The Beginning

After the longest 48 hours, I finally arrived in Florence. Got in a cab, pitch black outside, and dragged my 3 suitcases up the steep steps to my front door. Let me tell you, that whatever you pay to sit in business or first class on these long flights...IT IS WORTH IT. 11 hours on a plane, in a seat that hardly declines, is NOT a fun experience. Especially when the two people sitting next to you are hacking up a long and sneezing all the way from LA to Germany. Anyway, we got here. After two 5 hour layovers and a 2 hour delay in Germany, we made it to Florence. The housing director met us at the airport and put us directly into cabs to our apartment. We arrived on our street and had to search for what apartment was actually ours (they are not numbered too clearly). When we finally found our apartment building (One other girl on my group flight from LAX to Florence is living in my apartment with me, so we were able to take the cab ride together) it took about 30 min. to open the front door to the building and then another 15 to try and open the actual apartment's door. The apartment is pretty nice, just like a student apartment should look. Would floors which keeps things a bit warmer than stone. Nice kitchen, and two bathrooms. We live in the Piazza dei Saltarelli, which is right behind the Ponte Vecchio. Our apartment is located in an extremely touristy location, which means it is very clean but also not a lot of practical stuff surrounds us. Practical things. Such as garbage cans and grocery stores. We have found a few places that will be really useful and have gone grocery shopping a few different places to explore. We have yet to find a place to put trash though...

Everyone at SACI is extremely friendly. I live about 15 minutes walk from the main building of the school, which is in the center of the city. I didn't realize how crowded the streets of Florence are, all the time. It takes longer to get anywhere, and of course, wherever you go, you walk. I think we have walked maybe 4 miles a day if not more. This morning my apartment mates and I went running along the Ponte Vecchio, that's when it really sunk in that I'll be living in Florence, in ITALY for 4 months. How amazing. The water was beautiful and the buildings are historic and majestic and absolutely wonderful. I live 5 minutes away from the Duomo..I actually LIVE a few blocks from the DUOMO. What? How cool.

We have been in Orientation since the minute we got here, and I haven't had time to breathe or even unpack until today (Sunday). But thank goodness they have kept us so busy because I haven't really had time to think about anything dealing with home or what i'm missing, because we were all really thrown into the swing of things. From the first day we have had to find grocery stores and find our way to school (getting lost for 45 minutes on the first day of course because you know, you don't live in Florence unless you get lost). Things have been hectic, and i don't expect them to calm down for a while, but soon enough we will all have our routines and things will settle.

The first night after orientation, we all went to a student's apartment to drink wine and meet each other. The apartment was absolutely beautiful and to say it was big is an understatement. It's two floors, with marble bathrooms and a roof balcony overlooking the Duomo. Because we all decided to go out together, walking home wasn't a problem. Although we live about 15 minutes away from most of the other student apartments, there is one more SACI apartment directly below ours and we have all been sticking together so we stay safe walking home. Last night we went to an Irish pub to hang out, and stopped for fries on the way home. It's weird to think that I can drink here, and when I go home i'll have a few months before I turn 21.

This morning we woke up, went running, explored, and we're about to cook dinner. Lemon Picatta with salad. Grocery shopping is an experience that we'll definitely have to get better at. I've started to use my Italian a little, but I can't remember a whole lot. Once classes start, I'll be reviewing a lot in my Italian class and will be able to get around a lot better. Grocery stores are very unique here. There are a few small one or two room super markets, and then the rest are outside street markets. We went to a meat shop and then a small inside market run by a little old man near the water. In these little shops run independently you aren't allowed to touch any vegetables or fruit. You have to ask for what you want and wait to receive it. Such a difference than in the US. A lot of people speak English which makes things easier, but I want to try and use my Italian as much as possible.

Tomorrow is the first day of classes! I'll post more later. Just needed to start typing away - the rest of my posts should be a little more organized and structured. But I hope this helps a little to know what i've been up to.

Love,
Devin