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Adventures Abroad!

Recounting my semester in Florence

Answering My Own Questions

I feel like this was the week I finally realized how much I've come to love it here - how really comfortable and beautiful it is being in Florence. As I prepare for traveling during my Fall break I was thinking a lot about how different the reality of Florence is versus my impression of it 2 months ago. With that said I thought it would be fun to look back on everything I was curious about and respond! Below are my answers to the questions I asked in my very first blog post 2 months ago.

  1. What does my apartment look like? What does my view look like?

My apartment ended up being absolutely beautiful. Not only do I get to see the Duomo every night from my apartment but there are tons of lovely shops nearby and a perfect view for late night people watching with my roommates (we've done this on a few occasions). My room is much bigger than I expected and our kitchen is huge and it's actually so nice to use! We don't have a microwave but I've learned life is better without it. It's not as old as I expected it to be but I've seen a few other apartments that certainly are! A lot of them have gorgeous older furniture and some pretty interesting artwork on the wall.

2. How good of a cook am I really?

I was pretty surprised to find out that cooking is going really well here! I'll definitely talk about this more in future blog posts but because all the ingredients are so fantastic (the vegetables are so fresh!) cooking is so simple - I'm just throwing chicken, cheese, and random vegetables together for salads or cooking pasta with random sauces from the local market. It's been really weird getting accustomed to Italian pasta and pizza on a daily basis. It's gone from some mythic and magical experience to Saturday night dinner with my roommates.


3. How long did I actually stick to my budget plan?

I can't say that budgeting is going perfectly - it's really hard to deny Italian gelato or mind-blowing homemade lasagnas when it's so nearby. Nevertheless I'm spending less than I expected to! And food is surprisingly cheap - I accidentally underestimated how easy it would be to buy 5 cucumbers for 2 euros in the market or bottles of olive oil for 5. While it's nice to go abroad with a great deal of money in the account in preparation for travel and nights out, I've found it's so easy to save and not binge spend especially in Florence, which I'm really grateful for and certainly trying to take advantage of.


4. How many times am I regularly spotting things I've learned about in my art history courses?

I think the beautiful thing about Florence isn't just having access a million Michelangelo sculptures or Leonardo Da Vinci's birthplace but more so seeing the Rape of the Sabine Woman, Santa Maria Novella, or replicas of the David any time of day - and especially having actual lectures there! I'm not sure art history lectures will ever be the same after experiencing art in Florence, Italy... The museums that we go to for my High Renaissance are absolutely incredible, we're seeing gigantic lavish doors that Ghiberti spent his entire lifetime designing and even secret passageways in the old government building.



5. Which phrases are most essential?

I'm ashamed to say I haven't learned as much Italian as I'd like but there are certainly a few that I've found to be pretty important - primarily 'posso avere' - meaning 'can I have' for ordering food, and asking locals if they speak any English by asking 'parla inglese?' There are a lot of other phrases and terms I keep in my back pocket - for instance things like 'aiuto' meaning help or 'mi dispiace' meaning I'm sorry - but I haven't learned any slang yet and that's my goal by the end of this semester.


6. In what ways are grocery stores different and do they have any Pop-Tarts in case of emergencies?

Grocery stores are so interesting! Or at least the markets - there are so many things I've never even heard of but it's so easy to find cheap vegetables and fruits. The actual grocery stores aren't as exciting, unfortunately, and don't have any pop-tarts (although I have found a nearby "American grocery store" that has them) but this is definitely for the best. I've been really surprised to realize how easy it is to navigate these stores - shockingly Italy has basically the same things in their stores as the U.S. but the biggest difference is it's so much fresher and more delicious (i.e. the ice cream in their freezer section will be gelato tiramisu).


7. How hard was it to adjust to drying my clothes outside?

Ok so this definitely did not end up being the most difficult part of adjusting to life here but it does change how I do laundry. I realized clothes dry way faster than I ever expected - and when you hang them outside they smell really fresh and lovely. On another note I've also realized it's quite a bit riskier in that, despite my roommates recommendations that I dry clothes on the racks inside, drying clothes with clothespins while living on the fourth floor is a bit of a risk (I still haven't lost any shirts or sheets though!),


8. Since Pinocchio is from Florence are there any museums dedicated to him?

Unfortunately I haven't seen as many Pinocchio references as I'd hoped - there are mainly a lot of items on menus named after Pinocchio and a restaurant nearby named Pinocchio. I have to admit this was mildly disappointing - although I did see the earliest pianos which were invented in Florence so I decided it's alright.


9. How does a photography major possibly avoid pickpocketing?

Pickpocketing is not nearly as bad as I expected it to be! Even though I know it certainly happens, I was a bit dramatic in how I pictured the pickpocketing in Florence (bringing 4 mini padlocks was maybe a bit excessive...). So far I only know one or two people who have had things stolen in their time here. This doesn't mean I'm not aware of the issue the majority of the time I'm out, it's usually as simple as holding on to the zipper of your purse, keeping wallets buried at the bottom of the bag, or avoiding the large crowds of tourists flocking the Duomo during the day. Usually when I'm taking photos I only bring my keys and phone - and keep headphones in my so I'll notice pretty quickly if it's taken.


A pretty noticeable theme to my reactions above are that so many of the things I was overwhelmed about ended up being not only fine but fantastic! I was so nervous as to what my roommates would be like and how cooking regularly on my own would go but both ended up as well as possible. I'm so grateful to say that being here is actually comforting for me - to say that I know I'm going to miss it. This city is just small enough that everywhere you go you recognize how important it is as a landmark but also big enough that there are many things to explore which - for me - is the perfect in between!

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