Ciao from Italia! Sorry I have not kept up with my blogging, but I promise to be better about doing so.
Flight:
Arriving at the airport allowed me to come to the final realization that I would not be returning to hawk hill for the fall semester, but in just a few short hours I would be getting on a plane to travel across the world for a semester full of adventure and the unknown. Luckily, I was not in this alone, but I was traveling with some of my best friends. Me, Deanna, Cait, Michele, Alex, Steve, John, and Trevor, all gathered with our families before we said our final good byes. The first plane ride from Newark to Munich was not the best flight I have ever taken. I was so excited to watch the lucky one on the long 7 hour flight that layed ahead of us, but shortly after beginning the movie the flight attendant made announcement that the entertainment system was down. Not only was entertainment system down, but the air conditioning was not functioning properly either. The second flight from Munich to Florence we were escorted by a bus to take us to our plane. It was a little propeller plane that reminded me of the plane from the Proposal that they take to Sitca. The views outside of the plane window were exquisite. We flew over the Swiss Alps and before we knew it we could see the hills and vineyards of FIRENZE! Once arriving in Florence we were picked up by Fairfield University and escorted to our hotel by way of a hot pink coach bus. They must have known I was coming!
Hotel:
The hotel we stayed at our first night was very nice. The bathroom was quite interesting. The shower did not have a curtain only a small piece of glass to prevent the shower from spraying every where. The blow dryer that was attached to the wall remind me of a vacuum. We sat and listened to information sessions, filled out paperwork, and met many people from our program. Everyone here is so friendly and welcoming. For dinner the first night we were served a buffet, but it was not your typical italian cuisine. But at that point anything was going to be much better than the air plane food we had received. After dinner the two living learning students Leonardo and Carlotta took us to a pub where we all gathered around one long table together and enjoyed our first night in florence.
Apartment:
Tuesday morning we were escorted to our aparments via Mercedes vans. Our apartment building is a quaint old italian building with a big wooden door followed by a rod iron gate when you first enter the building. We live on the second floor over looking the street filled with vespas and other italian cars and commotion. Our apartment has 3 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, a kitchen, a dinning room, and a washing machine. The washing machine is so tiny it looks like a little kids toy. We do not have a dryer, but we have clothes lines outside of our windows to hang dry.
First Night:
Our first night my roommates and I went exploring and found a cute bistro place with out door seating to have our first italian meal. Needless to say we were quite disappointed with our food choice and resorted to having gelato afterwards. We also walked around the streets of Florence and found the Duomo. We then met up with some friends and went to a bar called the Red Garter. It was filled with American students dancing and singing karaoke.
Wednesday:
Wednesday morning I had academic orientation. Mary, Meg, and I had to navigate our way from our apartment building to one of the school buildings for orientation. The room in which academic orientation was held was a giant pink room with crystal chandeliers. Later that afternoon we met Leonardo and Carlotta on the steps of the Duomo for a walking tour of the city. Leonardo took us to his favorite gelateria, where we all enjoyed some refreshing gelato. Wednesday night we went to a place called The Lions Fountain. Inside the ceilings are covered with all college t-shirts which you are supposed to sign. We all borrowed a marker from the bar tender, stood on a stool and proudly signed the SJU t-shirt that hung on the ceiling. On the t-shirt were already familiar names of friends and fellow DSP brothers.
Thursday:
Yesterday my roommates and I all slept in for the first time since we have been here. We went on a supermarket tour in order to stock up on groceries for our apartment. Around 6 o'clock we decided to take a walk to the piazza de michaelangelo. When I say walk, I really meant a hike up a hill, and climbing up some steep stairs. The journey up there may have been a little rough, but the view was absolutely incredible. You could look over all of Florence and see the Duomo, the Ponte Vecchio, and the Arno River. The sunset was beautiful and the cool breeze felt so good. The view made me realize that wow this is my home for the next four months and I could not be more excited to be here!
