The bus ride from Siena to Florence was all too familiar.
A lot of this trip has been constant traveling, stopping, experiencing an amazing
place I could never dream up, then on to the next one. And I love it. I can picture
this pattern of non-stop travel and experience being something like my future
life. I mean, I’d love to find that one place that tears me apart to leave, but
I think that’s a ways away. I’ve got so much more world to see!
As we arrived in Florence, there was one view I can’t get
out of my head. The bus rounded a corner and from behind the vanishing trees
the city came into view. It looked so perfect, like a painting, and as cheesy
as it sounds it literally brought tears to my eyes. It seemed like everyone on
the bus was as transfixed as I was with their gasps of disbelief that such
beauty existed in the world.
Once in the city, we were reunited with our luggage,
grouped together with our roommates and sent off in cabs to find our new home
for the next three months. I wasn’t too excited that my apartment was a 25
minute walk from school, but had hopes we’d be in a cool part of town. After
driving through sketchy, graffiti-filled, dark, narrow streets that looked like
the set of "Escape from New York", the cab came to a stop. “Via dei Macci,
settanta” the driver said as he put our luggage out in the street and drove
away. We had a few laughs at the sight of one of our roommates trying to get her
bags out of the street as she was holding up traffic. All four of us were
thinking the same thing about the neighborhood. Oh. My. God. What is this?! We
rang the doorbell labeled “Zuccherini” just as instructed. No answer. A few
more times, still no answer. Then, like much needed Italian cliché comic
relief, our landlord Simonetta zooms by on a vespa yelling “Ciao!” She parked
and ran to let us in. The front door opened to a winding staircase and I was
just beginning to lift my suitcase onto the first step when I heard my
roommates yell, “Oh my god you guys, drop your stuff and come see this now!” I
ran upstairs and through the front door that branches off into two gorgeous apartments.
Simonetta had just finished redoing the entire place and we were the first ones
to live there. Andrea and I had our own living room, bedroom, kitchen and
bathroom, all furnished from IKEA, and so did Zoe and Caroline. It didn’t have
that Italy feel that I was expecting – like antique furniture, super small and
cozy – but I couldn’t complain. We really lucked out.
Though we had a super nice apartment, there was one huge
problem. The lock on our front door was faulty and until Simonetta fixed it, it
took us about an hour and a half to get in each time we tried. But it did give
us the opportunity to meet our neighbors who saw us struggling and tried to
help out. Three guys who go to Texas Christian University live across from us
and we often invite them over and go out!
It was so nice to unpack, get settled and not have to
live out of suitcases anymore. The same night we had a welcome dinner at
another gorgeous restaurant called Palazzo Borghese. To get to the eating area, you have to pass
through several rooms all decorated in Victorian or French style – I’m not sure
which but it was beautiful. And the dining area was definitely a sight –
chandeliers, frescoes on the ceiling, and the same antique furnishing and
decorations. Needless to say I felt underdressed. I think a princess cut ball
gown would have been appropriate!
We had one free day in Florence before our classes began
and I spent it going on an art history tour of the city. We saw Michelangelo’s
David (the replica, the real one is inside a museum here) along with many
others in the Piazza della Signoria. We went inside the Duomo and it was just
as beautiful as the one in Siena. I look forward to attending church service
there this semester.
While on the tour we experienced the beginning of the
ridiculously cold weather Florence would have for the week. So far it’s been in
the 20s every day, with snow fall every now and then. Apparently it hasn’t been
this cold here since the ‘80s. I had to give in and purchase some warmer
clothes at H&M because I definitely wasn’t prepared. There’ve been days
when I feel like I’d be willing to give anything for a hot Texas summer day.
And I often feel compelled to sleep in my wool pea coat under my covers at
night. Okay, you get it. It’s so freaking cold!
My classes are going great and I really enjoy all of
them. I’m taking Fashion Marketing & Merchandising, History of Italian
Fashion, History of Italian Cinema, and Italian Language. I came into this
thinking study abroad classes would be a breeze, but it seems like I have a lot
of work ahead of me. Lots of writing – each class I have to do a 3500 word
research paper on top of other tests, papers and homework assignments. I am also volunteering with a local English speaking community newspaper – The Florence
Newspaper. I’m very excited about writing for them because I plan to focus a
lot on the fashion community of Florence and Italy. The editor (who is also my
cinema professor) is currently trying to get me a press pass for Milan Fashion
Week. Crossing my fingers it all works out! This was supposed to be a take-it-easy
semester, but somehow I always manage to put a lot on my plate. I guess it’s
just what I’m subconsciously comfortable with and I secretly can’t function
without stress?
My first week in Florence I also experienced my first
soccer match. Soccer is BIG in Italy. The game was Fiorentina vs. Udinese, and
Florence ended with the win. I didn’t stay the entire game because by the
second half I couldn’t feel my toes, hands or face and felt like death was upon
me. It was miserably cold. But I do look forward to going to another match once
it warms up a bit. Being around Italians at a soccer match is hilarious. There
was one older guy behind me that was so into it he kept patting me on the back
and shouting words of excitement to me in Italian. All I could do was smile and
throw my hands in the air because I had no idea what he was saying. Next match
I’m going to come prepared with my own phrases to shout in an opera-esque Italian
accent.
When I’m not briskly walk-running to class, I have had
some time to observe Italian society and note some differences between American
and Italian culture. Just as Americans, Italians love their pets. There seems
to be a dog obsession here. Everywhere you go outside (and sometimes in stores)
you see people walking their cute little dogs – always the most unique breeds –
dressed in sweaters and other winter attire. And dogs have the freedom to poop
wherever they please. The sidewalks here have dog poop all over them! So
avoiding stepping in it is something else I can add to my paranoia, along with
being pooped on by a pigeon. Thankfully I have avoided both so far, but some of
my friends haven’t been so lucky. I have a feeling my time will come...
Just as in London, the people here dress so nice. For women,
fur is a major trend. Men, where do I begin? Italian men care so much about
their appearance. Not all, but most of them wax their eyebrows, have carefully
sculpted hairstyles, and my professor said it is popular for them to also wax
their chests and get pedicures/manicures. They all look so perfect; it’s a bit
too much. A lot of them seem to walk with this air that they know they look
perfect, too. Again, some, not all. There’s quite a bit of average Joes, too.
Going out in Florence has been quite an experience as
well. American music is pretty popular here and the clubs and pubs have their
share of creeps just as in the states. The Italian men here are really
aggressive in their female pursuits. (I actually had a conversation with a guy
who agreed with me on this observation) I don’t know if it’s just a typical
guy-in-a-club method or the way Italians are towards American girls.
Conversations are brief and within minutes they’re dishing out compliments or
trying to hold your hand and kiss you. It’s really odd getting that much
attention. Even walking down the street you’ll get at least one “Ciao bella!” a
day. We had an Italian police officer talk to us during our orientation about
Italy’s number one sport – women. He also jokingly said the attention may get
annoying while we’re here, but we’ll miss it once we go back to the states. I
can see that being true, haha.
The language barrier definitely doesn’t help much. I
always feel like I’m scrambling to remember conversational phrases from class
when I’m out mingling with Italian dudes, just to prolong the conversation and
avoid any awkwardness or unwanted aggressiveness. But, I guess if I were to
ever meet a nice, decent guy, the language barrier could be a good thing.
Everything you’d say to one another would have to be straight to the point
because you don’t know enough of each other’s language to beat around the bush
and avoid sincere conversation. I don’t know. I also just honestly LOVE
practicing Italian with native speakers! Haha
Being settled in Florence, it’s getting easy to fall into
a safe routine and not want to go out. I’ve been really tired lately and with
the extreme cold weather it’s been so easy to just want to lie around the
apartment. But I can’t let this happen! I have three more months to explore
Europe and if I’m not taking advantage of it that time will surely fly by.
Here are more pictures from my time (so far) in Florence!
Here are more pictures from my time (so far) in Florence!
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