Florence (n.) – the capital of Tuscany; the birthplace of the Renaissance; once named one of the world’s most beautiful cities by Forbes’ Magazine; my home for the first four months of 2016

Wrapping up winter break with a visit to Little Italy, NY

Ciao, my name is Angela. I am a junior majoring in journalism and minoring in international studies at Penn State University, and I’ll be living and studying in Florence, Italy for a little while. I come from a little town about 20 minutes outside of the city of brotherly love. Although my hometown and my neighboring home-city are my two first loves, I’ve dreamed of travel ever since I was little—a much bolder and far more fearless dreamer—and nothing in this world (other than travel) has ever looked so exciting! I’m not sure how I’ll process all of the “new” once I arrive, but for now, I’m just preparing myself (the best I can) to be open, optimistic, and ready to embrace everything as much as humanly possible.

Why Florence, Italy?

To be quite frank, I actually didn’t know where to go. But, I had always heard stories about Italy’s beauty, charm, and of course, its gelato. Once when I was little, I stumbled upon the words, “You may have the universe if I may have Italy,” by Giuseppe Verdi, a composer of Italian operas. The sentiment fascinated me, and travel had my heart ever since. Growing up, I continued to come in contact with beautiful images of Italian sights and splendid stories from my friend Katie Mae, who was an au pair right outside of Rome.

When it became time to choose my host country, all I knew was that I had warm and homey feelings attached to central and southern Italy. I figured, I’ve got to start somewhere if I intend to see everything, and Florence seemed like a lovely place to begin.

Three Days Before Departure

In just three days, I’ll step foot onto a plane. This makes me a little bit nervous! Although, I have traveled before—adventuring through Eastern Europe for two weeks. It was Easter break of my junior year in high school, and twelve other girls and I set out to explore Germany, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. A little, old, Austrian man named Norman accompanied us as our tour guide along with Chief, our chaperone. Norman would tell us stories about each place we visited, and everyday he’d let us go exploring on our own. Mind you, we went to an all girls high school, and we were all 16 or 17 at the time wandering about countries that were foreign to us (buddy system of course!) Needless to say, the quote of the trip was, “Norman is out of control!” Thankfully, getting stuck in an elevator with my lovely rommate, Megs, was the only bad thing that had happened, and probably the funniest, too.

The next four months will be my longest stay overseas yet. I feel little butterflies, and my tummy kind of does somersaults when I think about it. So, I have been trying not to think. The older I get, the easier it is to be fearful because I am little more aware.

Little Italy, Mulberry Street, Brooklyn, New York

At this point, I’m just gathering last minute items like locks for my backpack zippers and other staple pieces of clothing so I can pack lightly and re-wear a lot of the same clothes in an array of creative pairings. I haven’t yet packed my suitcase, but that’s next on the list. I’m afraid I’ll forget things, but then again, I can always run to the markets once I get there in case anything imperative is left behind, (or so I tell myself). Compiling the travel playlist is also pretty exciting. I’ve got a stellar christian contemporary line-up for the plane.

Expectations

I think I’ll miss my family and my pup. I love them so much, but at the same time, I am so excited to get away for four whole months to see things, (and hopefully) grow, and change, and be a bit stronger when I return. I’m treating these next four months as a retreat from everything I have ever truly known.

I imagine living among the locals, studying, deepening my Catholic faith, visiting the Eternal City, exploring churches and other places of religious significance, admiring art and ancient architecture, enjoying Italian food and hospitality, and (most hopefully) blending in as a seasoned traveler and modeling the Italian ideal of fare bella figura—to have a beautiful figure.

Although these wishful reveries are true to Florence, there’s definitely a ton about this city that I do not know, and it’s already apparent that this could very well be an unforgettable experience…

Join me as I find my bearings and, explore lo stivale, the boot, the beautiful peninsula the Italians call home!

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania