First Couple of Weeks

I have been in Florence for about two weeks now and already love it! I live in downtown Florence so I feel like the Jeffersons. I am close to everything pretty much so it is prime location. As you can see, my apartment is not the biggest but we have a better location than other students in the program. It is a simple hallway with three rooms, a kitchen, and a small living space. I have four roommates and we have dinner together most nights like a family to keep costs down. The keys and some doors are ridiculously huge. I still have much to see in Firenze but so far I've been to the Uffizzi Gallery which had a Medusa Exhibit. We went to Fiesole where you can see Florence as a whole. The picture at night depicts that. There was also a chocolate festival that we went to in the Santa Croce piazza. I don't like chocolate but free samples and hot chocolate never hurt anybody. The Duomo is huge and cannot be missed...ever! All the piazzas are beautiful and have thier own unique touch of statues and brilliance as you can see from some of the pictures. I cross the Ponte Vecchio everyday to go to class so I see that a lot. That can be seen in a picture too. The weather is horrible! Better than Chicago as in degrees but similar in the way it changes from 50 to 20 in two days! Doesn't snow but it rains everyday. The language is similar to Spanish so I could catch some phrases but overall...I'm lost in translation! I get by though so no worries. The food is amazing as usual. We've mostly only been eating Italian food but we throw in Chinese sometimes to switch it up. There is also a kebab place across the street which is deadly for my diet! They are the best tasting things ever (especially late night after going out). Classes are to the point but will not be easy as I thought. I am taking Painting techniques, Italian language, I have two classes everyday for about 5 hours. I am free on Friday so that gives me sometime to travel on weekends. I will keep you updated on those once they are planned, booked, and set in stone. Until than, check out the pictures at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2526603&l=7d17f&id=1915685

Ciao

Pre Departure

This is just a test for me to get used to this blog thing. I wanted to create this so people know how I am doing and what is going on while I am in Italy. This will be a place for pictures, journals, and other random things I feel like sharing. I leave for Italy on January 11th, 2009 and return May 15th, 2009. I will be located in Florence which is in the northern part of Italy. If you know me, you know I like to travel which means I will not be confined to just Florence even though I want to get a good feel for my host country. Anyways, please use this site if you are interested at all in knowing how I am doing, check out pictures, or to communicate with myself.

Ciao