First week in Italy!! January 9th-16th

Ponte Dei Vecchio


So this week has seemed so long and yet has seemed to go by so fast!  Already I have managed to cram so much into my schedule that at this point I am already getting tired of Florence!  I am ready to explore more of Italy and expand my experiences a little bit more.  It has taken me quite awhile to adjust to the time difference and I believe my first sleep through the night was Thursday night.  I went to bed at 10pm and woke up at 730am without waking up at all.

One of the many lecture halls

Saturday, January 9th consisted of me and Ryan walking all over Florence, exploring as much as we possibly could.  We even searched for the Kent State building and after our very long and tiring scavenger hunt we found it.  Our communication group was also treated by the Dean of Communication and his wife to lunch at what has now become our favorite restaurant to eat at with our best Italian friend Fatjon or as we like to call him "FJ".

Sunday, I was so tired that I slept and slept and slept which was really nice, but unfortunately I lost my entire day!  I think I eventually woke up at like 530pm!  Saying I had severe jet lag is an understatement!

Monday was our first day of orientation and we went on a two hour tour of the city from about 930-1130.  Another shorter orientation followed at 230-400pm and then finally we had kind of a celebration at 4-6pm with refreshments!

Tuesday was another orientation day that started at 930am and again went to 1130am.  Essentially, we were told the same things over and over again.  How to be safe, where to eat, where things were located, etc.  I finally got the internet on my computer while I was at school so I was able to update some stuff and check my bank account.  Later Tuesday night we went to this place that had a Beatles cover band, so we sat and listened to some American Beatles songs by 4 Italian men.  It was very interesting listening to them with their heavy accents and yet still be able to sing American songs.  Apparently, they perform every Tuesday night as the "Beatles".

Wednesday was another orientation day with more of the same information and I actually had my first Italian class at 9am!  I love my Italian teacher because he is so entertaining and uses humor whenever he can.  He barely speaks English, but appears to love answering any questions that I have.  There is a picture of him scratching his chin while we are in the big Biblioteca (Library).

Thursday we had another orientation and some of the girls cooked dinner for the group.  Also, we had orientation with Marcello who is the director of the Kent State Florence program. 

Friday we had another Italian class, and tried to go to a restaurant called Kitch which supposedly was an Italian buffet for cheap.  Well, it was cheap, but all Indian food.  Not my cup of tea for sure.  Apparently, that was a first because they usually only have Italian food.  Later that night I simply relaxed and prepared for class the next week.  

walked up this street...

Saturday we had a field trip to Medici Villa which was really neat.  We actually went to the house that the writer wrote Pinocchio in.  We climbed big hills and a saw a beautiful garden.  The pictures below are of Medici Villa:

Unfortunately, we couldn't take any pictures once we got into the king's palace-- it was however, beautiful and amazing!