The Aftermath

No one worry cause I only suffered minorly today from my fall.  I had a little whiplash (it took me several hours to be able to turn my head and my neck still won't turn all the way and I can't lift my arms up past my shoulder) and my loverly cut on my waist is now framed with a beautiful shade of what Italians like to call nero (you may call it black).  But other than that I'm great!!

I got to go to a church service Sunday which was great.  It was in English but the pastor's first language was Italian so he kinda rambled partly due to that and was kind of hard to follow but I was able to get a few things out of it such as how the Holy Spirit convicts while the Devil condemns which I already knew just never really thought about it.  We also sang old praise and worship songs but it was so refreshing cause I haven't been to church since I left which is probably the longest I've been without church my whole life!

This past weekend I also got to go to a soccer game and watch 

Florence's team Fiorentina play.  It was so much fun plus Italian football is as close as I'm going to get to Clemson football.  Both team have purple colors but the only difference is that Fiorentina actually won!

Note the purple on my jersey I bought

So funny story about the jersey...Yes I'm cheap and I admit it.  I wanted to get a jersey to wear to the game so I figured it would probably be cheaper just to buy one from one of the street vendors rather than a store plus I haven't bargained yet and I wanted to see if I could.

You always have to have a plan.  Even though the plan usually changes, you still have to have one.  So I came up with one.  I put 10 euro in my back pocket cause that was the most I was going to spend on a jersey.  

When I get to the vendor, he says they are 15 euro.  I look at it like I really want it and I ask if he will take 10 for it.  He says no because it costs him 13 euro for the jersey so he has to have at least that.  I say (in a very disappointed voice) "Oh well I only have 10 euro with me."  He's like I'm sorry.  He takes the jersey from me and quickly says "Well Ok I'll let you have it for ten."  So boo yah.  I tried it again however and it didn't work but I think it was because it was a lady vendor the second time and didn't feel sorry for me.  Oh well.

But back to the soccer game...

Before the game they had a giant milk carton sitting in the middle of the field and before the game started they pushed it over on a board on wheels and rolled it off.

The same happened during half time

Here's an action shot for yall

Saturday, I also went to the Boboli Gardens at the Pitti Palace and welll it was a palace garden so it was huge.  And all uphill until you got to the top (then obviously it was downhill) but the view was really pretty.  It overlooked the city.
But these mountains remind me of home and how much I miss being in the mountains.  These just look like hills but at least whenever I can't get away from the city I can go to the overlooks and see them.

This is a cool statue I liked.  

It's also one of the few statues it seems that isn't a replica of David :)

So classes are going a lot better although it seems like I keep having to buy random things for my photography classes that are really adding up but at least it is stuff I will use in the future.  I still like my teachers.  Michele, my favorite, taught us why a tripod has three legs.  Do you know??  Because then it couldn't be called a tripod!  He is hardly ever serious although that Italian temper can be seen on occasion. 

But him (I have Michele for three classes) and my other photography teacher really know their stuff and I've already learned more than I expected.

I'm still not a fan of my Italian class though because everything is in Italian: the book, the lessons, the teacher.  It is very overwhelming and I was spoiled because my Spanish teacher taught conversational Spanish so it was stuff I could actually use but here they just teach regular stuff that you don't really use in day to day conversations.  Oh well.  I'm going to have to take my own initiative.  

Oh and can I also add that God has started helping me see what he wants me to do with my life although it is not super clear yet but I'm excited about it.  So please pray for me that I will be able to keep up with God's pace cause I tend to lag behind sometimes instead of going full force ahead.  

Also, please pray for the trip to Honduras.  It's hard not being there to try and get people excited about it and because I can't see the level of interest.  Not many people have shown a desire to consider going so please pray that those who God wants to go will listen to Him.  I know it's hard to get out of your comfort zone but it is necessary if you want to make a difference. 

And don't think I don't struggle with this either because I do.  Everyone should actually because once you get out of your comfort zone the place where you are at should become your new comfort zone and you'll have to get out of that one so it should be a continual growing process.  But I know how hard it is.  It's like a cold winter morning when you're lying in your nice warm bed.  You know you should get up but it feels so good you just want to lay there...

Sometimes you just have to count to three and throw the blankets back (or get someone to pull them for you) but either way you're the one that has to actually get out of that bed!  So if I look too comfortable...tell me cause I don't want to settle for comfort.  I'd rather look back and see how far I've come not where I've been ever since I can remember.

Oh and also....if yall have any questions for me about Italy or whatever you can leave them as comments and I'll answer them in my blog.  If there's anything you want to see pictures of let me know too and I'll see what I can do! (The comment area should be right under this post)

Wipe Out

So I was looking at one of the vendors' booths today and some guy comes running up to the vendor (who is in front of me) and pushes me out of the way knocking me onto the ground while he then starts fighting with the vendor until the police come.

Luckily, however, that did not happen.

Sooo I was crossing the street and being the law abiding citizen I am, I jaywalked.  They have like  metal chains up so that you either have to walk over them (they are only about shin height) or walk around to where they stop.  Seeing as how there was a mass of cars coming, I figured I would just hop over it.  I had done it many times.  Apparently, I did it one too many times.

So I lift one foot up to go over before I jump but I didn't get it high enough.  Since my other foot is still on the ground, I try to quickly push off that one more but by then my foot was tangled in the chain and I was already falling forward.  This was a total faceplant!

Keep in mind that this is in one of the most crowded places in all of Florence and as I fall, I can hear gasps.  And then luckily I manage to get my elbows in front of my face so that it wasn't a total faceplant but can I just add that the concrete here seems to be much harder than American concrete?   Can I also add that my feet definitely went OVER my head.

So right after I hit the ground (I also landed on my knees) my book bag which had all my camera equipment weighing about 30 pounds catches up with gravity and me and falls on me putting the exclamation point on wipeout!  My sunglasses also fell off my head.  So I'm basically lying in the street on my knees and elbows with more people watching than I can count in Italian (which is a pretty high number might I add).

Being the quick thinker I am (and lots of experience in the falling/tripping area) I start laughing before I hit the ground (cause I see it coming as soon as my foot hits the chain).  So I grab my sunglasses and stand up and try to nonchalantly walk off but to no avail as a concerned citizen (yes an italian actually being nice to an american) asks if I'm alright.  I say yes and at this point, Megan (who walked AROUND the chains) caught up with me and we walked off together. 

I can barely hold my sunglasses cause my gripping muscle is malfunctioning so after we get around the corner I stop and hand them to her but at this point I can't even hold them up (or my arms for that matter) so my poor sunglasses fall again.  

Luckily, I know nothing is broken so I tell myself to suck it up and use a trick I often find useful in tennis to block out pain.  It worked and the initial shock disappeared and I slowly got my grip back.

So I get back to the apartment to lick my wounds...

Other arm

Yes this scratch is evidence that my hip hit the ground 

while my feet were flailing over my head 

but don't worry I didn't cry and I just have the stings now!

Oh but as always, I look on the bright side of things sooo the good this is I already took my shower today so I have a good 3 maybe 4 days for this to scab over before my next shower...

don't worry, I'm joking (kinda)

Yes I'm still alive

So don't worry!  I've been busy with school so I would like to recap the week for you.

So random stuff first....this was an egg I got.  The feathers were free but don't worry there wasn't a baby chick inside.

Luisa and I met up with one of her aunt's friends 

who cooked us the most AMAZING meal ever!

 It consisted of meat, meat, and MEAT! Mmmmm.  But it was a real Italian meal with the 4 courses and dessert.  Ohhh the dessert.  Yes I was spoiled and it was great!

This was the table between courses (thus no meat)

But there was meat.  Grilled meat.  Mmm.  Steak, sausage, bacony meat

Let's have a closer look shall we??

So we also got a pet bunny.  His name is Piccante and he is so cute.  He poops alot...everywhere...EVERYwhere but we love him anyway.  (Don't worry, Luisa's aunt is going to take him after school's over)

And now a bit of sad news...

Due to excess equipment requirements for photography class, I am having to cut back in certain areas of my budget.  Nutella (though a staple of life) will no longer be frequenting my shelf as often.  (I will only buy a jar once every two weeks instead of every week)  So I indulged one last time...

I don't want to end with the depressing nutella news so I will end on  a lighter note...I am attempting to go to the Boboli Gardens tomorrow.  Maybe this time I will actually make it there.  So look for those pictures in the next few days...

Boboli or Bust

I busted...

I had to take pictures for class and I was going to go to the Boboli Gardens.  

Plan A as in what I want my grade to be

Welllll, first, Luisa and I were going to get a Friends of the Ufizzi pass so we could get in for free (not just in the gardens but into all the state museums as well).  It took us a while to find the office.  When we did, it was about 4pm and neither of us had our maps and we weren't sure where the gardens were and they closed around 5:30.  

Plan B as in better than nothing

We thought about taking a bus out to Fiesole which is a town outside of the center and I figured I could take some pictures there too.  So we go to a Tobacchi stand to get a bus ticket and whatdya know they don't sell them.  

Plan C as in call it a day

SOOOOOOOO I just improvised and took some pictures by the Arno and hopefully they turn out...

So yeah it was a bust

The day, however, was not a complete loss because 

A)  I'm in Florence

B)  I had a nice 4 hour walk to build not only leg definition but to tone my shoulders as well from carrying my camera equipment

C)  I saw some cute cars including a one seater truck (it had only three wheels, seats only the driver, and can fit maybe 4 people in the back if they don't mind being on top of each other)

D)  I worked up a nice appetite so my dinner tasted even better when I got back

E)  It gave me something to write about which allows me to procrastinate from doing other homework!

F) No matter where I go here, everything is beautiful (even the "dirty" parts)

G) I did get my Ufizzi pass so I can go to all the museums for free (thanks to mom and dad for an early christmas present!!)

So maybe next weekend I will get to see the Boboli Gardens (which awesomely enough has a palace too)

Tomorrow is superexciting though.  But let me first explain the crowd situation.  It's ridiculous.  Ridiculous.  I mean RIdicUlous.  It's bad enough that the streets are plagued with tourists but no one gets out of the way.  Like you walk down the street and a million people are walking towards you.  Instead of turning so you can go by they walk dead straight to you and if you don't move they run into you and then get mad at you.  It drives me crazy!!!  But tomorrow, I can get away from all the crowds...

It's probably hard to see 

but look at all the people at the end of the street...

And notice how claustrophobic these streets are...

all the main streets are this way

Tomorrow, I am going with Luisa on a train outside the city to see on of her aunt's friends who is also going to cook us some steak.  STEAK.  (I promise I'm not usually this obsessed about meat but there's just something about being in another country and only having meat once a week if you're lucky that makes a girl crazy about meat)  I'm sure she is going to fix lots of other stuff too so I am probably going to skip breakfast and fill up at lunch!  

Speaking of lunch...Today I had THE best lunch EVER.  Soo after the piadina, I saw that they were really expensive for my budget in the store and I got to thinking.  Hmmm...toasted piadina with nutella....grilled cheese....very similar...Wellll, I took out the cheese and replaced it with nutella.  The result: Amazingness.  Ahhhh yes.  I had two for lunch.  Ahh nutella.  So good.

This is for you dad...not a golf cart 

but a VW golf CAR!!

I'm pretty sure a golf cart is bigger than this car

I don't think it's made for golf clubs

Piazza Michaelangelo

Today, Luisa and I walked around a bit....for about 4 hours!!! We wondered over to Piazza Michaelangelo where we had a great view of the city.

Great View of City

I live on the other side of the Duomo (the dome building)

Along our journey, we passed through a random market where they were selling flowers and plants.  They were all so pretty.  One man was selling lots of cacti! 

It reminded me of my cactus at home (Mom could you please water it??) and it made me miss it.  Sono triste. (I learned that in Italian class today!)  But anyway, I bought a little cute one to take home with me.

I named him Rico Butch Suave

So along our walk, Luisa and I saw a sign for Piadina con la Nutella.  She had me at Nutella!  Anyway, Luisa explained it's like a flatbread toasted with Nutella inside.  We shared one and MMMM scrumptious!!

MMMM!!!

So I found a jar of Nutella I want to take back with me.  Of course, since it is bigger than my head, it will be a carryon but still...

I can settle for that.  

Unfortunately, I don't know where these vendors buy it.  

Depressing.

But at any rate...I'm pretty sure I will never really have a "weekend" because tomorrow, I'm doing a photoshoot for class in the morning and then in the afternoon, I have to develop film and then print some pictures in the dark room so I will probably end up staying in the lab all day.  Then Saturday, I have to do another photoshoot for most of the day for next week.  Then Sunday, I'm going with Luisa to one of her aunt's friends where she is going to cook us some bifteca aka MEAT!!  

So things I've learned since being in Italy...

--I'm definately a southern girl

--I'm definitely NOT a city girl

--I try to speak Italian but Spanish comes out and I apologize in English

--While I had zero sense of direction in the States, I have -50 billion here (there has not been one day where I have not gotten lost at som

e point!)

--I love my meat

--After 20 minutes of walking, cobblestone will hurt your feet in any pair of shoes you wear

--Gelatto is Amazing

--Everyone who has ever had Nutella understands and even condones a Nutella addiction

--The beauty of water filters which they do not have here but plenty of water in liter plastic bottles (which well outlive the user and is horrible for the environment) I even tried boiling water so I would not use so much plastic but it tasted like the metal pot I used...

For those of you who think that I am not actually in Italy....

For those of you who think I cannot pull off the tourist look...

The Quality of Life

In researching for my Fashion Photography photoshoot, I came across this quote from The Vogue Book of Fashion Photography which is on my Christmas list if anyone needs ideas :)

No woman, whatever her gifts of face and figure can be really beautiful unless she has the quality of life.  If a girl depends on her looks alone, she may be as beautifully perfect as a statue, but she will be equally chill and dumb.  But every woman, however plain, can achieve the beauty inherent in vitality.  If she goes out to meet life and enjoys it, she is possessed of the fundamental quality of enduring beauty.

--Vogue 1935

It's just as true today as it was in 1935 and it is so important that young girls do not buy into the falsities of the media who try and tell them they have to look a certain way, be a certain shape, wear certain clothes to be beautiful.  It's not true.  They just want you to buy their product.  It's just not true.

Ode to Nutella

Let us have a moment of silence for Pietro Ferrero.

In the 1940s this genius created nutella.  Nutella is what is keeping me somewhat sane right now.  If you have never had nutella, you have not lived.  It is simply amazing.  Amazing.  

I had one of my hardest classes today.  Well, the class where the most is expected of me.  I developed a roll of film and printed in the dark room.  Ohh the dark room.  I now remember why B&W was not my favorite class.  So first of all, at LMC apparently we are on more of a budget than I thought.  None of the enlargers and boards, actually any of the equipment was like what we had at lmc.  This stuff was actually made in the last 20 years.  But yeah I was lost.  

Ok let me explain something else.  You know how you kindof eavesdrop on other students to kind of figure out what is going on and what to do?  Yeah not in this class.  There are only 3 Americans and the rest are from Mexico.  I only understand Spanish when spoken slllllooooowwwwwwlllllyyyy.  Yeah they don't so I was completely lost.  Luckily, one of the other girl's film didn't develop so she helped me.  Thank goodness cause I was still brainfried from the previous day where I was in class from 9am to 8:30pm with a 30 minute break between classes.  Thus the reason why I'm still a little crazy as you can probably tell...

The girl that helped me told me about a place where you could buy Nutella and pretzels for decently cheap.  She's a fan too.  I was so frazzled, stressed, CrAzY that I went during a break and bought another jar and some pretzels.  Oh my goodness!! As soon as I had that first bite...mmmmm...everything melted away and you think I'm joking but no.  Nutella is the most amazing thing ever and I mean EVER!!  But when I stopped, my problems didn't and I managed to last through the rest of the class.  

Nutella has definately been my comfort food though.  As soon as I got home, I had some more and am actually eating it right now.  If you ever saw the movie Mean Girls then you probably remember then line about the clicks in the caf "the girls who eat their feelings"  Well when nutella's around and you are having a bad day...you can't help but eat your feelings in the form of nutella.  Oh and nutella can be put on anything...bread, fruit, crackers, bread, a spoon.  Nutella goes with EVERYTHING!!!  Even bad days!

But this week the real classes started (not that first day where everything is la dee da).  So yeah I've basically accepted the fact that I am going to be stressed until mmm December 20th.  

But...I have nutella!

Oh if anyone reads this and has never tried nutella but decides to, be forewarned...once you try it, you will be addicted for life and it will change you. Forever.  

Dove la Nutella?

Marathon Pictures

Today, I woke up early to take pictures for class and whatdya know they were setting up for a marathon right outside of our apartment.  That was where the end of the race was and they had a podium and everything.  I walked over to the Arno where there were at least 200 runners.  There were alot of like 70 and 80 year olds running which is nothing new but they were beating a lot of the younger people.  It was madness!!! 

But I spent a few hours walking around the river and I took a few pictures and thought you might want to have a looksie (all my other pictures are mixed in with this album so you can reminisce or skip to the back half where the Arno pictures are).

MEAT

Today, I got up early to take pictures in an attempt to beat the rain but I failed.  As soon as I went outside around the corner, it started raining.  So I figured I would walk around some because I can't stay in that little apartment.  I have already realized I am definitely not a city girl.  I need my space and mountains.  So I got some bread and found a school supplies store and was excited because they had a sketch book.  I didn't bring mine from home so that was my exciting purchase.  I think the guy thought I was going to steal something though because he kept following me around and by following me around I mean he would stay like 2 steps behind me or beside me fiddling with random stuff.  

So I somehow ended up by the Arno which is pretty even in the rain.  After taking it in for a few minutes, I headed back to the apartment.  It was still raining but it did finally stop so I went out with Luisa to wonder the streets.  We found some pretty amazing stores.  One was this antique store that had THE most cool retro vintage stuff ever.  Of course it was out of my price range but it was fun to look at.  

So Luisa and I have been having a similar problem.  Lack of meat.  Two of the girls are vegetarians which is fine but we have been having vegetarian dishes all the time.  I haven't had any real meat since I got here.  And I can definitely tell.  I mean I'm tired all the time, no energy and I feel the effects in my skin (I went through the same stuff when I was vegetarian for a few months for a research project).  Luisa was feeling the same way.  

Well I had a map I got from a tourist place with a c

oupon for a buy one get one free big mac from McDonald's.  We were totally up for it but I forgot it at the apartment.  We were so starved for meat that we were like whatever we'll just go and get another map from the tourist place.  So we walk, and we walk, and we walk.  

Finally we get to the street where it is supposed to be and it's not there.  Luisa asks a group of teenage boys who just laugh and repeat we don't speak English even though Luisa asked in Italian and speaks Italian.  So we say grazie and we leave.  

Finally I spot it (it was at the other end of the block) and we rush in and ask for a map.  We each get one so we can get another big mac later.  Then we walk/jog to McDonald's and get in line for some real meat.  It wasn't that either of us was craving McDonald's, we just wanted meat.  We NEEDED meat!

We tried to eat it slow but it was so good.  After we finished eating, we felt much better.  I can already tell a difference after eating those two patties of meat. Mmmmm.  Yes they were soaked in grease but it was meat!

And meat is good!!

We were in such a hurry to get our meat that we didn't even notice this was a two story McDonald's where the stairs leading down to the bottom dining floor had a club feel to it.  It was a little weird.  

So anyway...one big mac and several hours later, I am feeling much better!

One Week Down

Ashley is no longer with us.  She wanted to live closer to the river so she moved out.  We have a new girl though, Sam.  It's ironic because she was the only girl we met at orientation and got to talk to so needless to say we were happy to see that she was our new roommate.  

I am officially through with one week of class.  Last night we had a dinner for all the LdM Austin kids.  We met at 8:30 and walked through town to the most amazing place ever.  It was a restaurant/bar by the Arno but they had tables set up for us right by the Arno.  It was beautiful with the bridges lit up in the background and the lights along the river with the green grass and white lawn tables and chairs.  It was wonderful.  

This pictures does not do justice to the scene of last night

They served up some meat.  It was just salami slices but Luisa said they have some type of seed or something in them and it was THE best I've ever had.  They also had cheese, bread, and pate on bread.  I was all about embracing the culture so I tried some pate even though I wasn't sure what it was.  It actually tasted semi decent until one of the girls said it was chicken liver.  Yeah that ruined it.  I tried to finish it but I couldn't.  Something about eating all the bad toxins in the body from the liver I can't handle.  But everything was good.  We even had small pastry desserts.  They were like mini cupcake/muffins with filling.  One of mine had chocolate in the middle and the other like brown sugar and cinnamon or something.  We ended up staying until about 11:30 sitting around talking and taking in the scenery.

(Samantha, Jordan, Me, Megan, Luisa)

Tonight, Luisa is making a typical Italian dish.  I'm not sure if I mentioned she's half Italian and spends every summer over here and can speak Italian so she's been a great help in teaching us customs and traditions and stuff.  But anyway, it's some type of sauce, bread and egg dish.

This weekend, I will be busy shooting for class (I have to shoot 4 rolls by Monday).  But I think tomorrow we are going to take a bus ride to get out of downtown for a bit.  I think it's starting to get to us.

--Ciao

Festival of Lanterns and First Day of School

So here's the rest of my apartment if you would like to see.

Last night I went to the Festa della Rificolona (Festival of Lanterns).  Basically, farmers used to come in from the country to the market in the Piazza to sell their produce for the Annual Fall Market.  In order to get the best spots, they would leave the night before and carry paper lanterns on sticks.  They also wore their best suits as they marched into the city.  The city folk would make fun of their attempts to dress nice like them (poorly dressed people are referred to as rificolona) and the kids would make their own lanterns of colored paper and run around the farmers as they marched into the city.  They would also throw rocks at the lanterns to try and make the candle fall.  Apparently, the farmers made a good amount of money at the annual market to put up with this.  

Last night, Ashley and I got there early.  We didn't exactly know what time it was supposed to start but they had booths set up to sell balloons and candy.  They had a chip we tried that tasted normal but had the aftertaste of black licorice.  It tasted good but I think it's because I am craving sugar (that's the first thing to go when you're on a budget!)  Finally, the processional came.

The bright lights are the food vendors...they even had the red and white stripes...

Please also note the Sponge Bob balloon in the left part of the picture...Good ol America

They had marched through the streets with two marching bands in front except the ages ranged from 30s to 50s so it wasn't your typical marching band.  They were led around the square as they played.  Even though it was like 10 at night all the little kids were there and families.  I would have been asleep if I was that little!

This was my favorite lantern but they had all kinds...chickens, ducks, circles, triangles...

The funniest thing I have to admit is after the band marched around the square.  Hilarious isn't it??  Ok that's not the funny part.  This is.  They are on stage but you can't see them because I'm standing off the stage but listen to the chorus as you watch this video!

So at a TRADITIONAL Italian Festival...they play I Feel Good?!?!  

We definitely didn't see that one coming...

I had my first classes today.  First, I had fashion photography from 9-2:30 with Michele Pero who is aMAZing.  He is hilarious.  First of all, he has a thick Italian accent which is cool except you really have to pay attention but that's besides the point.  He really knows like the background and history of photography which is really cool cause when I took Art History it was as a gen ed class meaning the teacher taught as little as possible because no one really cared.  He has quite a resume too working with different magazines and doing weddings as well as other personal business photography.  Here's a link to his website if you would like to see some of his pictures.   http://www.michelepero.it

Oh and I also had travel photojournalism today.  This guy was pretty funny too.  His English wasn't as good but still it was really good.  He kept saying I don't know if I'll be able to teach the class because I don't know enough English but we were all like we can understand everything you say.  So hopefully he will get to teach it.  Plus he let us out 3 hours early!  But class usually goes from 3-8:30. 

So far, classes have gone really well and I am really excited to start them and the two professors I had today are like full-time photographers and teach on the side and are like way over qualified so I feel like if I can take advantage of their expertise I can catch up to other photographers my age.  If the rest of my classes go as well as today, which I'm sure they will because I have Michele for my other two photography classes, I will be I don't even know how to describe it.  All I know is that I know this is where I'm supposed to be at this point in my life and if I didn't come I would definitely have regretted this.  The only class that could be excruciatingly hard is my Italian class which is taught in all Italian and the book (including explanations and directions) is in Italian.  But I'm sure I'll get the hang of it.  

Oh and can I add that I only got lost once going to school and once coming back?  I'm improving!!

The Bedroom

The Living Room

Great News

First let me share with you a bit of proof that accordions are not as nerdy as Urkel made them out to be...

Soooo this is what we listen to every night at dinner (this was taken from our window).  I will be spoiled when I get back to school.  Not only will I have to eat caf food but I won't have an accordion accompaniment while dining. 

So the great news....my internet is finally working thanks to Kyle who figured out that when typing in the password I was supposed to be putting a $ in front of it.  Go figure... So as a result I will be posting more regularly putting up more pictures and keeping in touch more. 

More great news...I am taking a group to Honduras next summer from church sooo if you are interested see mom or email me.  I am super excited.  As beautiful as it is here, I'm still in love with Honduras.  I find myself comparing Italy to Honduras.  They are different kinds of beautiful but I think I would still pick Honduras over Florence anytime.  

I had my first Gelato today.  Limone (limon go figure) It was delicious.  But any rate if you want to see more pictures and you aren't friends with me on facebook check these out!  (to make them bigger, click on the thumbnails)

Well it's after midnight here so I'll put more up later!!

And so it begins...

As you can see, it's beautiful here. Just to catch you up, not everyone's luggage got to Florence and none of mine made it. But I got it yesterday and finally got unpacked. We had orientation today and I am super excited to start classes...travel photography, fashion photography, digital photography, and landscape and architecture photography. And of course italian.

My apartment is about a 3 minute walk from school which is good except the first day. It took me 45 minutes to find the apartment (some man felt sorry for me and walked me over to it). But now I still get lost every day but luckily the other girls know where they are going most of the time.

It is overwhelmingly georgous here - so much so I have a hard time taking pictures because there is just so much so I haven't been. I've just been trying to absorb it all but Sunday I'm going to take some pictures. Well this is all the time I have for now. Hopefully, I'll be able to fill everyone in on the details next week.

--Ciao

Buongiorno!

Just so everyone knows...I survived the time change and found the school, got lost several times, lost both pieces of luggage (from the plane not pickpockets), had my first italian meal and can't understand a word! But I love it here. I'll have more details later when my internet starts working.

-Ciao

hellooooo friends

or should i say ciao! Tomorrow I leave for Italy. I'm basically packed and ready to go! I'll leave tomorrow at 5:30pm and arrive in Florence at 10:30am on Wednesday. Hopefully everything will go smoothly and my next blog will be from Florence!