We made it!!!
I am happy to announce that on Wednesday, Kim and I successfully flew to Frankfurt, Germany and then to Florence! It was a long journey but somehow we made it. There were tears at the airport of course, but thankfully not many since then. The first flight was long (about 8 hours) and we didn’t get much sleep, but the flight from Frankfurt to Florence was shorter and I actually slept a bit on that one. A flight attendant lady in Frankfurt said I had a very German name, haha.
When we arrived in Florence, we got our luggage (none was lost!) and then rode with some other Study Abroad Italy (SAI) students to our apartment. It is much better than we expected, with a modern design and all new furniture and bright colors and ah it is just really awesome! Small, but it serves it’s purpose. Some interesting features include the weird-shaped key, the bidet in the bathroom, and no windows, but overall it is a good place to live. We are in the ‘Oltrarno’ area, which means ‘the other side of the Arno River.’ It’s a nice and safe area so we are happy to be here!
Walking around Florence the first night was a bit intimidating, but the four of us (Kim, myself, and our other two Wisconsinite roommates) eventually made it to a restaurant called La Casareccia, where an English-speaking waiter with good humor helped us order our first Italian meal. First thing I ate was a slice of real Italian bread, and it only got better from there. I was worried about the food at first, but now I know that many options do exist and it’s not that hard to ask someone what a food is made of. We also had some champagne with our meal, which actually was good! I also tried the foods my roommates had, so yay me for trying things!
I slept quite well the first night, and the next day was all orientation events. I wasn’t feeling too well in the morning because of my lack of enough meals since I left home, but eventually I had a pizza piccola (little pizza) at Moka Arra and it was all good. Delicious pizza, by the way!! Hearing about all the fun trips we will get to go on at orientation made me quite excited, too! And I am even excited for my classes, which start Monday. I just hope the books aren’t too expensive!
An interesting note about Florence is the lack of driving consistency….lots of fast cars on narrow streets with lots of people! Not to mention all the bikers and Vespa-drivers cruising around. One has to keep on their toes when walking around the city, but being aware isn’t that hard. Haven’t been hit by a bus yet, so I am happy!
Later on that day Kim and I went on an adventure to buy a hair straightener, which was quite the process! We fortunately found one after asking a few people, which we were quite proud of doing! We got our cell phones on that second day, as well, which was a big relief. I called my family and Casey to let them know I was ok, and then soon we were all off again to a SAI welcoming reception at a super fancy mansion called Palazzo Borghese. So beautiful- I am talking giant chandeliers, murals painted on the ceiling, golden mirrors, fancy food, etc! We ate some interesting, yet good food and had some white wine to go along with. So lovely! And also lovely was the fact that our internet was finally turned on that night so we could send further communications to people! A very long, but overall good day.
Today, the third day, started with pouring rain that would have soaked us through if not for the man selling umbrellas near our apartment. Definitely a good purchase! We then took a trip with other SAI students to Ranch Ricavo, a ranch outside the city in the more mountainous area that had gorgeous views of farmland and cute animals to take pictures of. Luckily the rain stopped before we got there, so it was a nice time chatting with others, playing Scrabble, and eating delicious food.
Later I got to Skype with Lauren, Casey, Aydan, Mom, and Dad! Not all at once though! It was great to see them and tell them how things are going. In the late afternoon Kim and I went exploring with another Carroll student, Janezia. They both found some cute clothes (including stuff from a real H&M, not the kind at the mall) but I decided to compare prices for a while until buying anything. I will definitely be buying something eventually tho!! So many awesome stores-it will be quite the adventure finding what I want to get! To end our trip, we bought food for the apartment at a grocery store..and also toilet paper. Both were in short supply! We all made spaghetti noodles then and called it a night. We really don’t have any plans for tomorrow, so Kim and I will be sleeping in for sure. Perhaps we will seek out where our classes will be, and probably take a lot more pictures.
Until next time, Ciao!
~Gr