Last week was my first week of classes. I have four classes on Monday and Wednesday (Art of Florence, Leonardo da Vinci, Family Business in Italy, and Italian language) and two on Tuesday and Thursday (Architecture in Italy and Italian language). Here’s a rundown of what my courses are like:

• Art in Florence: In this course, we’ll be walking around Florence or visiting museums every day and learning about art history in Florence as well as the great artists and their works, including paintings, sculptures, and architecture. On the first day, we learned about the history of the layout of Florence, visited the Duomo, went to a Medieval square, learned about architecture in the Middle Ages, and went into a cathedral. Plus, I’m one of only two guys in the class, so that’s cool.
• Leonardo: This class is all about Leonardo da Vinci, my favorite historical figure. It’s so awesome, and though the professor is a bit reserved, he is really passionate. The first day was interesting and thought provoking, with the professor challenging us to come up with a definition for genius, which is hard when you think about it. I also learned a lot about da Vinci already, such as how few paintings he actually completed (just 15 are attributed to him).
• Family Business in Italy: This is my least favorite class so far, but I need it to fulfill my international business minor at Penn State, so I can’t drop it. It still seems like it will have interesting moments, though; we’ll be taking trips to wineries, museums, and meeting CEOs of Italian companies, so it’ll still be a great experience.
• The Italian Experience: My Italian language class. The professor, Enrico, is extremely energetic and very friendly. I have this class four times a week for an hour, as opposed to all the others which I only have twice a week for and hour and a half. After only two classes, I’ve already had a whole basic conversation with Enrico in Italian in front of the class. I should also note that Enrico seems to favor me and thought I had already taken Italian.
• Architecture of Italy: This class is unique because we have two professors teaching it, a young woman who speaks great English and an old man whose English isn’t so great. The material seems interesting; it’s like learning about the story of Florence that is hidden in it’s architecture. This is another class that we’ll be walking around Florence for. I was thinking of dropping this class (because they recommend students only take four courses because of the workload), but I find it interesting, and when will I ever get the chance to study Italian architecture in Italy again?

Location: Florence, Italy