It has been about a week since I arrived in Florence, Italy!  So far, the experience here has been filled with amazing sightseeing, eating, and shopping.  

          My apartment is located in a very narrow street called Via del Morro. I’ve observed that all the streets in Florence start with “Via” which is Italian for “street.”  

As I lugged my suitcase and bag into the lobby of the apartment building I realized with horror that there was no elevator and I lived on the top floor.  I was also shocked to find out that I’m living in an apartment with 6 other girls!  Thankfully, we all get along really well.  Because the apartment is so old fashioned, the appliances and bathrooms will take some getting used to…

This city is more beautiful than I imagined.  The red cobble stone streets are lined by quaint buildings, giant palazzos (palaces) or glorious cathedrals. I live right near the highlights of Florence, such as the Arno River, Duomo, and the Uffizi museum.  I’m surrounded by high end stores like Gucci, Prada, and Dolce Gabanna.  Unfortunately, I’ll never be able to afford any of that.  But it’s still nice to stare through the giant windows =).  

I don’t think I have ever been in a school as beautiful as Palazzo Rucellai!  The classrooms are decorated with beautiful paintings that date back to the Renaissance period.  I feel like I am going to school in a museum! 

The first night in Florence, my roommates and I all decided to walk around near our apartment and try to find a convenience store.  The streets in Florence are confusing to say the least!  They form forks and change names without notice.  We walked in circles even with maps in front our faces.  Lets just say we had tourists written all over our forehead!

Fortunately the days since have been much better in terms of directions.  In terms of luck …not so much.  My 4th day here, I actually got pickpocketted at an outdoor market!  I should have been more careful because major tourist spots are breeding ground for pick pocketters.  I still feel sick thinking about the amount of euros and other important credit cards lost. I had to visit the police station close to my apartment but neither the police understood English nor I understood Italian.  I am actually quite surprised that I was able to explain my whole situation in Italian to the officer…with the help of some phrase books.  Too bad the phrase books don’t tell you what to do after you’ve received a complicated answer in Italian!

 However, I learned a lot that day.  I am so much more careful with my money now and never leave the house with an excessive amount of cash or important cards.  I also am planning on buying a smaller purse that I can keep an eye on at all times.  Unfortunately, ever since the incident, I have been having nightmares about thieves stealing my camera.  If that happens…I don’t even want to think about it          

Now onto the exciting stuff!  My roommates and I have already visited many landmarks of Italy.  Today, we actually climbed the Duomo.    If you are even the least bit clausterphobic or scared of heights, this is not the adventure for you. It was around 460 steps of steep, narrow, and dark stairwells!  However, once we reached the top of the Duomo, we knew the climb was worth every step.  From the top of the Duomo, I could see the entire city of Florence and the mountain range surrounding the city.  It was absolutely breathtaking and I hope to climb the Duomo once more before I leave for the US- preferably at sunset.  

          Besides the Duomo, we have visited some of the beautiful Piazzas (city squares) we live near, such as the Piazza de Republica, Piazza de Signoria, and Piazza de Beccaria.  We have also visited some of the numerous outdoor markets Florence has to offer, such as San Lorenzo and the Straw Market.  The markets have some of the best deals on leather handbags, beautiful silk scarves, and shoes.  Now, I just have to work on my bargaining skills- which I am planning to do next week! We have also dappled in some fine Italian wine, expresso, and cuisine.  The paninis in Florence are amazing!  Even better are the gelato!   So far we have only tried wine from the nearby convenience store which was alright.  I am planning on going going wine tasting in Tuscany…should be amazing!

A week in and I have already noticed some cultural differences between Italy and America. For instance, in Italy, people walk on streets as if they are not surrounded by many people.  They don’t say “excuse me” or “pardon” if they do bump into people on the streets unlike in America.  People never make eye contact with each other on the road because eye contact signifies interest.  Italians are also never in a rush to eat.  You will never find an Italian eating while walking to work or school because they believe that dining must be a relaxing experience. I have also noticed that sizes in Italy run way smaller than in America.  For instance, sidewalks, roads, stores, coffee sizes and even toilets are at least half of those sizes in America.  Cramming onto a 2 feet wide sidewalk can take some getting used to!  Finally, dining out in Italy has been one of the most confusing experiences.  We usually end up with a bill that is higher than we expected because of random charges written in Italian.  “Is that a service charge?”  “Do we tip on top of the service charge?”  If we sit down will we be charged extra?”  Those are usually the questions running through my mind each time. Finally, I have also started to understand the Florentine perspective of Americans.  They view Americans as loud and obnoxious partiers.  I believe this stereotype comes from the partying many study abroad students engage in because of the amazing night life in Italy.  Bars and clubs are pretty much catered towards American tourists.  Italians do party but most of their drinking is done in moderation and mostly for socializing.  

The first few days here were a bit startling in terms of adjusting to the new culture and dealing with the language barrier.  However, studying abroad is about adjusting to a new way of life and thats exactly what I am ready to do.  

Because studying abroad actually involves a bit of “studying” I better open up my book on Ancient Rome =)

Ciao!!