Monday, July 4, 2011

Florence

Well, I had my first full day in Florence. Aside from waking up late and getting lost finding the school class went well. It was the first day of the session so nothing crazy, but tomorrow we'll be split up into groups. Most likely i'll be in a higher conversation class and a middle grammar class. While I was walking home I saw something I don't think I'll forget anytime soon. In a small car driving down the street there was a nun inside fanning herself from the heat.

After a nice nap I explored the downtown area of the city for a few hours ducking into many shops, though I didn't buy anything. I went into 2 shops where I had a full on conversation with the store owner and they were both surprised at how well I could speak. Yay, It's actually working! At the gelato shop the guy immediately spoke to me in English and I told him (of course, in Italian) to speak Italian please. not too shabby. When it started to rain I made my way back home, quite a walk, probably a good 15-20 min. Everything has been quiet since i've been back, sang a little, made a dinner of pasta (what else?) and relaxed. Tomorrow I plan on going to see something, though i'm not sure what that something is.

I like Florence, but there are a LOT of tourists. Too many near all the main shops, but it's funny how quickly it becomes just you walking down a side road. I stumbled upon the ponte vecchio though to me Venice and the Rialto stands out more in my mind than this. It's pretty from afar but there are just crazy jewelry shops with too many people running around. I'm excited to see some sculptures though. Architecture and sculptures are my favorite. Oh yes, and hopefully I'll make it to services this friday night!

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Halfway through!

Well, at this point i'm halfway through my Italy trip! I finished my introductory course (but really intermediate) in Italian and I can finally put real sentences together. Awesome. Please excuse the fact that I can't think or speak/write in English very well anymore...

Over the last two weeks a few highlights come to mind. One is our trip to the Island of Giglio. It was honestly the most gorgeous water i've ever seen or swam in, clear blue water, amazing panoroma of the island and the sea...hopefully, you all saw the pictures I posted of it on Facebook. After we had explored the castle at the top of the island we went to the beach there. First, I forgot to put sunscreen on my back because when I left I was wearing a dress and forgot that i'd be getting into my bathing suit at some point that day. To fan the flames, no pun intended, I fell asleep on my stomach at the beach and BURNED everything from my shoulders all the way down to my heels. And let me just tell you, sitting down was hard for the next few days. I did buy a nice wine to take home from the island though, which I am quite excited about.

Over the past week I haven't been doing a whole lot besides eat, study, sleep, and read. And what else should I be doing? I figure that in Florence i'll be exploring more in the afternoon and that i'm getting in most of my "vacation" relaxation in Orbetello. Every day my host asks what I do and when I say read and sleep she always mutters how i'm 22 years old and that I should be out doing something. Love Italian mothers.

I do have to say that i've been quite creative in class. If I can't find the word in Italian i'm thinking of, and can't use my dictionary, I come up with the closest relevant phrase I can think of. So our teacher was asking us to tell a story of how we lost something. The only thing that came to mind was on my 21st birthday when I dropped (lost) a whole roll of toilet paper in the toilet. Classic. Not knowing the word for toilet paper I preceeded to play pictionary on the whiteboard. I draw a terrible version of toilet paper and say that I lost a "page/paper for your butt" or (buttpaper if you will) in the toilet. It was obviously the wrong phrase because my teacher was crying laughing so hard at what I said. I soon came to find out the phrase is carta igenica. I personally prefer foglio per il culo. Or even bigliette per il culo (butt tickets).

So, tomorrow i'm off to Florence to start a new adventure, to meet new people, explore a new city, and somehow fill my brain with more Italian. Onwards!!!