New Zealand. Amsterdam. The States.

Last night I had a wonderful time hanging out with three other women who are currently living in Florence. It was supposed to be a planned "hang-out" time with some of the people who go to Florence Gospel Fellowship (a small church I found that reminds me of the little church we worked with in Phang Nga, Thailand) But, after waiting in front of the church doors for 45 minutes, we decided we would do something on our own. The reason we waited for so long was the fact that we were all on different times..I was thinking like an American who would only wait about 15 minutes top, while the others were thinking like Italians who would wait much longer because they are usually late anyway! Then we weren't sure who we were waiting on...would they be thinking like Americans or Italians? If they were the former then they would have come and gone already or just stood us up. If they were the later then we should wait as long as we could possibly stand, since there's no telling when they would show up. Do you see our dilemma?

After our wait we meandered over to the famous gelato, Vivoli. I had chocolate mousse, which was heavenly. Then we went up to one of the girl's apartments to chat over tea. (I felt very English in Italy with three people who were neither of those nationalities).

The more I meet people living over here, especially people in their 20s, I realize that it really isn't abnormal to move out of your homeland. Europeans, I think, are more at ease with this concept. Tinika, who is originally from Amsterdam, quit her job to move here to learn the language. She is at least in her late-20s and didn't think twice about the move. Now she speaks exceptional Italian (along with Dutch, German, and English) and is currently looking for a job to stay. Carrie, who is a New Zealander, is possibly in her early-30s and has lived in NYC, England, Germany, and Italy over the past decade (and also speaks multiple languages). She is going for her Doctorate and often lectures in Germany. I think she cycles through Cambridge, Germany, and Florence on a regular basis. And Mary, who is a fellow American, is here for her Master's in Art History. She studied abroad here for her BA and became an Au Pair after she graduated. She kind of has a long history with Italy-often coming back for months a time.

All this to say that I think we over in the "New Land" have the wrong idea about an "ordered" life. I feel that most of us have a phobia of not doing things in order-College, Career, Marriage, possibly another degree, Children, a loonnngggg gap in between, Retirement, then death. Who says it has to be like that? Being over here has really helped me see different lifestyles and attitudes about life. I've said this before, but I am always amazed by Europeans devotion to family and friends. They don't worry about career or money. On the contrary, most Italians are just making it by. Yet they believe in no higher being than themselves. It's a bit backwards really, and yet totally universal. Another proof that God is not "Christian" but Universal. Most Italians may not believe in God, but with their very actions and tendencies towards goodness and truth, they prove his existence without even knowing it.

PS: I got my absentee ballot! I'm voting abroad, yay! I hope all of you are voting as well, wherever you are. ;)

A Rainy Day in Capri

This past weekend three of my roommates and I went on the school's trip to Pompei, Sorrento, and Capri. It was a very rainy weekend. The sun would peep out only for a couple of hours here and there. On Capri, we arrived with the morning waves. A ferry brought us from Sorrento to Capri. It was a forty minute ride on a boat that shifted from right to left, front to back. It took concentration and balance to stand in one spot. Once we arrived we then took another boat around the island to see it for its breath-taking views. This time the boat was private, so we were able to sit and actually enjoy the scenery instead of fearing death from falling overboard. Our group of about fifty students went under the Lover's Arch and saw where Roman Emporers vacationed with their lovers. We also saw the place where they threw them into the sea when they tired of them. We saw villas on steep cliffs and rocks that resembled elephants (for a moment I thought I was in Thailand again) and monasteries that overlooked the Mediterranean.
After our two boat rides, we were given the rest of the day free. So the four of us trekked to the top of Capri and saw the views from above, this time looking down on the sparkling clear blue water, which was now still. Go figure. We probably took too many pictures, but hey, better to have more than less. (In this case, at least)
At lunch we went to Villa Verde, a restaurant our professor/guide-for-the-weekend reccommended. Apparently, Mariah Carey had dined there before too. It was a funny situation because when we asked for directions to Villa Verde, Lucca, our professor (who reminds me of a Roman soldier), was on his way there with his brother (who was another chaperone). So we ended up eating together. Two Italian men and four American girls. It must have been a sight to see. Really. Because the waiters kept glancing over and making eyes with all of us girls. When we went to leave one of them actually came up to Katie, my roommate, and gave her a slip of paper with two mens' names and phone numbers on it....it was one of those nonchalant, long handshakes in which a "secret" note is passed. It was hysterical! They gave the note to the girl who already has a boyfriend!
After lunch we decided that we actually wanted to feel the water instead of just looking at it. So we hiked down the cliffs on this zig-zag path to the shoreline, which was very small. It was a long hike down because Capri is extremely high up. In the middle of our hike it started raining...again. We made it down safely and Katie and I jumped into the water and swam a bit. The other two girls didn't want to get completely wet (little did they know that soon it would be pouring and none of us had umbrellas). The water was beautiful, clear, smooth, warm, everything you would think the Meditarranean would feel like. The bottom was rocky, no sand. Even the shore had pebbles and sea glass instead of sand. It was a magical moment. I thought of all of the legends of Venus coming out of the sea and the stories of Ulysses coming home to Ithica (an island in the Meditarranean). And in that moment I could believe all of the stories and legends and myths that have been told about the Greeks and Romans and their beloved sea. But the hike back up sobered me up and as I looked out over the sea I couldn't get over the fact that this island, something so beautiful, is only a part of earth. Not heaven. My mind can't even imagine such beauty, something more beautiful than where we already live. But it's out there..

And that was my lovely, rainy day in Capri.
(I did leave out a few details, but I'm running out of internet time)

CIAO!

Roommates make good Friends

In Siena.

On the Island of Capri.
The roommates-me, Maddie, Katie, Tara, Kristen, and Marci.
Our first dinner together. Katie cooked!
Stormy in Siena.
Check out the electrcity in my hair!

Busy in Slow Motion

Well, I've been here for a little over a week and already it seems like I've been here forever. As most of you already know, I arrived here on my 21st birthday and without any luggage. Thankfully, it was only about 24 hours that I had to live without any other clothes or shampoo!

Last weekend my new roommates and I ventured up the hill and into Fiesole. The view from above was wonderful! I keep thinking back to the book I read this summer, A Room With A View by E.M. Forster. The subject of having a view seems to come up quite often in Florence. Everywhere I look visual pleasures distract my eyes. If I wasn't scared of being run over by a speeding Vespa I would have my head cocked at an angle looking up continuously. But, the streets are packed with people and the sidewalks are only about two feet wide. The other day I actually got splashed by a dumped bucket! The Indian-Italian man apologized, but I couldn't help thinking about how Florence probably hasn't much changed since Medieval times.

I have now gone to all of my classes at least once. It is going to be a very comical semester because all of my Professors have limited English--some more than others. They are very enthusiastic about the subject they teach, waving their hands in a frenzy. But I still don't feel like I'm at school though. I suppose it's because I'm in a different country and I'll be traveling every weekend and all but one of my classes will be visiting museums on a regular basis! For instance, my World of Museums class meets once a week and all but three of the lessons will be in a museum in Florence!

I have done so much in the past eight or nine days that I have trouble remembering all that I've done. Last night we went out to dinner ON OUR SCHOOL! It was a little restaurant down by the Arno River. They had tables set outside along the bank. Under a terrace a long table was set with meats and cheeses and wines and figs and bread and other unique foods (that I have no idea what it was). It was wonderful! The other evening we all went to the Piazza Santa Croce to celebrate the birth of the Virgin Mary with the Italians. They had a great brass band and lots of paper lanterns. We danced our way through the streets, past the Duomo, and into another piazza across town. It was so much fun! Some of the band were really cute too! My roommate, Kristen, and I picked out our favorites...and of course mine had long hair! haha

Tomorrow we go to Siena, then Saturday and Sunday we go to Pompeii, Capri, and Sorrento!
And next weekend we're going to the Florence vs. Bologna soccer game!

Some more fun shots of Florence!

A gorgeous view of Florence from Fiesole. This is a candid shot, I had no idea Kristen took this, but I love it!
The Duomo in b&w.
The Duomo at night.
Belltower in Fiesole.
The Disney Store in Florence! The closest thing to home!

Fiesole

Fiesole gives a gorgeous view of Florence! (look for the Duomo behind me)
A view of the Florentine valley from the church in Fiesole.






Thoughts on Florence:

The city is still hot and sticky from the summer heat. Tourists still crowd the Duomo and the surrounding area. Their heads always turned upward while keeping their bags close in front. Little flags are seen bouncing down streets as far as the eye can see. The Florence I visited four years ago hasn't much changed. Yet September brings the hope of a city I have not yet explored. A breeze picks up every now and again, proving that fall is coming. After dusk, when the tourists have all left for the day and the shops on the Ponte Vecchio are closing their doors, the city begins showing its softer side. The pale pinks and greens that adorn the Duomo give off a glow that only comes with the night's lights and its shadows. The city slows down. There are empty gaps in the piazzas that only hours before were filled with lines and groups of people. This is another glimpse of Firenze in autunno.

First Impressions of Firenze

My small plane from Munich to Florence (the one that didn't carry my luggage)
Recognize this boar from Hannibal with Anthony Hopkins?

The Uffizi Gallery.
Ponte Vecchio.


My 21st Birthday dinner with my new roomies on the steps of the Duomo!