I'm Here!

Hey guys! I'm finally in Florence! The trip over was long, but overall it went quite smoothly. We had a short delay in Amsterdam, and then Emily's luggage accidentally got sent on to Florence when we landed in Rome, so she is at the airport this very minute getting her belongings back. We finally got to Florence at 10:30 on Saturday night and made it to the hotel after walking a large circle before realizing that the hotel was actually right where we first turned. We checked in then showered (we were very hot and sweaty from the trek) and after some journaling and relaxing we hit the hay.

Yesterday was a day full of sleep. We slept until noon and then took a two hour nap in the afternoon as well. We met all of our fellow classmates at dinner, which was an amazing vegetable and rice stew. Then in the evening a group of about a dozen of us went out for gelato! I had yougurt nutella and woodland berries. They were both amazing although I much prefered the nutella one! My first taste of gelato was enjoyed while sitting on a bridge and watching the moon rise over the river. SO BEAUTIFUL!

Today is the first day of the program and so far I have had 4 hours of Italian class. My professor's name is Giacomo and he is wonderful! Because of the fact that I took a non-credit italian class last spring they made me take the placement test, but I knew none of it, so they quickly placed me in the class with all those who had never had any Italian before, and the level was perfect for me. I was a little bit ahead of those people, but not by much. We then enjoyed a lunch of pizza and sandwiches out in the small garden behind the school. We start orientation in a few hours but before that Emily and I are planning to go out to do a bit of basic shopping for things such as toiletries and notebooks. Since browsing is frowned upon in this culture it is important for us to know where to go to buy these things, which we now know from asking some of the professors, who are very kind and helpful as well as knowledgable.

I can't wait to tell you more as the adventure of this semester unfolds!
Ciao!