So first week of classes done. The first couple days were really rough, not going to lie I was not the happiest of people. I couldnt quite figure out why I was so miserable in class. I missed the logical structure of Stern, free printing, teachers who could actually speak English and could speak it faster than 2 mph, and classes that had a purpose. However, by Friday I started to feel a lot better about everything. Typically we don't have class on Friday but it was a make up day because we are missing the Monday after Easter so we had to make it up the first week? Thanks NYU. By the end of the week, I came to the realization that I'm a college student and not on vacation. I guess before that I just assumed I would be wandering the streets of Florence during the week and travel every weekend to hundreds of different locations. Now that I'm in touch with reality, school will be much better and I will actually make myself do work.
Today Valentina and I looked for an Italian version of "Think Coffee" where we could have internet access and drink coffee. It's Sunday so there is hardly anything open and we really couldn't find anything. We ended up at McDonalds that claimed to have free Wifi. I was beyond excited to eat french fries, between no Pommes Frittes and Shake Shack I couldn't resist. The McDonalds here are really nice they have a lot of seating. This one kind of looked like a modern restaurant with cool lighting and different seating. But turns out the Wifi only works in the small area around the cash register not in the basement where Valentina and I had set up all our books. So there we were 2 American girls in an Italian McDonalds eating french fries (which yes taste exactly like the ones at home) doing Italian homework surrounded by Italians. It seemed like McDonalds was the place to be because tons of Italian teenagers came in and out constantly. They all do dress European which is fun to see and some have their motorino helmets with them. The middle school kids here are just as annoying as the ones in the USA. Also they all speak in Italian as fast as we do in English. It was a strange culture experience in McDonalds. Also there is no sense of personal space here. I was waiting in line for a cappucino (I have yet to find american coffee even in McDonalds) and the boys behind me were so close I thought they were going to jump on my back and when I turned around to leave I could barely move with my tray. They warned us of that element but I did not realize how true that was. Then I wanted to go to church because I found a non-denominational church for International Students but because the wifi wasn't working I couldnt get on my computer to figure out where it was. So Valentina and I just walked back and I am definitely going to go next week. PS. As i was leaving I realized McDonalds has a tiramisu milkshake, how amazing does that sound? Separate post for food following shortly.
Yesterday, Jesnie and I walked to the real grocery store. Our suitemates said they had found the "Costco of Florence" but it was about a 20 min walk from our apartment. We were excited to have a real grocery store so we decided to walk to check it out. We brought backpacks so we could carry stuff home and packed some grocery bags. You have to pay for your grocery bags here, they are very into saving the environment here. For example we don't have dryers in our apt because most ppl dont they think its a waste of energy when you could just put them on a drying rack. Also the lights in our hall way shut off after 5 seconds so that you dont waste energy. Same with the ones in our hallway to go down the stairs which is annoying cause you can't make it down without having to hit all the light switch buttons on the way down. Anyway back to the grocery store, it was definitely an experience. First to get a cart you have to put in a euro coin and then when you return it the euro will pop out. All the fruit/vegetables you have to use a glove to pick up the ones you want. Then you weigh it on a scale and they have pictures of all the fruits and you press which you have and it prints out a bar code. Also, its all in kg so that makes it confusing to tell if fruit is expensive or not because we dont know the conversions well enough. For the most part it was like a typical American grocery store, it had a meat counter, a deli and a bakery along with the aisles filled with the typical food. However all ingredients and food are listed in Italian so you never know exactly what you are buying, its kind of like a big game. We found everything wanted/needed and they had a limited assortment of American food brands. The hardest thing to find was breadcrumbs and they aren't seasoned. We stuffed as much food as we could in our backpacks, returned the cart to get our euro back and made the 20 min journey back to our apartment. We had a ton of food and we cashed out at about 40 euro so it was worth the trip. I think someone said NYU has a cooking club, I dont know if thats true but it would be fun to learn how to cook the food they have here.
During the week I really didnt do much except be miserable that I had to go to class and complain about the walk up the hill to campus. Except on Tuesday night NYU had an event at this restaurant/theater type place teatro del salle where the owner who is also the chef cooks for everyone and a different form of entertainment performs or movies are shown. The night we went a documentary was shown on Disney animation and what was going on behind the scenes when all the best films came out Little Mermaid, Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, etc. The man who filmed the documentary and also was a big part of disney was there. It was kind of strange to learn about Disney animation in Florence but the movie was actually interesting. The dinner on the other hand was OUT OF THIS WORLD, probably some of the best food I've ever eaten and their were like 10 courses. The chef when we first arrived, greeted us and warned us to not fill up on the first couple courses. The atmosphere was so fun too it was a huge room with all different tables set up. Some of us were NYU kids and the rest of the place was filled with italians and members of this teatro. You have to pay to be a member and then for each night but it was FREE for the NYU kids. On one side of the giant room was all windows so we could watch them cook and prepare each course. Then someone would yell out one of the windows in Italian what was about to come out and then huge plates were placed on a serving table where two waitresses were. Then at the actual window was a different type of food you could go get. The screaming of each course was hilarious and someone compared it to being at a really fancy baseball game because the chef shouted like the people selling hot dogs. You could get as much as you want but you really didnt want to waste it all on one course. Each one that came out was better than the first. The food was absolutely phenomenal and could be one of the best meals I will ever eat. My biggest mistake was drinking a cup of espresso with dessert because I could not sleep that night and I was so exhausted. The whole event lasted about 4 hrs, just like everything here. We just ate continually for about two and half hours and then watched the movie after.
So that was basically my week. I have finally adjusted, it did take me longer than I anticipated. Regardless I'm happy to be here and I am working on developing study habits while living in Europe. Travel we found out in Europe is not cheap or easy like everyone claimed it to be. Yes you can find 5 euro flights 20 euro flights but once you add taxes and mysterious fees your ticket is up to about 75-100 euro (not dollars). Our travel list has basically shrunk to a few locations and we will go other places if we can find something for cheap. Being on vacation for 3-4 months is expensive enough but doing it on a college student budget proves to be very difficult. Also everything is in euro which makes everything a lot more than you think. However, the euro is dropping in value and is down to a $1.38 exchange rate in comparison to the $1.45 rate which was what it was the day I landed. So praying that it continually drops! Right now we have a one way ticket booked to Barcelona for Spring Break. My friends who are at NYU in New York are going and our spring breaks match up so its going to be absolutely amazing. The Florence kids dont want to stay there the whole time so we are figuring out another destination after the first weekend. Maybe Greece :-) Its just a matter of finding something affordable.
Miss everyone! Skype me sometime soon.
Buona sera.
