Tag Archives: surprises

Pre-birthday party party

A little under 2 weeks from now it will be my 20th birthday. Since I can remember my family has always done cake and icecream for birthdays. No matter where we are, from my parents in Iraq to my older brother at school we always find a way to sing happy birthday and get them a little treat to show how much we love them. It’s a family tradition.

Even when you know it’s coming you are always excited, you always smile and you occasionally laugh if the fire alarm gets set off because of the number of candles on the cake.

This year I thought I was going to miss that, the off key singing, the silly gifts and reading the cards out loud. All of it. 

But my mum was having none of that. So a few days ago (just a little early) I opened an unexpected box from home containing a homemade, shrink wrapped cake, a can of icing, party hats and cards.

My mum had sent me my birthday all the way from the U.S. A little ahead of schedule because she thought it would take much longer to get here. But it had to be the most amazing thing anyone has ever done for me for my birthday.

So I iced it up with my friends, who were quite excited for some homemade cake, and had a mini pre-birthday party party.


GEDC0325.JPG

GEDC0328.JPG

GEDC0330.JPG

GEDC0333.JPG

Best early birthday gift ever. 


Location: Lincoln, New Zealand

10 Surprises I’ve Encountered in Florence

These past three weeks have flown by and I’m not sure where the time went!  I’m going to try to catch up on my blogging, but I thought I’d start off by listing ten surprises that I’ve experienced in Florence already:

1.  You have to pay to use the restroom.  Not only that, but restrooms are few and far between! 

2.  Tipping is not a concept in Florence.  Instead, you are charged a 1 or 2 euro cover charge per person.  It’s definitely a plus!

3.  Florentines don’t seem to understand the concept of lines!  We’ve had numerous occasions (such as waiting for a bathroom or a taxi) where they simply breeze right past you!  Definitely something to get used to!

4.  When you order pizza, you get a whole pizza!  And there pizza is absolutely delicious!  I’m not sure how I’ll ever return to Pizza Hut after this!

5.  People do not move out of the way or let you pass in the streets!  It’s every man for themself here in Florence, and I find msyelf walking on the street instead of the sidewalk to avoid it!

6.  There are sandwich shops and cafes everywhere!  We’ve had such fun trying different sandwich shops everyday!  So far, my favorite sandwich shop is The Oil Shoppe!

7.  Walking is the way to travel!  We walk everywhere, and I love just taking in the city!  I’m definitely not concerned about all the pasta I’ve been eating, because I certainly walk it off.

8.  We’ve had little to no problems with language!  Everyone here seems to speak at least a littel bit of English.  It’s been convenient, but I’m still trying to pick up on Italian.

9.  Italians like there coffee strong.  I’ve become a big fan of espresso, simply because we get little to no sleep here and it’s the only thing that gives me the jolt that I need!

10.  Italians don’t buy there groceries in bulk.  The first time we went grocery shopping, we had so many people staring at us!  Since then, we’ve tried to buy only groceries we will need for a few days!

I’m absolutely loving Firenze and I’ll give a more detailed blog when I find a spare moment!

Ciao!

Jen


Location: The Computer Lab, Palazzo Rucellai, Firenze, Italy