Tag Archives: firenze

Current mood: in love

 “Sono andata da Firenze a Ginevra e ritorno!”

Just got back from a calm and relaxing weekend in Geneva, Switzerland (“Ginevra, Svizzera” … Can you guess the title?!) where I visited my Aunt and Uncle for the weekend. (Or, I suppose, grand-aunt and grand-uncle would be more like it!) Screen Shot 2016-02-12 at 1.40.41 AMI thoroughly enjoyed seeing Geneva and their home, flying over the Swiss Alps on the plane ride there, and then again gaping at the view of the Alps through their kitchen window! Unbelievable.

We also saw some beautiful neo-impressionist art by a Swiss painter named Signac, enjoyed Swiss fondu and delicious chocolate (“il cioccolato”), took those naps, and indulged in life convos over coffee, croissants, and oj at the breakfast table! This was definitely my favorite weekend by far!!! I also heard tons of French (“Francese”) and learned a little bit as well, but just enough to get me through the airport and back to Florence!

“Oggi a Firenze”

“Today in Florence” for my Italian class, our teacher met us at the Piazza della Reppublica to practice our speaking and listening skills. We introduced ourselves to random Italian people, and we asked them if we could interview them for our class! All in Italian! It was so much fun! The people we spoke to were all very gracious in helping us do our assignment. Today was also an incredibly warm and sunny day (“oggi”), which has been quite a change from the past few. It was so warm, I was even able to hang out on the front steps of la Basilica di Santa Croce. Church (“chiesa”) steps seem to be a common place for Italians to hangout.

Current mood: in love

I feel like all the beauty in the whole world is just being revealed to me, and I’m just standing here speechless receiving it all in my heart, feeling tons of emotions, and loving everything. I’m so little (almost too little to handle it), but so in love, and I can’t imagine ever going home! (“Ti amo Firenze!”)

At this stage in my study abroad experience, I think the song “I See The Light” from Tangled sums it up perfectly…

Chorus
"All those days watching from the windows
 All those years outside looking in
 All that time never even knowing
 Just how blind I've been
 Now I'm here blinking in the starlight
 Now I'm here suddenly I see
 Standing here it's all so clear
 I'm where I'm meant to be..."

And, the people I’m meeting? Incredible. A good friend (“la mia amica”) of mine named Annie told me today, “It’s never too late to have a childhood. It’s never too late to be who you are, and it’s never too late to add to yourself.” She’s had some inspiring life experiences working with kids at her day camps. She’s like the kind of girl you’d read in a storybook! Like, Merida from “Brave” or Rapunzel from “Tangled.” She’s a brave, brave girl with a kind heart and a wicked sense of humor! She also has a horse named Annie too, but purely by coincidence!

I met a girl named Rena, who’s like a sister (“sorella”) to me! We are so similar! And, Cici, and Megan, and Brian, and Heather, and Nick! Such adventurous and endearingly optimistic people. And Sara, my beautiful friend from Florence, and David and Andrea, who work at the cafe next door to school (“scuola”) and put up with me trying to learn Italian!! What a dream this is! It must be!

 

 

“Ciao!” From: Florence, Italy

Just five days ago, I boarded a plane and flew across the Atlantic Ocean. Since then, I’ve arrived in the wondrous city of Florence.

My new home

I live in an apartment on a narrow sidestreet in the pulsing heart of Florence. When I push open the emerald shutters, feel the cool fresh air, and hear the soothing sounds of Italian language, I’m refreshed and ready to start my day. Three minutes from the Basilica di Santa Croce (“Holy Cross”) and five minutes from the Duomo, or Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, nothing is out of reach in this walking-town.

My new family

Although I didn’t quite know anyone at first, I am fortunate to live with three sweet and adventurous roommates: Cooper, Erica, and Rachel. Cooper is an easy-going Seahawks fan majoring in recreation, parks, and tourism management. She enjoys running, photography, and visiting her good friends in town. And, then there’s Erica! Erica is a speech pathology major, wine connoisseur, and can’t resist shopping at the leather market. And, then of course, there’s Rachel, a bubbly advertising major, who should have her own cooking show and enjoys dancing at the night clubs! Erica and Rachel are both in different sororities back at school, and they carry with them what they call the “study abroad bible”—an all encompassing list of recommendations compiled by all the sisters that studied in Florence before them! I didn’t know that this was a thing, but I’m so fortunate and happy to tag along for the ride!

My first encounters with Italy

In Florence, the people own the streets, and the cars drive slowly. (But, be sure to get out of the way; some cars don’t stop!) Soft accordion music fills the piazzas, or “city squares.” It’s not uncommon to hear guitars and the vocals of street performers, either.

Ristorante La Giostra

Ristorante La Giostra

Beautiful dogs, little white ones and big golden retrievers, lay in the middle of the streets as their owners pause to chit chat. (Fun fact: dogs are welcome to accompany their owners into stores, too. At first I just thought everyone had service dogs, but then I realized that can’t be it!) Young couples hold hands, giving each other sweet kisses along the bridges. PDA seems much more acceptable here. Open-armed, Italian hospitality warms my heart. Italian men smile not just with the lips but with the eyes! And, have I mentioned the food? Gelato, spaghetti al pomodoro with fresh basil, four cheese gnocchi, cornetti, and tomato mozzarella panini. Delicious!

Our Lady of the Rosary ~ At La Basilica di Santa Maria Novella

Our Lady of the Rosary ~ Basilica di Santa Maria Novella

So far, I’ve enjoyed gazing at the Duomo in all its splendor, visiting the Ponte Vecchio, exploring the San Lorenzo market, engaging in little exchanges of Italian conversation (I love to practice!), attending Italian mass for the very first time at La Basilica di Santa Croce, and praying in the Dominican Basilica di Santa Maria Novella, Florence’s first basilica.

I’ve also experienced a bit of prejudice for asking, “Parli inglese?” (“Do you speak english?”) when words seemed unfamiliar, but the rare feeling of being unwanted has always been offset by the rich kindness and patience toward my broken Italian from more people here than not. One of my favorite things is when people genuinely ask where I am from. I’ve been doing my best to blend in, live gently, and keep my Americanness as subtle as possible, so this feels like a benchmark toward success! Semester goal: live like a local

Classes! (I almost forgot!)

Today was our second day of classes! I’ve now officially met all of my professors and gotten my first glimpse of each class I’ll be taking. My classes include: The Art of Buon Fresco, The History and Culture of Food, Introduction to Photography, and The Italian Experience: Italian Language 1. Again, I am in love. One particularly splendid thing is that my charming bilingual Italian language teacher, Alessio, speaks Italian for the entire length of class. Little did my classmates and I know it was possible to learn this way! I am so thrilled!

Finding my way around

Glittering canopies illuminate the streets of Florence. I’m not quite sure why, but perhaps it’s a custom to leave the Christmas lights up well after the Epiphany. The different lights have been great markers for my navigation, though, so I sure hope they keep them up!

Evening walk on the Ponte Vecchio

Evening walk on the Ponte Vecchio

Paper maps have also been a huge help. I seem to learn most when I’m by myself seeing as this requires self-sufficiency. Surprisingly, I can get from Santa Croce, to the Duomo, to the Piazza della Repubblica, and back home by heart already. Florence is actually very small. Most of the city still feels like a big maze, though. Until I get the hang of it, there’s definitely something charming and serendipitous about the side streets.

While I’m being swept away by all the beauty and excitement here, it’s easy to get distracted. I like this quote by Saint Therese that says, “The world is thy ship and not thy home!” It serves as a powerful reminder for me. Ciao! Angela

 

Glossary 

Piazza della Republica — A square with a carousel, some nice restaurants and shops, an Apple store, which has proven to already be super convenient, since I’m downloading photoshop for my Intro to Photography class and have had several problems. I met a very nice man named Giovanni who recommends restaurants when I bring in my computer for tech help!

La Basilica di Santa Croce

La Basilica di Santa Croce

La Basilica di Santa Croce—A Franciscan church in Florence in the Piazza Santa Croce

The Duomo—Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore, or more commonly known as the Duomo, is the main church of Florence. It has huge dome on top where you can walk all the way up to the top and see the breadth of the city’s church steeples and red-shingled roofs.

La Basilica di Santa Maria Novella—The first basilica in Florence, and a Dominant one at that! Santa Maria Novella sits near the main train station, which share its name

 

The Ponte Vecchio—“old bridge” famous for love locks on the chain-link fence and the shops that sell gold watches and other jewelry

Mopeds— motorized vehicles, or glorified scooters

Piazza — square

La Basilica di Santa Maria Novella

La Basilica di Santa Maria Novella

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Language Practiced

“hello!” — Ciao (chow)

“Good morning!” — Buon giorno (bwon jor-no)

“Thank you very much!” — grazie mille (graht-zee-ay me-lay)

“Peace” — pace (pah-chay)

“To the right” — A la destra (ah-lah dess-truh)

“To the left” — A la sinistra (ah-lah sin-iss-truh)

“Sorry” — mi dispiace (me dis-pee-ah-chay)

“How do you say…” — Como se dice… (coh-mo say deech-ay…)

“Excuse me” — Scusa (scooz-ah)

“I don’t understand” — Non ho capito (Non o cah-peet-oh)

 

 

Firenze (A Bit Delayed)

Ciao Tutti!

I have had this entry written and ready to post for a week now, but the internet in my apartment was not working.  I apologize for some of the references which seem a bit late…

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I am sitting on the train on my way back from Florence, but before I get into that let me start with the first week of classes.

I am taking five classes (16 credits) in Rome.  IES requires you take one Italian class and four other classes called “area studies courses”.  The area studies courses are anything from art to classes on the European Union.  My schedule went over a lot of revisions over the past week as I was in a few art classes that were over my head, but I’ll describe the classes I am currently enrolled in.

“AH/US 230: Roman Architecture and Urban Design” – This is one of the classes I switched in to half way through the week.  I missed the first lecture, but the second class was great.  We started off with a half hour lecture on the history of the Castel Sant’Angelo which was very interesting and informative.  It is amazing that a monument I can see from my apartment was a part of some of the most important events that shaped Rome as it is today.  After our half hour lecture, we actually got to go to the Castel Sant’Angelo and see everything.  It was originally built as a tomb, but was transformed into a fortress because it was ideally situated for battle.  Then, the Pope made it his safe house when the Vatican was attacked.  He actually built a mini-palace within the confines of the fortress!  After the Church lost most of its influence, the Pope did not need a safe house anymore, so the Italian Government turned it into a prison for a period of time.  Now, it is a tourist site with great views of Rome from the top. 

“IR 341: Italy and the European Union” – This class is great!  It is basically an overview of the formation of the European Union from the Post World War II era to the problems that plague the rapidly expanding organization.  I love history, so I cannot wait to learn all about the European Union.  I think this will be very beneficial for me later in life when I am working in Finance.  I will know the basics of how the EU works and will be able to apply it to my job.

“FS 200: From Viewing to Making a Film on Rome” –  I absolutely love this class.  We are going to watch four Italian films that were filmed in Cinecitt� (the Italian version of Hollywood).  The films were also filmed on site at Roman locations.  After watching all four films and learning the basics on Italian cinema, we are going to film two scenes from the films we saw on site.  We watch “Bicycle Thief” on Monday – I can’t wait.

“CM 330: Memory and Conflict” – This is the other class I switched into.  It is a really interesting class which is taught by the director of my study abroad program.  It is basically about conflict resolution techniques, but uses historical events to put the things we are learning into context.  I would not be surprised if I use the techniques I learn later in life.

This brings me to Florence.  Two of my friends (Sam & McKenzie) and I decided to go to Florence earlier this week.  We left on Thursday night after class.  I found a bullet train from Rome to Florence for only 19 euro.  The train was so comfortable and the ride was so short. 

Train

Picture of the inside of the train.

When we got to Florence, we met up with one of Sam’s friends from her home school, Emory.  He took us to our hostel (which was in a great location).  The hostel we stayed at was running a special where you can stay three nights for the price of two, so I paid 28 euro for three nights at a hostel.  The hostel was called “Plus Florence” and probably the nicest hostel I will ever stay at.  It was very clean, had a nightclub downstairs with a restaurant/bar, game room, a pool, a sauna, and a steam room.

 

On Friday, we woke up early and hit the two big museums in Florence before lunch time.  We wanted to make sure we beat the crowds.  The people I traveled with are studying Art History I school, so I was the beneficiary of a free tour of all the important pieces of art.  We went to the Academia first and saw Michelangelo’s “David”.  It was absolutely amazing.  After the Academia, we went to the Uffizi.  This museum was huge!  We were in it for three hours!

After the Uffizi, we met up with some of Sam’s friends from Emory who were studying in Florence and a few people from our program in Rome.  We had a quick bite to eat and then five of us headed over to the Ponte Vecchio.  They all bought leather jackets, I decided not to get one because I’m hoping to get a suit while I’m over here instead.

Over the past two days, we went to all the major churches in Florence – the Duomo, Santa Croce, San Lorenzo, and Santa Maria Novella. 

Here are some pictures from our trip to Florence.

Ponte Vecchio

 

Ponte Vecchio

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Florence_Day 3 145.JPG

The one thing that really surprised me about Florence was how small it is.  We walked everywhere we needed to go and were never walking for more than a half hour at a time.  Florence was a beautiful city, but I am happy I’m studying in Rome.  As a Finance major, I do not appreciate art as much as I should.  Now that I have seen everything I wanted to see, I am happy to be looking at the beautiful Tuscan countryside out of the window of my train back to Rome.

On another note, I planned our trip to Florence around THON.  I made sure the hostel had wifi and made sure our train would have me back in Rome to watch the final four hours of THON.  I may be 3,000 miles away, but I have been thinking about THON a great deal this weekend.  A lot of my friends are dancing and it kills me that I can’t be there to support them.  gWatching the THON Webcast makes me feel like I’m there and I lit a candle in the Duomo FTK!   I look forward to watching Family Hour from my room and, like all other Penn Staters, will go crazy when the total is raised tonight at approximately 10:00 PM my time.  

Always FTK,

Mike


Location: Florence, Italy