Corri la Vita weekend

Thanks everyone! I don't feel sick exactly...just like I might get sick at any second and a little uneasy about that...

This Friday as the residents of Castella di Nutella (we named our apartment this) thought over what to make for dinner, we realized that we did not want any more pasta or Italian food, at least for that night. So we went over to the "Asian" market (it's more like a tiny shop with Asian, Hispanic, and Middle Eastern ingredients) and got some curry. We already had some risotto so we just cooked that and it was the most satisfying meal I've had in a long time! I definitely missed the taste of rice (even if it wasn't actual gohan).

On Saturday we went to listen to a free Gregorian chant concert at Santa Croce. It was in a beautiful room where we were surrounded by frescoes, and a Last Supper in front of us. The experience of Gregorian chants was definitely a soothing experience perfect before taking an entrance exam!
The inside courtyard of Santa Croce and the "stage" where they sang.

This weekend was also the Corri La Vita race. Corri La Vita means "run for life" and it's similar to the Susan G. Komen breast cancer walks in the U.S. We walked 6 kilometers up into the hills across the Arno river and through the Piazzale Michelangiolo.
It seemed like everyone in Florence was there

Then after an improptu potluck we headed over to the Accademia (where we'll be taking the first of our exams tomorrow) to see the Giovanni Fattori show. Giovanni Fattori was both a student and teacher at the Accademia in the second half of the 19th century and his works are almost a precursor to Impressionist art.

p.s. Paul Newman died?????

Inferma???

I think I'm getting sick.
I was expecting it because everyone else is sick too. Maybe I'll be making trips to the farmacia soon...!

Accademia exams are coming up. We have to go to the Accademia Monday through Thursday from 8:30 AM to 2:30 PM. We're going to be drawing/painting a still life the first day, a figure the second, and there's a project and from imagination on Wednesday and Thursday...and in about 2 to 3 weeks we'll know if we passed. I can't wait!!

Now...I'm gonna go back home and SLEEP.

ciao!

Una gira alle Pisa & Lucca

On Saturday morning we took a train from Santa Maria Novella train station to Pisa. When you leave the train station and head in the direction of the church and the famous leaning tower, there is a large avenue filled with clothing/shoe/makeup/department stores, and then you see the tower peeking out through the buildings. There were plenty of tourists, so we did the whole tourist thing and took funny pictures. The leaning tower of Pisa actually leans more than I thought, and it's shorter too. I never knew that there were other buildings (shops, etc) so close by. After our photo shoot, we sat in the shade of the tower and ate sandwiches and gelato.

We decided to head over to a tiny town a 15 minute train ride away, called Lucca. It has a massive old wall surrounding it, and inside there are many more of those clothing/department style stores. The streets were filled with Italians enjoying the Saturday, and apparently, there was a festival for Puccini (who lived in Lucca) so there was an antique fair. We stopped by a gelateria that was celebrating its 80th anniversary, and I got 5 scoops, and my room mate got a nutella crepe. Speaking of nutella - we also found a dough nut stand that had nutella covered dough nuts! (They were hot and delicious - and not as oily and gross as some dough nuts in the US). We had fun getting lost looking for Puccini's house and ended up doing a lot of window shopping. (Pretty soon, I need to get a warm coat and some shoes that can handle the cold and rain...) My roommates and I had our first sit-down dinner at a Luccan restaurant called "Dal Francese" where I ordered the Tortelli Lucchese (Luccan tortellini).

Photos from Pisa: In the last one we're attacking it!

Now Lucca:

Chianti, Fiesole

During this past weekend we went to Greve, Chianti, because of a wine tasting festival. It was very cold and drizzly - but besides the wine I had a cappuccino at an Italian ristorante for the first time!

This past week we took a day trip to Fiesole after class for Stefany's birthday. It was overcast but the view of Florence was still gorgeous! We went into a couple churches and manuevered the hilly streets.

This weekend we plan on taking the bus to Pisa for either one day, or perhaps spending the night there? Hopefully it will warm up for the weekend!

Classes are going well - the Accademia exams are coming up in a couple weeks and I am very nervous! Although ... I think I'm more nervous about the length of the exam (24 hours over a span of 4 days) rather than what I'm going to be tested on. Marsha the art advisor is really helpful so I'm confident that I'll be able to make good enough drawings and paintings.

I also feel like I'm getting to know the city a tiny bit better - there are still MANY moments when I look like a complete fool in front of Italian people - trying to work the bancomat, navigating the supermercati, and the times when I attempt to try out my limited Italian. But I've gotten used to it - and that's good because I'm going to be going through it for another 10 months!

Volterra & San Gimignano field trip

We are basically settled in our apartment now...except for internet! They finally brought the third bed and mattress for Sara (she was sleeping on a futon bed) and we got to rearrange all our rooms. There is a free bus to IKEA which we made a trip to two weeks ago. It's just like the IKEAs in California - but instead of Swedish and English, it's Swedish and Italian. And they have cool little gelato dispenser machines:

On Friday 12 September, we went on a CSU group field trip to Volterra and San Gimignano. Both are beautiful medieval towns - in Volterra we went to the Pinoteco museum (where they have the Deposition by Fiorentino - I wish we could have stayed longer!) and the Etruscan museum.

A view from Volterra
San Gimignano was beautiful! It's famous for it's many towers (I think it's 13, and there used to be more). We went into the Basilica, which was covered on the inside with frescoes from the New Testament on one side and scenes from Christ's life on the other side. Then we climbed up to one of the small towers, had some gelato from an award winning gelateria, and browsed the shops.

Then we went to Machiavelli's house
Machiavelli's wine cellar...
We had a 5 course dinner at the restaurant there:

Crostini with liver pate, cheese and chicken(?) bruschetta, cheese and walnut, green olives, black olives.

The wine

Creamy spinach soup with dumplings(?)

They had a salad before this, which was the 3rd course...4th course meat and potatoes - it was ok

Biscotti and vin santo for dessert.

...a long, fun day!

2 week point!

So it's been two weeks into my year in Italy - and finally I have some actual internet access - no more having to frantically write emails and check facebook within 30 minutes I bought from the hotel or internet cafe!

A year in Italy never really sounded like a long time until I was actually accepted into the study abroad program. But I'm looking for a life-changing experience, and I think it will take a year to truly discover one fully. I already feel like I'm changing! Even on the plane, all the fear, terror, uncertainty, sadness, excitement, and emotions I'd never felt before were already changing me. I can't imagine all the things I'll have gone through by the end of next June.

My first impression of Florence was that it reminded me a lot of Bucharest, Romania. This was just the outskirts, but it has the same eastern European look. Now that I have been around the centro, I can see the Florence of travel shows and tourism photos - hopefully I'll get to know the countryside a little more too.

The past two weeks have been so jam packed that it's all kind of a blur...here is my best summary:
My second day in Italy, we had orientation at the CSU center. We had so much to take in - but I'm trying to take it slowly (like the Italians do) and receive the help of fellow students (while trying to give as much as I can in return). Later in the day I got a bank account with the Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze, which was created for students studying abroad. We also began our strenuous search for an apartment. We saw so many apartments that they all seemed to blend together...and racked up a good 18 miles of walking. We got the keys to our apartment on the first Monday we were there - and have now settled in (although we still don't have internet or a fifth bed).
Food: Mostly we eat take out food, which consists of panini, pizze, falafel, gelati, etc, which you find at bars and cafes. Gaby, Sara, and Sam are all great cooks so when we eat at home, it's simple but delicious pasta. And nutella. Oh...nutella. I can see why Italians are addicted and have pastries with nutella, nutella gelato, and nutella calzones.
School: I am taking an Italian language class Monday through Friday from 9:00 to 12:00. We can walk to school in about 7 minutes. My teacher is quite a comedian. The way he acts - he reminds me a little of Roberto Benigni. There is also an Italian culture and history class once a week for five weeks, which is great because it's essential to know the story of such a history-oriented city if you're going to live in it for a year. Finally, there is art advising Wednesdays and Fridays. Marsha is very demanding - and she's pretty cool! She's had 30+ years in Italy and knows exactly what the Accademia is looking for in our exam results. She's even going to take us to buy some Birkenstock sandals that all the Fiorentine women are wearing.
Homesickness and Culture Shock: I have to admit that 75% of what I write in my journal has nothing to do with day to day sights or adventures but developments in my homesickness. I miss being able to do things that were basic and easy in California but are hard for me here: shopping for groceries, asking for directions, and navigating through the traffic and strangely-named streets. But I miss my family and friends the most! Sometimes I feel a little stuck because my family and friends were never more than a half hour drive away - now I am stuck in another continent, unable to see the faces I've seen ever since I was born. The first week we stayed in a hotel, and I was still in the mindset that I was going to go home in a couple weeks. Now that I have an apartment, I am just trying to get accustomed to the fact that I am going to be here for a year - a foreign person studying in this place...living and learning here. Sometimes I wonder; "what was I thinking by coming here??" But I know it's all part of culture shock and becoming acclimatized. It's strange because at orientation and in all the handbooks, they told us that these things would happen - but it's another thing to experience it! And I know that I'll be able to get through it - many others have before me. In fact, I can already sense how I will miss Florence and being a study abroad student, despite the homesickness.

On a brighter note: On Friday we have our first field trip! We are going on an hour long bus ride outside of Florence to the Volterra and San Gimignano areas. So - expect a lot of photos!

the duomo

September 9 was the one day of the year when they open up the rooftop area of the Duomo to the public for free...so we were on it! It was amazing to see the entire city of Florence around us on such a beautiful day.





I got a new phone too!