Ciao!

So today is the start of the fourth week here in Florence. This is very important, because we have our final Italian exam on Wednesday and then we switch over to having all four classes, and a more college-like schedule starting next week. It is all very exciting, but at the same time, I am having a lot of fun with the Italian, and since that was my main motivation for coming on this program I am definitely sad that it will get cut down to only 2 classes each week for 2 hours each time. The five hours that we have daily right now can be a bit much at times, but it is still very fun and I am learning SO much!

This weekend was our first weekend without any planned school activities and so my roommates and I were able to have a very fun and relaxing weekend. We slept in on Saturday, which felt wonderful, and then we went into "il centro" and just walked around and did some window shopping. We got home early and were able to get some reading and homework in before dinner. Then on Sunday we took the bus up the hill to the next town called Fiesole. It is known for its beautiful views, and that is most definitely true. I saw the best view of Florence that I have seen yet, and probably will ever see. It was a very fun little trip and we hiked around a little bit (my knee is finally starting to feel better!) and then had a little picnic of bread, cheese, and wine. It was perfect although we are pretty sure that picnics like that are a bit of a faux-pas here. Oops!

Other than that, this last week has been fairly uneventful. Since returning to Florence from Venice, our days have been full of school, homework, resting my knee, and a tiny bit of exploration. That is starting to diminish though, because everyday we are becoming more and more familiar with our surroundings and so we feel the need to explore less and less. It is truly amazing how comfortable I have gotten with living here and using the public transportation and even asking for directions (in Italian, of course!) when I am not sure where I am or where I am going. SO FUN!

Yesterday when we got back from Fiesole, we walked around a little bit by the Duomo and we found a huge bookstore that sold books in Italian (of course) and English! It was really fun and so after looking around at everything and recognizing lots and lots of favorites, I ended up making a purchase. I bought "Gli Snicci e altre storie" by Dr. Seuss! (The Sneetches and other stories for those of you who need the translation.) It was one of my favorites as a kid, so I am quite familiar with the story. It is super fun to read it in Italian and it has actually been helpful in obtaining some new vocabulary. I am definitely planning on buying a few more books in Italian before I leave, and the one that I am the most excited to try and find is "Oh the Places You Will Go" but I don't know what It is called in Italian and they definitely did not have it at the store we were at yesterday. I even asked one of the clerks. I just love being able to actually say what I need to in Italian. It makes everyday so much better!