Living With 7 Other Women

1. Bathrooms. They are always dirty. Nobody ever claims the hair in the shower drain. There is a perpetual line for the shower starting at 8pm and a consistent line for the only full length mirror in the apartment.
2. Kitchen. Dirty. Dishes get left by the sink, but it gets really annoying when you want to cook dinner and both pots are either dirty or being used.
3.Trash. It gets really smelly. 8 bags sat in the hall for a week before we got fed up with the girls that had volunteered to do it, and had to confront them. The trash situation still sucks.

4. Cleanliness. I have officially decided that females are not any cleaner than males…I honestly think they are much more lazy when it comes to cleaning.

5. Sickness. We have all been sick once already. With the one shower, two toilets, handwashing of the dishes, and the feeling that it is not ever necessary to sanitize common areas... I can see where this comes from.

6. Chocolate. Almost everyone has a chocolate bar in the fridge and a jar of nutella in the cupboard. And everyone is very protective of both these items. We are all much better at sharing wine.

 7.  Gossip. It happens. Yes, it sucks…but when we get annoyed with each other there is some comfort in sharing one’s displeasure with other members of the household who understand the annoyance being experienced. I am not sure where this stems from but it seems unavoidable in any group of women. Does this happen in groups of men?

8. Blogs are a great way to get these things off your chest.

Last weekends adventures...

I downloaded more pictures from the Amalfi Coast, Positano, Pompeii, and Mt. Vesuvius. If you don’t want to watch the whole slideshow again, I think you can just click in and it will open the whole album so you can skip to the new ones…

Thursday night we left for the Amalfi Coast with the FlorenceForFun group designed for American students studying in Italy. It took about 7.5 hours by bus to get to the coast, but it actually wasn’t that bad. We watched a few movies on the way which I completely soaked up. I hadn’t realized how much I missed watching movies, and Elf was my favorite. It reminded me that even though I will miss Italy when I leave, I am happy I will be home for Christmas. We also experienced an Italian truck stop, (Auto Grill) which was a million and ten times more accommodating than any truck stop I have been to in the United States. They cook fresh food from a pre-set menu, had very nice bathrooms, and even sold little bottles of wine to go with the food they served. We finally checked into our hotel around 2 am and passed out.

Friday we had our complimentary breakfast of a roll, croissant, and the least concentrated coffee I have ever consumed. At least it contained caffeine. We then got on a ferry to the Island Capri which was so fun! The inside of the ferry reminded me of an airplane since they had seats lined up exactly like an airbus, but with a lot more legroom. Once we got to the Island we took a boat ride with a tour guide and were able to go into the blue grotto. This is what Capri is famous for because the water looks almost as if someone had painted the bottom of the grotto a bright blue. To enter the grotto you get in a really tiny boat and they pull you through a very tiny entrance into the cave. Once inside the water illuminates everything with a beautiful bright blue color. After the grotto we split up for lunch and beach time. My friends and I ate at this restaurant that overlooked the ocean which was beautiful; however the bees liked to hang out there too. The waiter was very determined to rid our table of bees and even took some clams of my plate and tried to lure the bees to a different table, all the while making whistling noises as if it were a dog. A bee returned and my waiter surprised all of us when he squished it in his bare hand. We then hung out at the beach for a few hours and just enjoyed the coast. That night back at our hotel we discovered at least 10 daddy long leg spiders (I stopped counting when I got to 10) in our room and a centipede on the wall which managed to make its way into my shoe by Sunday morning.

Saturday, we had all day in Positano. Unfortunately I left my sunglasses in Arizona and by this point I really needed something to protect my eyes. I spent a good hour searching for sunglasses cheaper than 22 euro, but there was only one place all along the entire beach that sold sunglasses (it was defiantly a sunglasses monopoly). Finally I was able to relax on the beach with a strawberry daiquiri (I know, not very Italian but it was good). Later that night we went out to a few different discos in the town and even managed to get squirt by a water gun by a random car… It kinda reminded me of Tempe, Arizona.

Sunday we went to both Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius. Pompeii was unbelievable…it was my favorite part of the trip. There is something very mysterious and exciting about walking around the ruins of a very old city. After Pompeii we were able to climb Mt. Vesuvius which was a steep hike, but very worth it.

A relaxing weekend...

Saturday I went to a cute little market to buy some produce for the week. After mustering up the courage to try to communicate with the older Italian lady, I got intimidated by the language barrier and ended up with only bell peppers, peaches, and onions… I need to practice more Italian. A roommate and I decided to go out to lunch before a trip to the supermarket (where little Italian is required) and ended up at the most enjoyable restaurant either of us had been to.  Upon walking in a plump Italian chef began to sing to us in a booming voice “Buon Giorno…” and something along the lines of “Table for two? Come sit over here.” (Only this was sung in Italian). The entire time we were at the restaurant this Italian chef sang random songs he made up on the spot and greeting people with song. It was wonderful. I felt like I was a guest in his home.

Sunday, I slept until 11:30 while a rainstorm rolled in and turned the air perfectly crisp. I was able to put on my favorite sweatpants and even managed to make an espresso on our gas stovetop. It was a perfect Sunday. I didn’t even mind doing homework. 

A book...

Today I went to Sienna and San Gimignano, which are both beautiful places. We were able to go inside more decadent cathedrals and climb a tower overlooking the city of Sienna…I got some great pictures of from the tower. The tour was a lot of fun but my favorite part of the day was reading a book that I found left behind in my apartment…

A few days ago, a roommate and I discovered that the dresser our tv sits on is filled with books. The books were mostly travel books, language books, and quite a few novels. Sitting on top was a book I have always wanted to read…”Eat, Pray, Love”. This book is incredibly fitting for numerous reasons, the most obvious being that the main character begins her journey in Italy. Tonight I was able to sit and read about the beauty and wonders this woman encounters in Italy. It sounds silly that I would want to read about Italy while I can easily go outside and experience it… but tonight this book was what I needed. I needed to read the words of a woman that knew she had to go to Italy and made it happen. Someone kinda like me. I discovered this book at the most perfect time, right when I had begun to become desensitized to the marvels of Florence. This book reminded me that there are goals I have set for myself while I am here…and I may add and subtract goals as is fitting. For now, a few of my goals are as follows:

Experience the food: Learn to cook the food, learn to enjoy the food, and learn the culture of the food.

Slow down: Whenever I feel rushed of stressed, I must make a point to sit down wherever I am and look at something amazing. Like the Duomo, the accordion player down the street, or the Arno River.

Be Fearless: Go down streets I am unfamiliar with, talk to strangers in Italian, and live like a local.

Remind myself everymorning… “I made it to Italy. It’s already an amazing day. Go enjoy it.”                        

Updates from the last two weeks...

Okay, so first things first. I re-organized the slideshow so the pictures are grouped by city or event so it is easier to figure out what’s going on. So far they consist of Chianti, Pisa, Lucca, Boboli Gardens, and random places in Florence. I’ll try to keep those organized so it’s easier to follow.

Second: I realized I haven’t posted anything in about two weeks.  I am going to recap the last two weeks so my family knows not to worry about me because I am having an amazing time! And more importantly so I will have something to reference when I go back to the United States, I don’t want to forget anything about this trip…

Day trip to Chianti- We were able to tour a winery and try one aged and one un-aged wine, both delicious. We were fed cheese, seasoned dried meat, bread, and olive oil with the wine…then we got the best lasagna I have ever had. What we get in the United States shouldn’t be called lasagna compared to this amazing dish.  After lunch we were able to walk around the villa and try the grapes off the vines. I could picture myself being fanned by giant ferns and eating grapes off the vine and sipping Chianti all afternoon…what a way to live.

Pisa/Lucca- The trip to Pisa was first. It was a little town with pretty much only the leaning tower, cathedral, baptistery, and cemetery. It was a beautiful area, and it was cool to see such old buildings. It looked very medieval. Lucca was really fun; we began with eating lunch anywhere we wanted and then met up for a bike ride around the top of the wall that surrounds the city. It was so invigorating riding a bike through the trees and looking out at mountains…although I did get stuck with the bike that had a baby seat in the back. After seeing how unstable that thing was, I would never put a child in the back of that bike. After the bike ride we stumbled across a renaissance fair. The US has nothing on these fairs. These people are the real deal walking on cobble stone streets with actual medieval buildings behind them, I felt as though I had gone back in time. I was also able to hold a baby chick, which is the highlight on my trip so far.

Classes: I am taking four classes this semester and really like them all.

Roman History: It makes me realize how young the United States is compared to most other countries. Although I love this subject, the room is dark, warm, and a cappuccino is necessary before class to keep me awake the whole time.

Art of Florence: We never spend more than 30mins in the classroom here. We walk around the city and learn about everything we see. It is amazing! The only downside is I have to have both my knees and shoulders covered for almost every class since we go into a lot of cathedrals. I wouldn’t mind in the winter, but it is still getting up into the 90’s…with little access to air conditioners.

Italian: I think this one speaks for its self…

Drawing the Human Figure: Love this class! We started with a wine bottle, moved to a skull, and today we actually sketched out first live model. It is a great experience…drawing is very different than I thought it would be. There is a lot of math involved, but for once I don’t mind a little math.

Food: Amazing, amazing, amazing. I am cooking in a lot more now to save for traveling, but I eat out enough to enjoy the tantalizing tastes of Tuscany. Cappuccinos and gelato happen almost everyday J

Nightlife: Since 1,000 American college students live here each year there are quite a few bars and “discos” aka “clubs” in the area. They have all been fun, but I have yet to find one with more Italians than Americans. Plus, the music is all in English…   

Anyway...life is good. Ciao belli!

First Day of Classes

After a much interrupted sleep (I heard every garbage truck, church bell, and gust of wind in all of Europe) I got ready for my first day of school…and my god…my school is beautiful. As silly as it sounds, I almost feel like I am going to Hogwarts. I get to take classes in an actual palace and the classes pretty much travel from class to class together. This place is magical.  In my first class we only spent about half an hour sitting before my Russian teacher with a British accent who is teaching American students in Italy (still follow?), announced that we were going outside to walk around Florence. This class is going to be amazing, the city is our classroom. My ancient Roman class sounds promising since we will inevitably be taking a field trip to Rome, and of course my Italian class is going to be beyond helpful. Tomorrow I begin my drawing class and am so stoked to be sketching in Florence, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The icing on the cake for today? A delicious home cooked meal by Deb, the only adult student in the program. Not too shabby for the first day of school. 

My first day in Florence...

 Jetlagged, disoriented, and tugging two suitcases behind me I entered Florence. Soon after,  I was dropped off in front of an apartment with an equally confused roommate.  The two off us stood outside the giant intimidating door for about twenty minutes, both very aware of how ridiculous we looked taking up the whole sidewalk with our many suitcases. Finally, the door opened and a young Italian man began to greet us, but was soon interrupted by an even younger voice asking “Is it safe to drink the water here?” He gave us an apologetic look and shut the door again. Great. All we need is a few more quizzical looks from locals. Once again the door was opened and we were able to haul our suitcases in the doorway. We were then told we had four flights of stairs to our apartment and I almost laughed out loud. Then I noticed the barely visible elevator. I was the first one crammed into the tiny device and sent up to our floor. All I had to do was open the inside door and then slide open the metal gate once the elevator had reached the apartment. Maybe it was the jetlag or the sudden shock of being in a new country, but I was not able to open the metal door and had to take the elevator back down to explain how I was now stuck inside the only elevator the building had. Eventually, we made it to out room…and that was when I began to fall in love with Italy. The room I am staying in is beyond beautiful. With eight girls to one room, I’ll admit I was nervous, but it is so perfect. We all have our own space but are close enough for company when we want it. It is perfect. Once we had a chance to unpack a few roommates and I decided to walk to the Duomo and have dinner. It was pure bliss sitting in a little café eating spaghetti, drinking wine, and gazing up at one of the most beautiful structures ever built. A little later my joy was taken beyond bliss. That evening I walked out onto our patio and watched the sunset behind our neighbor’s elaborate garden. I could faintly hear the sounds of a piano being played and an elderly gentleman join in and sing on occasion. There was a cool breeze and I realized that this is what I had been yearning for. The perfect welcome to Florence.