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Ciao! Well here I am, about to end my first week here in Firenze, and there is so much to share!!! Thanks to my friend/pod mate Carrie, I now have this awesome website to share this amazing experience with all of you!!! I guess the best way to start out is to take it day by day since I got here, starting with the day I left Pittsburgh!!!
When I got to the airport in Pittsburgh, I was scared that my mom wouldn't be able to see me to the gate, and that my temporary goodbye would be left at security. Thanks to the very nice man who checked my luggage, my mom was able to see me off at the gate. I turned on my charm and used my acting skills to get him to give my mom a gate pass, and HE DID!!! Anyway, we ate breakfast at TGI Fridays, and it was amazing! Soon after, we met up with Sara and her mom (they let her through too!!!). We got some last minute things, and were off to the gate, where mom and I sat hand in hand for about a half hour. It was finally time for us to board our express jet to Newark, NJ. Both Sara and I looked into our moms' eyes for the last time for 4 months, and things got a little emotional. Our jet was super super small!!! You could literally feel every bump and hear every gadget turning on and off of the plane. There were only 2 seats on one side and one seat on the other side. Good thing the flight was only about an hour…Sara and I talked about everything from the Sex and the City movie, to the fact that we were officially on our way to Italy!!! When we got to Newark, I saw a city out the window and said that it must have been Newark…The rude woman sitting in front of me turns around and says, "That's NYC…duh." As made as I was at the woman who felt that she needed to bug into my conversation, I was SO EXCITED! I couldn't believe that I was so close to NYC, the place I am born to be!!! We walked off the plane and met up with the other people who flew in from Cleveland, and waited about 4 hours to board our flight to Rome. I think everyone was both a little nervous and a lot excited!!!
The flight to Rome was absolutely amazing. At first I thought it was going to be terrible, because who wants to spend 8 hours on a plane??? Not me!!! When we got onto the plane, my dread turned to excitement! Big seats, and personal entertainment systems. I could watch every movie imaginable, listen to a very wide range of music, play games, and watch TV shows…such as Sex and the City and Greys Anatomy! The 8 hour flight flew by and before I knew it, I was in ROME!!! We deboarded directly off the plane from a large flight of steps and got onto shuttles, which took us to the terminal. After all 70 of us got our luggage, we attempted to find our busses, keyword being ATTEMPTED. Here are a huge group of people each carrying 2 pieces of luggage and 2 carryons, walking all over Rome airport…It was really quite something. We finally found the busses and loaded up for our 4 hour drive from Rome to Florence. Everyone was sleeping on the busses, but as much as I wanted to sleep, I just couldn't…I was way to excited. I spent most of the 3 hour drive taking in the Tuscan countryside until we finally arrived in Florence!!!!
When we got to Florence, we unloaded our luggage and went by taxi to our apartments. When we got to our apartment on Via Santa Reparata we were a bit overwhelmed. We couldn't find our apartment within the building and knew that we had 9 peoples luggage to carry up the steps. Things got more stressful when we found out we were on the TOP FLOOR! We started carrying 18 suitcases up 5 flights of stairs into our 3 apartments. I was so exhausted when we were done. We took a little break, explored each other's apartments, and took in the fact that we were finally here!!!!
Our apartment is great! I share a room with Amber, and it's huge!!! Our living room and kitchen are very nice and spacious with a great view of the street below. Everything was great!!! As the day went on, we didn't really do anything other than unpack and settle in and get ready to explore this amazing city the following day.
The rest of this week has been filled with a lot of exploring, shopping, and orientation. We've found local markets, grocery stores, restaurants, and so much more. One of our regular places is a bar called the Fish Pub. We went there on Tuesday night and Friday night, and needless to say, they love us American girls. We met both Florence regulars, and the owner of the bar who love us! It's defiantly a regular stop for us. Other than orientation, there hasn't really been too much going on this week.
There are some things that are defiantly taking some time to get used to. First of all, the mopeds here are reckless. They go ridiculously fast, and do not stop for anything, including pedestrians…I've almost been ran over quite a few times so far. The other thing that is taking some time to get used to is the fact that people here do not say excuse me, or go around you. They run right into you and don't think twice about it. Therefore, I've learned that I have to be just as aggressive when walking as the local people are, otherwise, I'll get run over. The men here love American girls. When we walk through the local street vendors, (which we have to do everyday) the men stop and say remarks that keep getting funnier as the days pass by. With every new place comes new adjusting, and so far I'd say that I am doing okay. New things come along everyday and I am taking them one at a time.
As I sit in my apartment and listen to the Italians in the street below me, it has all of a sudden become real. Here I am in one of the most historic cities in Italy. It still amazes me that I am here, that I got this opportunity. The buildings I walk past everyday so vital to Italian history. Just to name a few: The Duomo, Santa Croce, San Lorenzo, the Ponte Vecchio, and so much more. Even the building I live in as well as the buildings of the 400,000 other Florentines that live here are a part of history. It really makes you think about what you have and appreciate it so much more. Well, that's all I have for now, but tomorrow I am taking a trip to Verona to see the Roman Opera and I am sure that will be an amazing experience also! Arriveiderci, A presto!!!!
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