skyline of firenze

skyline of firenze

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

September 20-24th

So I realized that I really havent written in my blog in a long time..! I mean nothing that exciting has happened but still. So Thursday went well, not as I had hoped with the movie night but it was still amusing. Everyone wanted to go to the school till closing time (10pm) to use the internet so we couldnt start the movie till after 10, and Casey had to be picked up because she didnt know where our apartment is. So then we all cuddled on the couch and watched Death at a Funeral, the british version. The movie didnt end till about 12:30 and then Jessi and Casey got into a debate about tv and directors. Then at about 1am Jessi and I walked Casey back to her apartment and then we came home and crashed. Thursday during the day was really nice, I managed to hop over to Zecchi's right before it was closing to get some more paints that I was missing and then ran over to Salvinis to pick up some canvas, which was pretty cheap and already primed. (normally I would do my own priming, but I feel that its already quite expensive for canvas and then to add on the price of gesso, which is quite pricey, and also the time that it would take to prime and sand the canvas would just be a hassel.) And I made it back to the school with time to spare before my painting class. We just did critiques for class and then we were kinda dismissed but were told to brain storm what we were going to do for our next project. So Casey and I got into this whole discussion about all things asian, such as anime and dramas etc, and then Natalia got into the conversation cause she likes anime too and then Andrew (our teacher) jumped in and started to art it up and talk about the difference between eastern and western ascetics. So while he was doing that I ran to grab something to eat and then talked with Mustafa for a bit and he got me this wonderful app that allows you to call to the US for free as long as you have wifi. So I got to call my mom for a good half hour before my next class!!! I am SO happy about that!!! then for drawing class we went out again and drew some sculptures that were in these niches around a church, it was actually the church that I had gone in to the third floor that is only open on mondays. So it was quite fun to do the drawings in an area that is more of a walking area instead of a public tourist area. So when I sat down to start drawing people actually stopped, looked at my stuff and then really started to pay attention to the church, as if seeing it for the first time. Then we also almost got run over by this guy who wanted to park his shiny jaguar and didnt care that there were two students sitting on the curb or that his car blocked said students view of what they were drawing. So we spent the whole three hours out there and then came back to the school re-grouped and then got dismissed. Then I headed back to the apartment to get ready for movie night.
Friday of course I slept in, but not too late. Then I went to the school and just hung out literally for the whole day just hanging with friends and doing work. I decided what I am going to do for my next project so I stretched my canvas' and tinted them. Then at 9pm we all headed out to go hang with Natalia who had invited us to dinner and a club. It was all of us minus Avigayil cause she went with her mom to northern italy for the Yon Kippor weekend. So we all met up at the carousel near the triumph arch, then headed to Natalia's favorite bar and took a shot, which was completely free because she is friends with the bar tender! Then we headed to YAB which is this really cool place that you go, have dinner and then after dinner while everyone is drinking and talking they move all the tables and start playing club music, turning it into a dance club. So we went there and met a ton of italians who for the most part spoke english, we didnt know it but apparently we were also at the VIP table, which was pretty cool. Jessi and Tess left after dinner cause Jessi cant do flashing lights and Tess had spent the whole day in Milan so she was really tired. So that left Jordan, Natalia and I and we had a blast! while we were dancing they brought our whole group a bottle of Grey Goose that was on fire and glowing along with things to mix it with like orange soda, I didnt drink any, I just mooched off of other people and took sips here and there. Jordan and I didnt leave till about 2am, and there were people who were just starting to come in when we left. But what was really awesome about that night was that we got dinner, VIP treatment, unlimited wine and dessert, free drinks and access to the club for 10 euro. Thats it. So we are definitely going back there sometime.
Then on Saturday we all took it slow in the morning, then I came to the school to hang out and skype mom, grandma and papa which was really nice. I miss them. Then when the school closed I dropped my stuff off at the apartment and headed to the grocery store where I met up with my roomies. Then we made ourselves so dinner and just laid low. We were supposed to go out to dinner again with Natalia but none of us really felt like it after the night we had on friday.
Then on Sunday we all got up and went to the Bogili Gardens cause I needed to re-shoot my film and Tess and Jordan wanted to see it. So we stayed there till 5 just walking around etc, but it was super hot out, nearly 90 degrees Fahrenheit and humid. On our way back from the gardens we all stopped at the little chinese place that I had found and got lunch/dinner and then we all went to the apartment and tried to cool off. Avigayil came back later that night with her mom so we got to meet her, she's really nice.
Monday started off as normal, Italian class, we got our quizes back and I got 100% on mine (mainly cause I got 5 bonus points) but still counts. Then we went to get something call granita which is like a slushy but made with actual fruit etc. So I got a really good fragoli granita (fragoli= raspberry) and then we were allowed to leave so Jordan and I headed back to the school. Then I developed a roll of film from when we went to the gardens, and this time the images did turn out! except the camera or the developing tank is leaking light so a few of the images have a strip of black across them, but there are not many and thankfully were not on the good prints. Then I hung out at the school till I had class at 4 where the teacher taught us how to do solarization in the dark room and how to do infrared on photoshop. Then we worked through class time and Jessi and I stayed a good hour after class just working. Then we hung out in the painting room cause I had to teach Mustafa and Casey how to stretch canvas for class, which was quite fun and good practice for when I start teaching. Then at about 9:30 Jessi, Jordan and I headed to The Diner for dinner cause mondays they have free drinks for any purchase of a meal. So I got a chocolate milkshake and strawberry pancakes, which the strawberries that were in the pancakes were fresh and so delicious!! Jordan got eggs benedict with a strawberry milkshake and Jessi got fried chicken with a vanilla milkshake. We all ended up sharing everything and everything was really good. The Diner also offers free wifi and is open till midnight so we stayed till about 11:20, and Jordan and I got tea while we surfed the web and talked. It was really awesome cause our total bill for the three of us was only 20 euros! we didnt get out 10% discount as students but we got nearly 15 euros free of drinks, they didnt even charge us for the tea! It was awesome!!

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

September 17-19th

So I havent written in a while and I'm sorry bout that :) monday I got sick with just a head cold, stuffy nose dizzy-ness etc. not too bad. Jessi had something similar all weekend so thats probably where I got it from but I am feeling pretty much all better today. So monday was quite normal, italian class, hanging at the school etc. For photography we went to the Pitti Palace and photographed the Bogili Gardens which are beautiful and huge! then after that I headed back to the apartment and crashed.
Tuesday was pretty much the same, slept in and then headed off to class at around noon. Oh! and I dropped my history of Florence class, mainly cause I just dont need the credit and also I'd rather have that time to be in the studio or out doing other stuff that I wouldnt be able to do with that class like going to the early markets etc. I really love my painting and drawing class, and I dont mean to sound conceited but I am a really good drawer! I never even knew! I'm so proud of my drawings, I'm gonna take photos of them and post them up here (although the ones from tuesday are a nude model.....whatever). Then after class I went back to the apartment to get ready with the girls for Vogue's Fashion Night Out, which is pretty much a giant party at all the designer stores etc. There was tons of free wine and so many people!! Jessi and I also got randomly photographed when we were in this store by a professional, we have no idea why. But it was so much fun! and I found the shoes I wanted, they are 70euros but really cute and practical for walking. We were out till the stores closed at 11 and then all crashed at home, we also were able to snatch a few wine glasses that they were giving out with the wine so now we have good glasses for our apartment which we did not have before.
Then today we had our first quiz in italian, it was really easy, I was one of the first ones to finish. Then I came back to the apartment and hung out till class. Then for photography we were supposed to develop our film from monday and we did but apparently Jessi and I both made mistakes with our film so both of our rolls came out blank. yeah, so apparently I didnt load the film correctly and Jessi's battery died while she was taking her photos. So sucks for both of us, but we are going to go back this weekend to re-shoot. The nice thing is is that we can go back whenever we want to cause our museum card gets us in for free. So gonna go back probably on friday to re-shoot and Jordan is gonna come with me cause she wants to see the gardens. I was actually planning on going to Rome friday with the guys but I thought about it and I realized that I didnt want to go because they were only going for the day (as far as they know) and they werent gonna leave Firenze till about 10am so really they would not be spending much time in Rome at all. And if I go to Rome I want to do it for at least 2 days so I can take everything in without getting too overwhelmed. Also I'd prefer to go at a less touristy time, and right now there are still a lot of tourists around. So instead I think I am going to just work on my photography project and get a head start on my new painting project as well. Also probably do a couple touristy stuff too and maybe even go to the beach again on sunday to relax. Also tomorrow we are all planning on doing a family dinner and watching a movie and maybe even doing facials and manicures! total girl night!!

Sunday, September 16, 2012

September 15-16th


So yesterday was saturday, I slept in a bit, but not too much. Then I went to school to get some work done, but of course I got talking with Mustafa and got none done, but did get some more movies. I skyped a bit with grandma, Sierra, Earl and papa which was really nice, I miss them so much! Then the school closed down at 5 so Jessi, Jason, Mustafa and I went to the Palazzo della Signoria so that Mustafa and I could get our drawing homework done with. Then we all headed to the library to use the internet, but the internet wasnt working so Jessi and I left, Jason and Mustafa stayed to work on their italian homework. Jessi and I decided to go get an appertivo, which was our first time doing it. An appertivo is like a small buffet dinner special that most restaurants do so people just getting off of work can grab something to eat before heading home to cook their actual dinners. You just pay one down price and you get a drink and all you can eat food, the place we went to was only 8 euro and the food was so good. The place we went to also had free wifi so we hung out there for a while before we got really tired and headed back to the apartment. By the time we got back it was about 8:30pm, and Tess and Jordan were still not back from Capri (which they stayed overnight because it was raining and they didnt feel like traveling). We phoned them and decided to meet them at the station at 9:30 so we could all buy our tickets for our Cinque Terre trip on Sunday. So that all went well and we all headed back and crashed for the night, we were all exhausted.
So today was soooooo much fun!! I woke up at 6 so I could grab a shower and be totally ready for our trip, our train was scheduled to leave at 7:45am. We didnt leave the house till 7:20 so when we got there we had some confusion with what track to go to and ended up getting on the train just as the doors were closing. The train ride was really long and it got really crowded when we got closer to the Cinque Terre's. We all decided to get off at Vernazza and explore since it is Jessi's favorite of the towns and I had heard great things from grandma about it. I loved it! the little rock beach was so cute, but also fun cause you got to climb all those rocks up and down and stand on them in the water. Unfortunately because of the recent landslide all the caves that you could go into were blocked by rocks so we couldnt swim into them. The water was amazingly blue and you could see down a good 50-60 feet and it looked only a few feet from the surface. It was beautiful. Then we decided to head to Monterosso. We got there and tried these ice drinks that were pretty good but of course I had to try something new and I didnt really like my flavor (I had chosen mint but it was a really sweet fake flavor). Then we just walked around and did a little window shopping in both the new town and the old one. Then we stopped for lunch/dinner at this little restaurant that Jessi loves because of the salmon pasta she always gets there. It was really good food, I got the Gnochetti della Casa which was gnocchi with shrimp in a red basil sauce that was amazing!! We all tried each other's dish and they all tasted amazing. After lunch we headed back to the free beach and on the way we got gelato (of course) I got chocolate and raspberry and it was so good! When we got to the free beach we set up our stuff and then Jessi and I got in the water. We swam for a bit and then we climbed up this rock that was a good six feet out of the water and we jumped off. Three times each. It was so much fun!!! such an adrenaline rush! and Jordan was safe on the beach taking photos of us jumping off. I so want to do it again!!! then we just sun bathed till we had to go catch our train. When we got on the train it was so jammed packed that you could barely even stand, luckily we had found some seats so we were spared from the mosh-pit. So after La Spezia everyone kinda vacated the train and we all regrouped so we were all sitting together, but turns out that the train was going to make one more stop at this little station and that was the end of its run.... so we were stuck there. Thankfully though there was a train coming to the station that was heading to Florence so we just waited an hour for the train to come. While we were waiting there was this older guy who came to ask which platform was for Milan and we told him which one but then he hung out with us for a bit and I was so proud of my italian speaking. I managed to talk to him, all in italian, and tell him that we were students from America that were studying in Florence and when he said that he was from Morocco I told him that the King of Morocco's nephew lived on my street in America (but I didnt know the word for nephew so I just said brother). And he actually understood what I was saying!! Then he had to leave cause his train came in, and we only had to wait like 20 more min till our train pulled in as well. It was kinda fun hanging at the train station, even though we had nothing to do and didnt know where we were, we just sat on the ground and talked and listened to music. We didnt get into Florence till about 9pm and we all just wanted to get home and take showers and have something small to eat. So we all showered and made something small, I just made some pasta and ate a banana, then I did my italian homework that I forgot to do yesterday (mainly cause I was really tired after dinner). So all in all a really really really amazing day. I'm thinking that maybe next weekend if it is still warm out I will return and just stay in Vernazza all day (cause I like that one the best), but thats probably not going to happen cause I know Mustafa and Jason want to go to Rome next weekend and I'll probably end up going with them cause I do want to go to Rome and then I'll have people to go with. Who knows :) and I also tossed around the idea of maybe going to Egypt during my vacation weeks but Jessi reminded me of all the shit that is going down over there with Libya and the recent assassination of the American representative there, so probably not gonna end up going but hopefully in the spring they will have settled a bit so that I could go and see the pyramids!!!

Friday, September 14, 2012

September 12-14th

So on wednesday I had my italian class which wasn't all that fun, mainly just cause we were going over our homework the whole time. But apparently next class if the weather is nice we will be going to a really nice gelateria and practice ordering in italian. Then I didn't have a class till 4, which was photography and that was actually quite fun and different. We are working on photograms which is when you just expose the photo paper with something on top so it makes a design. So we spent the whole class experimenting on how different things act when exposed etc. It was really different than I am used to in the dark room, but really fun too. Our class ran a little over, just cause you easily lose time in the dark room, so we were all late for our art and culture seminar. The seminar was just Lorenzo going on again about the history of florence etc, but I'm really excited for next wednesday's class cause we are going to be talking about Vivianne Westwood, who is my favorite foreign fashion designer. Then after class Avigayil and Jordan were going to go over to Casey's apartment and then go out bar hopping and exploring. I went with them, but I had to run back to the apartment to change cause I felt disgusting after working in the dark room. So we met up at Casey's and took some photos on her roof, and apparently I can dance so now everyone wants dance lessons. Casey and I even did some ballroom dancing on the roof, just cause we felt like it. Then we headed to The Clubhouse which is where we were supposed to meet up with Mustafa and Jason, but they were not there yet and Avigayil wanted to try out a different area of the city. So we headed out and eventually found this really cool bar, it was very vintage and had a ton of old couches etc to sit on. The drinks were a little expensive but good, I had some sort of green apple drink. Then Jessi and Tess met us there and we all walked back to the Clubhouse. On the way Casey, Jordan and I started randomly singing disney songs, it was so much fun! When we got to the Clubhouse Avigayil and Tess headed back to the apartment cause their feet were hurting etc and the rest of us stayed there. Jessi and Jordan got something to drink and Casey and I were going to split a pizza but the kitchen had closed five minutes before we got there so we couldn't get anything to eat. After we were done hanging there we went to this little kebab place, since it was the only one open and Casey and I hadn't eaten anything since lunch. So we got this cheese and spinach calzone and since the guy was closing up he threw in the rest of his kebab meat for free, he also gave Jordan and Jessi some free ice tea. So we hung out there till he had to close up, we walked Casey to her apartment and then the three of us headed back to the apartment, by the time we got back there it was a little past 12:30. It was such a fun night!
So thursday I didnt have a class till 1 so I got to sleep in quite a bit. Then I just made myself some pasta for breakfast/lunch and headed to painting class. I didnt whip through quite as many paintings as I did last class, but that was because in those I wasnt really concentrating on the background or the space around the earrings I was painting, this time I did. But they did come out really nicely. And then for drawing class we went to this church where there were late renaissance frescos, we were inside cause it was super windy and the wind made it very cold out. But it was really cool in the church, we focused again on the standing figures and then for a time we did nothing but hands and feet, it was super fun. Our homework for that class is actually for us to go people watching and do really fast gesturals of them. I dont mean to sound vain, but I think I'm easily one of the more advanced of the class, though I still do need to work on quite a few things. But doing all these drawings is so much fun and just makes me feel alive here in florence, and like I am truly appreciating being here.
So today is friday, I dont have school, so I slept in, but not that late. Avigayil left this morning really early for her trip, since it's Rush Hashanah weekend she is going with some jewish friends and family members to this town, i dont remember the name. And Tess and Jordan went down to Capri for the day, I really wanted to go but the tickets for the trip would have been more than 100 euro and right now I want to spend my money on food and supplies (and for fashion week). So now it's just Jessi and I and we are both feeling kinda low cause the temperature changed quite suddenly here so everyone is getting that head cold kinda thing. So we are just laying low, we went grocery shopping and stopped at this really cool vintage shop where everything is super cheap. Now we are just hanging out at the apartment.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

September 11th

So I totally did not realize that today was 9/11 till around 3pm when someone commented on how weird it was to not see things in remembrance of 9/11 around since we are in Italy. So yeah... but today was really fun, I didnt have class till 12:15 cause Lorenzo pushed it back an hour. So I had the history class till 1:15 and then I had painting from 1:15 to 4. Everyone knows I love painting but I am going to reiterate it, I Love Painting! it felt so good to wield a paint brush again, I whipped through six small paintings within the class time, and unfortunately I did not bring a lot of earrings to go off of (cause I am making them all earrings) I only had three and then grabbed two from the internet. So yeah I did that and it was so invigorating. Then at 4:15 I had my drawing class which was amazing! We went to the Palazza della Signoria and just sat and did some quick sketches of the sculptures there, and also some really quick gesture drawings of the people around the sculptures (which were really fun but had to be done really fast because the people didnt know they were being drawn and would move). Actually I felt that I would have had a hard time with this drawing class since I really havent had a formal drawing class before and also because it sounded like there were so many people in the class who did have experience and were good at it too (cause we all gave our history with drawing in class on the first day). But when I was looking at my sketch book and then at everyone else's (not to sound vain etc) I felt like I really was good at drawing, especially at the gestural drawings we were doing. Then after classes I totally crashed, I mean I had classes from 12:15 to 7 straight, so I crashed for like 15 min on one of the comfy red couches at the school till Jessi gave me a really yummy apple and then we went to the 99cent store. After that we went back to the apartment and made dinner and did our italian homework, which was quite fun to do because four of us are all in the same class so we all did it together. Also for my drawing class he gave us homework to help us gain control of our pencil etc and it seems really fun, but also seems like something I can do during another class if my hand is feeling restless.

Monday, September 10, 2012

August 9-10th

So on sunday I literally did nothing, I woke up, went to the school for the internet chatted with mom and grandma and papa, then headed back to my apartment and made some dinner and just hung out. So a really relaxed day. Today on the other hand was quite different. I had my first class at 10, it was the italian class and it went quite well. I really enjoy her teaching style for language (if it wasnt a language class I would hate it) but it really allows us to learn the actual language instead of all the silly little things that you never use in conversation that you always learn in your language classes. And its also really open, you can ask any question and she'll answer. Then right after that class I had another class, my history of Florence class. Lorenzo is an awesome teacher, but its all lecture style so I get really drifty when it goes on for too long, but I'm actually gonna record all of his lectures so I can go back to it later. That way also my notes can have some semblance of order instead of complete chaos. Then after that I went to Li x Li which is the really awesome panino place and got a really good panino to eat while I hung out at the school. Then at 3:30 Mustafa and I went down to Zecchi's to get our paints, which went surprisingly well and was not that expensive. I was about 3 min late to my class at 4:15 because of my trip to Zecchi's, but its all good everyone else was busy getting their pictures together to show to the teacher. Then after photography Jessi and I went back to Le Botteghe di Leonardo, which is our favorite gelato shop. Today I had blueberry and lemon, it was so good. And I have an idea, I'm gonna save all my gelato spoons and write what flavors I got on them, that way I never forget and it could also possibly be used in an art project.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

August 7-8th

So yesterday we went on a field trip to Casentino! It was so much fun!!! except of course waking up early was such a pain, but we all slept on the bus ride anyway. So we all met up in front of the school and then walked to the bus station to get on our private bus. There actually didnt seem to be a reason for the bus since there was only eight of us students and three teachers... but whatever it gave us tons of room to spread out. The bus ride was kinda long but really beautiful. The roads were also very curvy and made everyone kinda carsick, especially the two guys who had been drinking the night before... So we got to the house but we actually had to walk this little path way to get to the actual house because the bus would not fit down the street. The house was in this really small village that only consisted of about five houses and one tiny church that is now being used as a shed. The teacher who lived there is actually on sabbatical but allowed us the use of her house anyway. We all had a nice little breakfast on their porch that overlooked the whole valley, it was so beautiful. Then when we were done with breakfast we explored a little bit around the village. Apparently the town was bought by the teacher's family when she was little and rebuilt it, now there are other families living in that area along with her. But at one time the whole town was just some old ruins dating back hundreds of years. We also discovered a plum tree out in their back yard and all of us ate a ton of them, there was even a fig tree, but I'm not that fond of figs so I didnt eat one. Then we started our cooking lessons, we started out learning how to make homemade pasta, it was actually quite similar to making gnocchi so I had no trouble with it. Then we made panzanella which is this bread salad that farmers used to make from their old bread and fresh vegetables. I had the dish once when I was au pairing but this time it turned out even better than I remember it was. I didnt help make the meat or the teramisu, but everyone else did while I was making the panzanella. The meat was actually cooked over their fireplace, it was pretty cool. While everyone else was finishing up their cooking I played a bit with the little boy who lived there, he was super cute. Then we all sat down for dinner, it was delicious! We hung out for a while after that and just talked. We had to leave pretty early because they wanted to get back to the city before the sun set. The bus ride back was a lot shorter than on the way there, probably because everyone just passed out. The bus driver was kind enough to drop us right off in front of our apartment building so we all went in to regroup and then headed to the library. The library is awesome, its open to everyone, free internet and also has a top floor that serves drinks and food and has an amazing view of the Duomo. So we all hung out there for a while and got some library cards, Tess and Jordan were the first to leave because they wanted to stop by the train station to see about getting tickets to go to Piza. So Jessi and I stayed for a while longer and then eventually headed back.

This morning I slept in till about 10 and then just hung out. Tess and Jordan took a day trip to Piza to go to the beach and Avigayil went to the synagogue for sabbath, so Jessi and I were on our own. We had planned on going to zecchi which is an art store where I have to get my paints from, then the internet store to check out some prices, then to the antique market for me and then to get Jessi a pair of cheap flats that dont scream american. So our day wasnt that successful, we got to zecchi's and they were closed, we figured that they were just closed for lunch so we decided to stop by on our way back to the apartment. Then we headed to the internet store which turned out to also be closed, but for the whole day. So then we went to the antique market and they were all closed for lunch, so we bought some drinks and just sat on the stairs and waited till they started opening up. They eventually did and I bought four old postcards for one euro, its partially for my future painting project and partially because the wall in my room is looking quite bare. They are super pretty I love them. Then we headed back to see if zecchi's was open, and on the way we stopped at this place to get some pizza which was delicious. Then when we got to zecchi's turns out it closed at 12:30.... and is not open on sundays so we decided to go to the other art store near the school. And of course that place was closed too! so we headed to the school were we bumped into the guys, Mustafa and Jason. Jessi and I then headed down towards the Duomo to find her some cheap shoes, which we thankfully succeeded in doing, and we stopped by the 99 cent store on the way to pick up some notebooks etc. Then we finally made it back to the apartment, we had been out and about for over five hours. So we just sat and had something small to eat and then I promptly passed out for an hour. By the time I woke up Tess and Jordan had returned from their trip all nice and red. Then we all just hung out in the apartment, we were all too tired to really do anything else. Sadly I didnt really get all the stuff I wanted to get done done, I still have to finish some reading for monday and do some italian work.... but I'll get around to it.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

September 5-6th

So yesterday was my first day of school!!! yay! so exciting!! my first class was at 10am and it was our italian lesson. It went on in a very similar fashion as it had been during our intensive lessons, but this time around we focused more on the written side as well as speaking the language. The class went till noon and then the girls and I went to the central market to pick up some food for the week. I love shopping for food here, its so cheap! and also so fresh, this one lady gave us some free figs just for shopping at her stall! I got so much stuff to cook with, and all so cheap :) so then we got back to the apartment and just hung out till 4 when Jessie and I had our photography class. The class is really small, there are only 3 of us: Jessie, Ollie and myself. But our teacher seems really nice and cool, she's also quite young and already has her doctorate in photography so we will definitely learn a lot from her. The photography class goes till 7, and we are supposed to have an art and culture seminar after from 7:30-8:30 but it was canceled for this week. So we got back to the apartment and I started cooking. I found this recipe online for this chicken, corn, onion and cheese on rice thing that was actually supposed to be made in a slow cooker but I just used two pots. It was surprisingly good, I thought that I would totally muck it up but I didnt. So I hung out at the table for a while with Jessi, and I enjoyed a very good and ripe apple for dessert. Jessi unfortunately was not as successful with her dinner, it was delicious but the soup she made split and burned her fingers so she had to run cold water over it for over five minutes which sucks but they got better.
Today I didnt have class till 1:15 so I just hung out all morning in the apartment and slept in till it was time to leave. My first class was painting, which the painting 2 and 3 had merged, a total of 5 people are in the class. It's gonna be interesting to have such small classes all the time. But the painting class sounds like a lot of fun and I cant wait to start. I'm gonna probably go and buy my paints tomorrow after our field trip, if not then then on saturday. Then after painting class I had my drawing class which is with the same teacher, Andrew. This class is my biggest so far with a whopping 7 people. And the class sounds like so much fun, our next lesson we are going to be going to the Palazzo della Signoria and do some gesture drawings of the sculptures there. Also we are going to be working with some japanese ink and a piece of cut bamboo which I am really looking forward to cause I looked at some of the pieces that were made with the ink and they looked amazing. Then after all my classes I got back to the suite and we all decided to go out and just walk about for a bit. We did and we actually bumped into this girl we knew from the one night we went out last week. It was a real coincidence, so we all just walked down the Ponte Vecchio and then around the Duomo till we all got tired out and headed home. On the way back we stopped for gelato and I got this amazing flavor, it was cantaloupe! but it tasted exactly like a perfectly ripe cantaloupe tastes like! it was amazing, I got everyone to try a taste of my scoop and they all were in awe of the taste. We actually learned from Lorenzo (our teacher of history at the school) that the places that have the huge mounds of gelato are not good at all, because if you think about it what do they do with the gelato that is left over? they use it the next day and next till they finally run out, so the gelato you are eating is days old. Its disgusting, at Francesco's (the guys we always get gelato from) he makes his fresh everyday and they only have a little bit in their containers. We also stopped at this kabab place cause Jordan hadnt eaten dinner, and the guy there thought that we were from Spain.... I dont know where he got that from but once he found out that Jessi was from Texas he kept going around saying cowboy, it was really cute and funny.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

September 4th

Do today started out quite like yesterday, except that I did not end up running a bit late and totally missing breakfast as I had yesterday. We all got to the school and I am really starting to understand the italian, almost stereotype, of never being on time. Not once so far has any teacher been on time to class or a meeting and never have they chastised anyone for being late to a meeting etc. Its pretty cool. So we all were just hanging in the school when our teacher came up and asked us if we wanted to go to Michelangelo Square to see the view of Florence or if we wanted to go to the market that only happens on tuesdays, it was an unanimous vote for the market. It was quite a walk to get to the market but it was worth it, our teacher just dropped us off there and told us to meet her back at the school at around 2:15 for the rest of the lessons. So I just hung out with my friends and went from stall to stall, most of the stuff there was just really cheap clothes. I didnt get anything (yay!) just cause I kept putting it off and then decided that my money is better spent on food and traveling. So Jessi and I stayed a lot longer than the rest of the group cause we were trying to see if we could get to the end of the market, which we did not, but we turned around at about 12:30 because we both got really hungry. Thankfully there were stalls with food near the entrance to the market so we just grabbed something there. We actually ate cow stomach sandwiches. Apparently they are a historical meal because Florence was very poor so they ate everything from the animals, so a ton of people get these sandwiches as their lunches (or so Lorenzo told us, which Lorenzo is our history teacher who is super cool and funny). Then instead of walking the hour walk back to our suite we decided to take the little train and then walk from the Santa Maria Nouvella Station back to our apartment, which is like a 5 min walk. The little train was really clean and really nice inside and the ticket is really cheap which is a plus. Then at the apartment we just hung out and waited till 2 to head to the school. Our italian lessons were much like yesterday except we had a very open question and answer period where we just could ask the two teachers everything and anything that we could possibly think of. Then we got out and I hung out at the school again to take advantage of their internet, and headed back to the apartment a little after 5pm. I made myself some dinner at around 7pm and I made a grocery list for tomorrow because I've been eating shit lately cause I havent gotten used to my schedule and all I have at the house is just basic things like pasta etc. So I'm really excited to get all my groceries tomorrow and really cook something for a change. Also we have our field trip on friday that I am looking forward to and maybe even a trip on sunday to the Cinque Terre.

Monday, September 3, 2012

September 3rd

So this morning I got up at 9am for classes at 10. When we got to the school, of course, the class started late because everyone was just kinda hanging around and talking, as were the teachers. Then we all went on a sort of walking tour, we went all the way to the San Lorenzo market, which is quite a walk. We also stopped a few times on our way there. Like at the Baptistry, apparently it was originally a temple for the god Mars and there is a small slab of stone that is in the building on the outside that is an original part of the original temple that dates to 40BCE! Also we learned that when Italy unified in the 19th century that they got their colors for the flag from the Duomo since it was such a historical and popular landmark and the colors of the marble used in it is red, white and green. Then we were allowed an hour break for lunch, on our way back Tess, Jordan, Casey and I stopped at a church that was actually originally used to hold and dispense wheat to the citizens. So on the bottom floor it is a church, and the upper floors was were they stored the wheat, although now it holds some interesting sculptures and the upstairs part of the church is only open on mondays. And the view from up there was magnificent! you could see all over and see all the historical landmarks. After that I went straight back to the apartment because my feet hurt so much! I was an idiot and wore some flats that I had not broken in yet so they caused so many blisters etc. For lunch I just grabbed a panino and headed to the school to hang out a bit before class started again. Till 5 we did an italian lesson, it was quite fun, probably because I actually knew the words that they were teaching us etc. They also had us write down all the words we knew in italian just to see how much we did know, which food was allowed and counted as words. My list was by far the longest and I just kept adding onto it as I thought of other words I knew. The class actually flew by, I liked it, I think I'm gonna like my italian lessons. Then after lessons everyone else had to do their permit of stay thing so I just hung out on my computer, chatted with mom for a bit, and tried to finish downloading CS6 (which I did not finish). Then at about 7:15 Jessi and I went to il centro to get some stuff for dinner and then headed back to cook something up. I had pasta with bolognese sauce and cheese, it was quite good. Then I helped the girls with their new internet modem, which turns out is still not activated but will be by tomorrow.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

September 2nd

So after last night we all slept in really late. Avigayil left the apartment at about 11 to go to this jewish festival that she had heard about, everyone else didnt get up and moving till about 1. Then we all went to an american diner, it was really cute and really good. They even gave us a 10% discount cause we were students. Then after brunch we went shopping for a bit, the girls finally got their internet and it should be up and running by tomorrow night. We stopped at a few shoe stores that were having sales, and got stuck in Sephora when it started down pouring. Then we went to the school to use the internet and we looked at some prices for going to the cinque terre. But we remembered that we actually have a field trip this upcoming weekend so we have to plan it for next weekend. I did take a peak at some prices for flights around europe and they are so cheap!! I could go to france round trip for no more than 40 euros. its amazing! so I am totally going to do that when we have our october break, just go and hop from country to country. We pretty much just relaxed for the rest of the day, there really wasnt anything to do and since it is sunday everything is pretty much closed.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

September 1st

So today we all didn't actually wake up till around noon, everyone being jet laged and then one tired emily who for some reason woke up at 8 and then passed out again till noon. Then I had breakfast while talking with mom over facebook, which was surprising since it was 6 am over there. Then Jessi Jordan and I went out to scout out a good internet service for the rest of the suite. But unfortunately it was raining so we made it to the school before we decided that we were just gonna wait it out, so we hung there till it let up. Then we made our way towards the Duomo and then onto the Plazzo Republica where there was a little market going on that we stopped at. We eventually did find the TIM store, but weren't really happy with the prices so we decided to wander and see if we could find any other internet store in that area. We ended up near Santa Maria Nouvella, where we started to scout for food. We got some sandwiches but decided to eat them else where because we didn't want to pay to sit at the little cafe we got them from. So we headed back to the school were we were gonna eat them, but on the way we decided to stop at a few stores, including the 99 cent store. Which that store is actually quite amazing, I got a few things there but they also sell like shampoo and condition etc so it'll be really convenient in the future to go there. Then when we got to the school we decided that there was no point in eating there if we were so close to our apartment and we had bags of groceries too. So we went back to our apartment and Avigayil was there just hanging cause she has the shabbat so she couldnt go anywhere. We ate and talked for a while and then we decided that we all wanted to go out tonight and explore the night life. So we just hung out and talked till it got to be about 9 when I called grandma and papa and told them to get on skype since I would not be available near my computer because we were going out. So then we skyped, it was kinda short and I feel bad, but at the same time it Florence and its our first night to really do as we please. So then after skyping them I started getting ready to go out, and then Tess's friend from home came by with her roommates. We all headed out at about 10 to go pick up some more girls, ir got really irritating cause the girls didnt really know the way to the apartment so we kept going in circles, and everyone was wearing heels so they got worn out faster with all the walking we were doing. We did bump into two groups of americans going out to the clubs on our way, one of which we merged into for a bit and started talking with the girls, it was pretty cool. The other one we just kinda watched from afar because they were all totally drunk and there were so many, like over 30 people. We all laughed at them as the went by. When we finally got to the apartment we hung out for a bit and decided on what we were gonna do. Eventually we just decided that we didnt want to go to the main american club in the area and wanted to go near the Duomo and check out stuff near there. So all of the girls from my apartment ended up splitting from the other girls who were still going to the american club. So we got to the Duomo and went into this Irish pub and got some drinks, then went upstairs to just hang and talk. We actually ending up making friends with this guy Samuel who was from Sweden who was traveling with his grandparents around Europe. He was pretty cool. We also met these three other people two of which we from texas and then one was from NYC. We stayed in the pub till they kicked us out at 1:30 and then just stood outside and talked for a bit. We really wanted gelato but by the time we got around to bringing that up it was closer to 2 so there was no place open. So then we just headed back to the apartment and decided that for sunday since everything is closed that we were all gonna go to the american diner for a group breakfast tomorrow. Also I'm sure mom is very proud that her daughter is now the designated wine opener, I opened two bottles of wine tonight for everyone because they didnt know how. I felt very professional knowing what I doing and doing it right.

August 31st


So this morning I got up at around 6 because we had a massive thunder and lightning storm. It was really nice, it cooled everything down and didn’t make it that humid either. So we had a very packed day, at 9am a woman from our leasing company came by to go over some ground rules and show us how to use our appliances and our fuse box. Then at 10 we had to go to the school for orientation, which included a very interesting talk from the chief police officer for Florence. He was super hot, and sadly already married, but like everyone has a crush on him.  He pretty much just taught us good ways to be street smart in Italy, especially us girls, and warned us against doing anything illegal. Then after that we had an hour lunch break where Jordan and I (one of my roommates) found this cute little panini place that was super cheap but really good. I don’t even know what they put in mine I just ate it and it was super good. I just realized that I never really gave the names of my roomies, I’m actually rooming with Avigayil, then Tess and Jordan are in the other double room and then Jessi is in the single. It was actually her birthday today too. Then after that we headed back to the apartment where everyone else was, hung out there for a bit and regrouped then we all headed back at 2 for the next part of orientation which was when they handed out our schedules. I got into most of the classes I wanted, the cooking class sadly got dropped because it would have had a huge studio fee to cover all the necessary ingredients, and they also dropped my art history class which was a 400 level, the other two art histories they are offering are just 300. Anyway so I have Italian lessons with everyone from 10-noon every Monday and Wednesday. Then Experimental Photography from 4:15-7pm on Monday and Wednesday. Painting 3 from 1:15-4p every Tuesday and Thursday, and then immediately following that at 4:15-7 is my Drawing Florence class. Because I did not get the art history class I am taking a History of Florence class, but I’m not sure I I’m gonna keep it, I know a lot about Florence all ready and I really don’t need a history class for any credits… but we’ll see. Then all of us have to do this Art and Culture Seminar, which is for one credit and is every Wednesday from 7:30-8:30pm and pretty much they explained that its gonna be used as a way to really get us immersed into Italy. It’s not gonna be a lecture type thing, we are gonna be going places, having a wine a cheese tasting, going to a super cool library that is where all the college students go to etc. So I’m really excited, plus I already know some people who are gonna be in my classes. Us girls in the suite are already starting to really bond, it’s probably because we are all in a foreign place and have no one else but each other, but its still really nice. So then after schedules we were allowed to talk to Laelle to change anything we wanted to change, I had to see her actually cause she spelt my last name with out the e. Then we had another orientation where we got to meet a couple of the professors, it was really fun. The one professor of history is hilarious, he went on a 20 min rant about how you shouldn’t drink bad or cheap wine and how is it ridiculous to get drunk on wine. After that we had two hours till we had to go back for the welcome dinner, so I went back to the suite. But on the way there I kinda got stalked by this guy, I shook him off eventually but it was kinda funny cause that was the exact thing that the police officer had been warning us about and he told us what to do, just ignore them. So that’s what I did, and I had to walk right past my apartment building cause I didn’t want him to follow me in there, so I went down to the Japanese restaurant right at the end of my block. It gave me an excuse to check out the prices of the restaurant, which they aren’t that bad so I’m really excited to try the food. Then I safely made it back to my apartment and just hung out for a bit. Then after an hour and a half I went back to the school and just hung out there. I met some new people and talked with them and then when we were all there we started heading to the restaurant. It was a little bit of a walk, but worth it. The teachers had already planned what was to be served to us so we all had the same dishes. We started out with three bruschetta’s which were topped with tomatoes, mushed up olives, and one which was like liver pate I think. I at them all they were actually quite good. And all of dinner was accompanied by the house wine in red and white. The wine was good, not all that dimensional taste wise but still nice. Then for the primi we had penne in a red sauce with sausages pieces and ravioli in a white cheese sauce and asparagus cut into it. The ravioli was amazing, and the sauce was even better. Then for the secondi we had chicken in a yellow squash sauce and potatoes that were cooked with rosemary, it was wonderful. For desert they served flan, I tried mine but just couldn’t eat it, it tasted disgusting to me. Then we all just sat around and talked for ever, people started leaving one by one till there were just the three teachers: Alexandra, Martha, and Laelle and then Jessi, Casey and myself left. We all just sat and talked for a good hour and the teacher got us some lemon cellos to wash our meal down, it wasn’t that bad tasting it was kinda like lemon cough drops with alcohol. Then a little after we finished those we left, by then it was past 10:30pm. Jessi, Casey and I decided to have some gelato (honestly I don’t know how we even had room for gelato) so we went to this new gelateri where Casey and her roommates had made friends with the owner, Francesco. The gelateri is also right in front of Casey’s apartment so when we got our gelato we went up to her apartment and ate our gelato on the roof. I’m actually so jealous of her apartment, it is beautiful and huge! The bedrooms are very spacious they have a separate dining room and a winding staircase that leads to the rooftop where they have a spectacular view of the Duomo and can see right into the Pallaza d’Medici. We hung out at her place till like midnight and then Jessi and I walked back to our apartment and promptly passed out.