will be walking around Florence a lot and getting to see what we are learning about. There are also a few cool trips coming up in this class. Tomorrow I will have my sculpture class!

Speaking of trips, I am going to Carrara on Friday and Ravenna on Saturday. Carrara is a white marble city where Michelangelo found the stone he carved The David in. Ravenna I have heard is beautiful and full with cathedrals. I am very excited for both. From now on I will be doing a lot of traveling on the weekends. This is awesome, but I really need to make sure I see what Firenze has to offer while I am here during the week. I am not worried, I have been meeting plenty of people who want to do the same. On the agenda is climbing the Duomo, seeing the David, going to the Uffizi, seeing the Ponte Vecchio, and other well known sites in Firenze. What an exciting city!

Orienting to Firenze

Since arriving in Italy at about 10 am on the 10th it has been non-stop. For the past three days now we have had orientation, which consisted of meeting after meeting. It has been good though! I have been meeting a ton of people, both from Syracuse University and not. It is always surprising to meet someone who attends the same university as I do and I had never met them before. I really do attend a larger school and it is nice to make it feel smaller by meeting new people in this setting. Besides making new friends it is important to pay attention to all the information we have been told, it is just hard to stay awake sometimes from jetlag. So far we learned a bit about the city, heard an overview of the courses offered here, wrote down the classes we want to take, discussed living with a host family, and other logistical things. There are a lot of things to do, such as get internet set up or hand in documents for our permit of stay in Italy, and it can be overwhelming. After orientation is over things will defiantly calm down. It actually ends today and in a few minutes I will meet my host mom and roommate and move into my house for the semester! I am so excited to meet my host mom, she seems like a sweetheart from what I've heard.

These past few days during orientation we have been living in a hotel about a ten minute walk to the campus. My roommate is a girl named Margret, who is awesome! We have been hanging out a lot walking around the city, figuring out our Italian cell phones, and of course eating Gelato! It is so surreal to just be strolling down the cobblestone streets of Florence. I am like a little girl looking up at all the buildings and trying to take everything in around me. I love speaking the language. I actually get excited when I say little things like "ciao" or "grazie" to locals. I think one of my biggest goals is to really pick up the language while I am here. I know it is near impossible to be fluent in such a short time, but I would at least like to hold a conversation by the time I leave.

Firenze, or Florence in English, is a beautiful city. The buildings are so Mediterranean with adorable baloney's and cute window panes. Seeing the Duomo was incredible! All of a sudden there it was! Out of no where! It is strange to me to see such old and beautiful buildings being used for modern purposes. But as my friend Margi pointed out, at least they still maintain each of the buildings. I cannot wait until this weekend to just take the time to explore the city and get a feel for where I am.

The Day I've Been Waiting For

Today is the day. I am leaving for Florence, Italy in just a few hours to study abroad there for three and a half months. There are so many emotions running through me. To name a few I feel disbelief, excitement, nervousness, and anxiousness. But most of all, I feel confidence. I am the girl who wanted to study abroad since the first time I heard of this opportunity offered in colleges. The one who applied in February when my application was due in October. I have been waiting for this day, and it is here. So I am ready! Bring it on Italy.