Author Archives: jac687

Hey, this is Jesus, this is my number.

That was a text message I received about a month ago, from my new friend Jesus (pronounced Hey-Zeus). Have you ever met someone named Jesus? Well, I hadn’t until a few weeks ago, and I’m happy to now say that I have a close friend that I hope to know for the rest of my life.

While studying abroad, and in life in general, the people that you meet are just as important as all of the places you visit, ancient ruins you see, and all the pasta you eat. What fun is this experience without anyone to share it with?

I’m glad one of the people I get to share this experience with is Jesus; he is one of the most interesting people I know. He was born in Spain; has lived all throughout Europe (now lives in Venezuela, but goes to college in the U.S.); can speak Spanish, Italian, English and French and the list goes on. What makes him so interesting is not just the fact that he has lived all throughout Europe or that he can speak 4 languages (although I’m jealous), but it is his background, his stories and his ideas/opinions/perspectives.

Throughout this study abroad experience (and again, in life in general) it is so important to be open minded; to be open minded about trying new things, learning about new cultures, having new experiences, and meeting new people…it’s what makes life interesting. I feel like I have always had an open mind, but Jesus has helped me to open my eyes even more and see things from different perspectives–and to me, that is more important than all of the places I will visit during this time.

Location: Florence, italy

The train is right there…and it’s leaving in 30 seconds

Well, yesterday I learned that thirty seconds isn’t enough time to validate your ticket and sprint to a train, with it’s doors already closed AND that there is more than one train station in Firenze.

Here’s the story: my two friends and I, Meaghan and Jesus, met at the piazza near our apartments early in the morning, leaving plenty of time to stop at the ATM and get to the train station. We were headed to Verona for the day and were planning on staying over night and then meeting some friends for lunch in a small town called Borgo San Lorenzo on Saturday. We made it to Santa Maria Novella, the main station (which I thought was the only station), with a half an hour until our train. Once we figured out that our train was not on the departure board, we asked at the information booth; the lady told us that we were at the wrong station…and that the train that we needed to take to get to the other station was leaving in 30 seconds. So we sprinted to the train, and like in a movie, slow motion, the train started pulling away. Instead of panicking, we laughed and then we went to the ticket booth to try to change our tickets to a later time, but after discussing with the woman behind the counter (all in Italian!!), we found out the next train to Verona wasn’t until late afternoon. So there we were, “stuck” in Florence and not on our way to Verona. Luckily, we were able to change our tickets to Sunday, so we will be heading there tomorrow..and now know that we will be leaving from the other train station.

Sometimes everything happens for a reason and it actually turned out to be the best day I’ve had in Florence so far. After laughing about how ridiculous we must have looked trying to chase down a train and the whole situation in general, we decided to get breakfast. We wandered across the Arno to the other side (my favorite part of the city) and found a cafe near Santo Spirito. Each of us got a panino and a caffe latte and sat there for about 2 hours talking. We then headed back to Meaghan’s apartment to hang out for a little while and then we decided to climb the Duomo, since none of us had done this yet, even though we’ve been here for a little over three weeks. All I have to say that it is definitely worth the 8 euro.

After climbing the 463 stairs back down, we were hungry so we walked around the city a little, all the while looking for a place that served d�ners. I had never heard of them before, but Meaghan had eaten them in Germany three years ago when she did an exchange program there, and explained that they are similar to the Greek gyro. So we happened to stumble upon a place and we each got one filled with chicken, onions, tomatoes, spicy sauce, tzatziki sauce and…french fries? Interesting. And so delicious.

With our stomachs full, our next plan was to get some gelato (of course) and head to the Boboli gardens. We stopped at a gelateria by the Pitti Palace and I chose tuttobosco and yogurt, which turned out to be a great combination. We then started walking in the exact opposite direction of the city center, originally planning to finish our gelato and then walk to the entrance of the Boboli gardens. Once we passed the entrance, it was closing, so we just continued to walk. And then started our adventure. We followed a road all the way to the end of the old city walls and then saw a tower that grabbed our attention. So we followed our way to the tower, and then just continued walking into the countryside…for about 30 minutes, and it was gorgeous and exactly how I had always pictured the Tuscan countryside.

Then today, we had a feast, at a festival in Borgo San Lorenzo, but that deserves a post all to itself.

Location: florence, italy

Pisa & La Trippa

La trippa = tripe. And yesterday, for the first time, I tried cow’s stomach…but let’s rewind.

Since my last post, a lot has happened. It has been a week and a day since classes started, and I love all of them so far. My Italian class now has only 2 students in total (awesome!); in my photography class, we started learning the basics of the camera, most of which I knew already from previous classes I have taken, but it was a good refresher; in my human figure drawing class, we started with drawing bottles, today, the skull; in my architecture in Italy class, I found out that we get to take trips to Rome and Venice; and finally, in my history of food and wine class, we took a walking tour of the Central Market.

Last week, my roommate Caitlin went to the Central Market and picked up some fresh food for our first apartment dinner. We made steaks with onions, zucchini, potatoes and carrots, and a salad, which cost a total of 14 euro, plus around 6 euro for some wine. It was delicioso!

Friday: When most of my roommates went to Chianti with the school (my trip is this Friday), Emily and I met up with some other girls to go to the Galleria dell’Accademia. We walked around the museum and enjoyed everything, but were mainly there to see the David. It was amazing, and beyond words. I plan to go back a few more times, especially since I have a museum card that we all paid 20 euro for, from the school, that let’s us in to pretty much all of the museums here.

Saturday: We woke up early, met some other friends, and were on the way to Pisa! The train ride was only about an hour and we were all so excited about going to Pisa, none of us even discussed what the plan was once we got off of the train. Luckily, there was a map, so we explored the city, saw the tower and cathedral, ate some pizza and headed back home to Firenze.

And now, la trippa. Like I said, with my history of food and wine class, we did a walking tour of the Central Market and the shops in the neighborhood around our school, where our professor explained what the speciality of each booth or store in the neighborhood is. We came upon a street vendor near the Central Market, who gave us a bowl full of white-ish peices of meat covered in a red sauce. I think everyone in the group tried it, and it actually wasn’t too bad! The tripe itself didn’t have much flavor, but the sauce that covered it was delicious. Our professor told us that we had to finish the little bowl, so pretty much everyone went in for seconds. I don’t think that I would order tripe at a restaurant for a meal, but at least I can say that I have tried a typical Tucsan street food! And the market is wonderful, but I already knew that. Everything is fresh and you can get a lot of food for pretty cheap…everything from meat (including horse meat), fruits and vegetables, to olive oil, bread, and cheese. And then there is the San Lorenzo Market, which is right outside the Central Market, where there are vendors selling leather (jackets, backpacks, purses) and scarves. I’m going to have to make a trip back there in soon.

I have to leave for class, so I will end this post now, but in my next post, I will talk about my impressions of Italy so far and what I like most (that’s for you mom). Ciao!

Location: Via della Vigna Nuova 18, Florence, Italy

Buona sera da Firenze!

Ciao a tutti! It is Sunday night and I now finally have a chance to sit down and write an entry. I have been going non-stop since I arrived on Wednesday afternoon and I am loving every second of it! Here is a quick summary of what has happened over the past few days:

After arriving to the Florence Airport and taking a taxi to the apartment I will be living in for the next few months, I met my 2 new roommates, Emily and Caitlin, and my requested roommate, Liz (who I went to high school with, but goes to UConn). After unpacking and getting to know each other, we decided to find a pizza place that Emily had found in one of her guidebooks. We wandered down the street, passing the Duomo (which we will do every day to get to school), and ended up at another restaurant to avoid getting lost in the dark, since it was the first time any of us had even walked down the street. Each of us only paid 5 euro for pizza, un insalato misto, and vino…it was perfect. We then came home, talked for a little longer, but then went to sleep on the early side because we were all tired and had to get up for orientation the next day.

The next few days consisted of orientation and walking around the city, getting lost, sometimes on purpose, to try to learn where we were going. We also ate at a few restaurants, but then decided to find a grocery store to buy food that we can cook ourselves to save money. I am planning on signing up for a cooking class so hopefully I will soon be able to cook delicious four course Italian meals every night!

As an Italian major, I am making every effort to speak Italian every chance I get, which has actually worked out better than I had originally thought. So many people that I talked to before I left said that the majority of people English here and that even if I tried to speak Italian, people would speak English back to me. I have found it to be the opposite; every time I speak to someone, I get answered back in Italian, and usually even a smile. Today, I even got asked for directions by two Italian ladies and I was able to direct them the right way!

Classes start tomorrow and I am so excited! My first class is the history of food and wine and my second is readings in Italian literature, where there are a total of THREE people in the class. I was surprised to find that out, but am so happy because I will be able to participate and really improve all of my skills.

That is all for now… Check back again soon to hear more about my adventures and mission to improve my Italian language skills!

Here is the view from my apartment…

Location: Firenze, Italia

Ciao!

My name is Jackie and I am currently a Junior studying Advertising and Italian and have minors in Business and International Studies. I will be studying in Firenze this spring semester at the Institute at Palazzo Rucellai. Besides the fact that Florence is a beautiful city, it seemed to be the perfect place and size for me. I have never been to Italy before and am counting down the days until the day I leave in January!

One of my main goals for studying abroad is to improve my Italian language skills, even though English is spoken throughout the city (which isn’t helped by the thousands of American students that study there each semester). I have been told by friends who have traveled or studied there in the past that many times it is difficult to practice Italian because many of the shop owners can speak English and want to practice themselves. So, I know it will be a challenge, but I am going to do everything I can to speak Italian every chance I get. I have been brainstorming different ideas on how to force myself to better understand the language…and the first idea is taking a yoga class I found, that is strictly taught in Italian (should be interesting).

I have never blogged before, so that should be even more interesting. Keep checking back for new posts about my Italian (and European) adventure!

Location: State College, PA

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