Week 2 in Florence

This has been my second week abroad in Florence! Classes have started and I'm finally settling into the swing of things 4200 miles away from home.

When I thought of Italy before coming here, I knew the food would be amazing and I would be drinking wine. I knew people would be more laid back about things like time and schedules. I knew I had to watch out for gypsies (they look like Esmerelda, no joke) and pick pocketers. I knew it wouldn't be exactly like the United States, but it's not like I was heading to a third world country or somewhere I needed tons of vaccinations and a mosquito net for. I mean, it's Italy. So I wasn't prepared for some of the culture shock that hit me when I got here:

There are mosquitoes. lots of them. And they do not sell Calamine lotion the same way we do in the States. Or at least I haven't found it yet. Also, in the United States you just run to the grocery store and there is at least a full aisle of hair care products. Here, you go to the grocery store and there are about 1/6 of that. It probably doesn't help that I cannot understand what they claim they do. Despite my studying of Italian, I wasn't prepared for the vocabulary of hair products in Italy. It's just something they don't teach in Italian classes at Gettysburg. You also can't buy medicine at a supermarket. No tylenol. No tums. No nothing. You go to the pharmacy for that. You cannot buy hair care products at the pharmacy either, apparently, unless you're "biondi" (blonde) according to the woman working at the pharmacy across the street from me. You also can't just run to Target if you decide you need a pillow or some sheets for the hostel you'll be visiting. This requires a trip to a special, family-owned store. But that's kind of the charm of living in Italy. It takes some getting used to, and there is some definite culture shock, at least for me, but it's such a simpler, more beautiful way of life.

Anyway, that's just some of what I've learned about living here in Italy. Wow, I'm actually living in Italy.

An Italian shop-owner slicing fresh prosciutto by hand

Yesterday, for my Mediterranean Food and Culture class we took a walking tour of some of my professor's favorite places to eat. Most of them are hole in the wall places that you would NEVER think to go into, but once inside you can see them cutting the meat fresh and pouring wine from the barrel. I am so excited to start trying these places. The smell alone is enough to make anyone want to order everything they have to offer (but there aren't menus, so you have to kind of wing it.) He had intentions for us to try cow stomach, apparently a very typical cuisine in Florence, but the place where we were supposed to go was closed by the time we got there. Oh, darn. So we settled for gelato instead. I had pesca and lampone (peach and raspberry) and it was probably the highlight of my day. Gelato here is just so good..along with everything else. Thank God for the amount of walking we've been doing.

My Raspberry and Peach Gelato!

Today, for my Antiquity to Michelangelo class (an art history course) we started in the Piazza Signoria, where we saw a replicate of the David by Michelangelo, along with multiple other famous statues. It's amazing how I can walk by them so many times without knowing the stories behind them. All of a sudden, you hear the tales of how they were built and what the inspiration for them was and they practically come to life. Whether it's David and the story of Goliath or Perseus holding Medusa's head and how he killed her, its literally seeing history before your eyes. I have so much more appreciation for this art as I begin to understand the literal sweat, blood and tears that went into creating them.
My class then moved on into the Duomo, where we looked at mosaics, frescas, and tempra works of art. Being inside of the Duomo is absolutely amazing. It is so awe-inspiring and huge. I didn't know where to look first. There is art of every kind and so many people all coming to see this cathedral of Florence. It ceases to amaze me how art and history can bring people from all over the world together into one city, one space.

Inside the Duomo

Along the Arno River

I finished the day with a long walk. I decided I wanted to explore the city on my own a bit, so I did just that and I made it all the way over the Arno (about a thirty minute walk one way.) It was absolutely 100% worth it. The view was spectacular. Everywhere I walk in Florence I feel like I am stepping into a storybook. With the cobblestone streets, the colored homes, and not a single "super-store," it truly is someplace so special. I've decided that I'm going to try to spend at least a half hour every day just "getting lost" alone in Florence and seeing the different neighborhoods. Wish me luck! Ciao.