Sunday, September 4, 2011

My New Home


Ciao a tutti! (Hello everyone) 

It has been almost a week since I have been in Firenze (Florence)!  I have a lot to fill you in on.  I suppose we can start where I left off: preparations. 

About a week before I left I had laid out all the things I needed to pack.  I think I was so nervous I packed and unpacked a million times.   One thing I didn’t do?  Weigh the bag.  Considering my suitcase wasn’t that large and still had plenty of room in it, I underestimated…by a lot.  Turns out books weigh a lot more than clothes.  Who knew?  With some expert finagling and through the process of elimination I was set to go! 
This is all I brought for 15 weeks!


There is nothing special to say about the flight itself other than that it was long.  What was nice, however, was that there were four other girls from my program traveling with me.  We all met each other in the Chicago International Airport and pinned red flowers in our hair to identify each other.  Note:  A symbol of Florence is a white banner with a red flower.

When we arrived in Florence, some of us took a cab to the Hotel Duca D’Aosta where we stayed the first two nights.  The hotel is located in the same building as our Italian language classes and eventually the rest of our classes.  This is basically our home base for the rest of the semester.  Linguaviva (the language school) is located on the 4th floor of the building.  However, the first floor is more like the second floor in Italy and we have to climb a lot of stairs to get to class.  There is an elevator, but it’s nothing like I have ever seen before.  It’s a tiny wood and glass box with doors like a dresser.      

The closet-like elevator


Other things different here:
-  Toilettes usually flush using a pedal or a button. 
-  Rarely do you find knobs to open anything.  If it looks like a knob, it's still not.  
-  Pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way.  Cars, vespas, and even busses will swerve around you within inches rather than stop.  Even at crosswalks!

The view from our hotel room was incredible.  There was a crane in the way, but you could still see the Duomo!  Win!

We explored the city a little, saw the Duomo and up close for the first time.  I was so jetlagged it still hadn’t sunk in that I was in Florence.  I felt more like I was in Disneyland. 

We started Italian language classes this past Monday.  We have 3 hours of Italian every day for four weeks before we start our other classes.  On Friday I had my first quiz.  Ten out of ten correct!  My host “babbo” says that this is a good start “buon inizio.” 

Speaking of my host family, we moved in with them this past Tuesday.  They are wonderful.  I have two host brothers (fratelli) and a host sister (sorella). Only the youngest still lives at home.  My “mamma” is from Iowa actually, but is very Italian.  She cooks for a living, so the food here has been beyond amazing.  My family basically forces us to eat seconds.  Even when you’re stuffed, you make room. On night at dinner, I finished one plate of food when my “babbo” points to my plate and says “WILLI!  MANGIA!”  Basically, if my grammer is correct, this means “WILLI!  EAT!”  By the way, I should have a blog entry about all the food I have been eating.  Make that multiple entries.  I have started a food journal and I am writing down all the delicious things I’ve been eating.  No pictures yet though.  This may be a blessing to those of you subjected to the abomination that is sodexo cafeteria food. 

This is my room in my Italian home.


My Italian gets better daily, with the occasional (actually frequent) mistakes.  The other day I called the desert we had at dinner “pesce dolce” (sweet fish) when it was actually “pescA dolce” (sweet peaches).  Considering I’ve only had 15 hours of Italian so far, I’m surprised at how quickly I am learning the language.  I’m also hoping the more mistakes I make, the better I will learn the language.
I wish I had blogged everyday since I got here but I’ve been spending a lot of time getting settled, buying an Italian cell phone, getting to know the city, etc…

This is my own personal room with a view.  


So far I’ve been to Basilica di San Miniato al Monte, the Boboli Gardens, Ponte Vecchio.  I pass by the Santa Maria Novella Basilica everyday on my way to school and back but I have yet to go inside. 
The San Miniato Basilica is this amazing romanesque church that is attached to a monestary.  When we went in, I could hear chanting echoing off the church walls.  It was so beautiful and the views from outside the church are stunning. 

San Miniato


The Boboli Gardens are located just beyond the Palazzo Pitti.  It’s just like a large park and a sculpture museum combined.  There are beautiful sculptures hidden amongst the shrubs and in hidden grottos.  There are also large fountains…oh, and plenty of mosqitos.  I have a museum pass for the semester that gets me in whenever I want.  I think I will be spending a lot of time there.  




Hang on people.  I have only a little more to cover. 

This weekend we traveled as a class to Pisa.  I saw the leaning tower, the inside of the Pisan Baptistry and the Camposanto (burial place that used to have fantastic frescos, but was bombed during WWII and to this day is still being restored).

The Camposanto


All the buildings we visited in Pisa were emotionally and visually stunning.  Sorry, I don’t have a picture of myself holding up the tower…or even in front of the tower (but hey, there is still time).

Yeah...I don't recall what this structure is called... Anyone know?


The most moving part of our trip to Pisa was when we visited the Baptistery.  The structure is built in a way that takes into consideration acoustics.  Specifically, everything is echoed back in perfect threes (representing the holy trinity).  When we were inside they had a “yeller” who would shout a note and it would echo back to him in a beautiful 3-voice polyphonic harmony.  It was so amazing in person.  Here’s a video of the same demonstration, but it really doesn’t do it justice. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdQp6_5f39Q&feature=related

After Pisa, some of us split off and went to Cinque Terre (Litteral translation is "Five Lands" and it's a bunch of coastal beach towns that are connected by hiking paths).  It took some hustling to get to the train station, but we finally made it to Monterosso al Mare and almost immediately jumped in the water to cool off.  Top the night of with a good amount of wine, uninhibited conversation, pizza and gelato, and it was one of the happiest days of my entire year. 

The beautiful Monterosso al Mare of Cinque Terre

   
If you made it through this entire blog, then brava!  I will reward you with a little music video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPTuiQqEamM  This is what my Italian teacher, Umberto, plays while we conjugate verbs in class.  It’s rather catchy. 
Please bear with me while I butcher the Italian language.           
A dopo! 
  

2 comments:

  1. I want those acoustics in my house.
    Also, happy birthday! I was hoping I'd run into you on facebook chat today, but alas; time zones. I hope you had a wonderful 21st in your new home! I'm sure you had a glass (or bottle) (or two) of wine. And in case you've forgotten what wine is all about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AeyqS9BDPds

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