The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

   Perhaps it is the large dose of vitamin D I am finally getting, but my week has started off quite wonderfully. In the past two days I have spent a lot of time wandering around the city in the sun, sketching various scenes. This city really is picturesque, and I am filling my brand new sketchbook with many delightful drawings. I had my ego handed to me on a plate last week when one of my drawing professors very simply told me I was drawing incorrectly. I admit I can be slightly arrogant when it comes to my crafts- drawing, painting and dance. Suddenly I had the rug pulled out from under me, and since then I have been contemplating my whole foundation of art. I have been trying this new strategy of sketching, where I only use pen, and I draw very quickly and loosely. Apparently I was focusing too much on detail and complexity. I shall attempt to remain open and adaptable...

Some scribbly samples...

La Piazza Della Repubblica 

Ponte Vecchio

Ponte San Trinita

Galleria dell'Accademia

I am starting to appreciate my long afternoons of solitude. Yesterday after my early class, I went to the Museo della Specola. I admit I was skeptical, because I was told it was a museum full of taxidermy. I was picturing the janitor from Scrubs with his army of stuffed squirrels. I was pleasantly surprised by a huge zoological exhibit, and another whole wing for anatomical wax sculptures. The first part is devoted to countless cases of every kind of animal you can imagine. There were three whole rooms devoted just to birds! It was actually really amazing, and I wandered around for hours, sketching of course!

There was also a fascinating wax anatomy exhibit, which I found absolutely amazing! 

This weekend I am taking a trip to Rome to see Kelly, Colleen and other friends from SLU that are visiting from France. I am sure to have many adventures and stories to report upon my return!

The Agony and the Ecstasy

This weekend may have been my happiest since arriving in Florence! I was content to stay in the city and enjoy the lovely weather and copious amounts of kiwi and gelato. It was sunny and in the 60s all weekend, which I don't mind bragging about considering the last few weeks of cold!

On Friday I went on a walking adventure with Riley to the outskirts of the city. We walked up a very steep, hilly pathway up to the Piazza Michaelangelo. This is a huge open terrace/piazza on a hill outside the center of the city. The piazza is beautiful, and was created to provide a spectacular view of Florence. It was also quite a leg workout to hike to the top!

I also went to the much anticipated Danza in Fiera festival! It was held in a huge, old military fortress in the city. Riley and I approached the fortress, quite unprepared for the massive amounts of bun-headed girls crowded around the entrances. Once we made it inside, we were bombarded with dancers, people selling dance apparel, dance company representatives, loud music and an atmosphere of frivolity! We walked around and tried to understand the layout of everything. In the end, we ended up browsing through all of the buildings and watching a fantastic ballroom competition. We planned to return the next day for round two, and to get in on some free classes!

Today I returned to the festival, but this time I was prepared. I was wearing a leotard and my hair in a bun, and I was ready to knock over some twiggy ballerinas in order to get a spot in one of the classes. The atmosphere reminded me of the many dance competitions I experienced growing up...but on steroids. Trying to get a spot in the limited classes was close to impossible, but we managed to get into a pilates for dancers class. While waiting for class to start, we walked around and peered into the classes that were already in progress, as they have windows in all of the studios. I glanced down at my program, to try to figure out which classes were in which studio, when I saw the name Polina Semionova. Most of you will not recognize that name, but she is a rock star in the ballet world, and someone I have idolized for years. I used to watch youtube videos of her on a daily basis, and here she was, in the flesh. I attempted to watch her as she taught a ballet class, but I was not the only awestruck fan crowded around the windows. 

A visual...

I felt like a drug addict in a meth lab, completely strung out on dance, and experiencing an odd sort of emotional pain. The pilates class helped a bit, but with the language barrier, and a whole new set of italian dance jargon I did not know, I gave up on trying another class. It is hard for me to describe the combination of relief and frustration I felt in this dancer parallel universe. It was amazing to be in an environment where everyone shared my complete obsession and passion for dance. On the other hand, it was a horrible tease...Water water everywhere and not a drop to drink. 

I was able to watch some breathtaking ballet and contemporary performances this afternoon. Several of which brought tears to my eyes. I think I either need to find a dance class or some counseling services soon. Either way my body is restless, and only dance is the cure!

Mummies and Yummies!

Ciao ciao!

Today was a lovely day in Florence! It was sunny and perfect, and I finally got some much needed vitamin D. I spent several hours walking the streets with my new friend Leah, and discovered an unlikely flavor of gelato...yogurt? It was amazing, trust me. I have also been returning to a specific gelateria every day in order to try a very strange, but highly recommended flavor that includes ricotta cheese and figs. They tell me everyday that they ran out and will have more the next day...sounds like a scam, but if it is, I'm okay with it.

I also got to see the Archeological Museum in Florence! I was thrilled to see real Ancient Egyptian mummies, canopic jars and hieroglyphics! I couldn't understand why the other girls in my class were so grossed out...I think it is utterly amazing that I was in a room with ancient dead bodies! You could even see blood stains on the cloth, and they had hair and petrified skin! COME ON THAT IS COOL!

In other news- Last weekend I went to a Gavin Degraw concert in Nonantola, Italy! Don't worry if you've never heard of him...nobody has! We caught a ride with my amazing host parents, who coincidentally were driving to Bologna for work. After tromping through a lot of dirty snow, we found the train station in Bologna. Now I must confess, Bologna did not make a good impression on me. It was very anticlimactic to arrive in a dirty, snowy city, and then have to walk about 3 miles to the station. From there we went to Modena, a smaller town/city about 30 minutes away. Modena was very cute, and I laughed deliriously over a street called F.Crispi. In my defense, I was somewhat delirious from hunger and exhaustion by that point. To sum up a long story, we had a great time at the concert that night, but the next morning was less than ideal. We hauled our not so eager butts to the station in the morning, very ready to return to Florence. On our second train from Bologna to Florence we were forced to squat like hobos because we had no seats. This was entirely our fault because we missed our original train....oops. It looked a lot like this... What an adventure!

This weekend is supposed to be BEAUTIFUL and sunny and 65...who's jealous now New York?!?! I plan to attend a dance festival that will be here for the whole weekend. They have performances, dance apparel, information and visiting dance companies in all genres! A whole festival just for me! I also plan to take a long trek to the yonder regions of Florence, up in the hills and out of the city. It can't be that far because I can see it all from the river. I need some nature in my life!

Arrivederci! 

Culture Shock?

I believe I am experiencing my first culturally shocking emotional experience. I am starting to get very annoyed, because wherever I go I am being harassed by someone. Now don't get all worried over there, because it's all harmless, I promise! However, it becomes exhausting when you cannot walk down the street without men ogling you, or gypsies asking for money.

When I first arrived, I thought it was kind of great that wherever I went there were guys on the street saying "Sei Bellissima!" After coming from a small liberal arts campus where I pretty much feel like I would have to stand naked in the middle of the quad to get any attention from guys, this was a very interesting discovery. However, I am now sad to say that I am losing my faith in Italian men (for the most part). There are skeevy guys on the street that make noises when I walk by on my way to school at 7:45 AM. This is way too early for me to deal with creepers. Also, there is always someone trying to sell me something, or shoving advertisements in my face. I used to be polite about it, and I would take their little pamphlets, or say "no grazie" and continue on my way. Now on my way to school I put my headphones in and keep my tunnel vision turned on until I get to school. For the most part, I don't make eye contact with anyone when I'm alone, because I don't want to be bothered. I have also given up on being polite, and now I am perfectly comfortable putting on my bitch-face (I know you all have seen it from time to time-scary, yes?) and I tell them to go away "Via Via!!"

I'm also getting pretty good at dodging gypsies and beggars. I know where they hang out, and I have adjusted my walking routes to bypass them. For anyone who has never seen a real gypsy, don't be fooled by the disney version of Esmerelda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Most of the gypsies here resemble Quasimodo...seriously. They are all hunched over with missing teeth and crinkly faces and long skirts. I always picture them arriving home at night, to their gypsy lair, and finally standing up straight like I know they can; working out the kinks from a long day of unnecessary hunching. I have been wondering...is there some universal law that says gypsies must wear long, obnoxious skirts? I'm not sure if it's in the gypsy handbook, but I'm glad they do, because they are very easy to spot. They also carry around bundles of blankets and baby bottles, and try to convince people they have a baby. I'm still gathering fieldnotes on my gypsy observations, but these are my preliminary notes.

Besides that, the most annoying thing here to me is the other American students. I have definitely met some nice people, but I can understand why there is a stereotype associated with the American students in Florence. I resent the fact that there is nothing I can do to escape my association with majority of the idiots here. Many of them do not care to learn the language, or truly experience the culture. They mostly live in apartments with other students, and go to the bars and clubs everyday of the week. Maybe I don't have a ton of friends here, but that's because I refuse to associate myself with any of these types. The friends I do surround myself with are genuine and intelligent people; some of the few in the American student pool.

I had a particularly unpleasant experience with a group of these girls in one of my classes. First of all, it has always been a huge pet-peeve of mine when students whisper while a professor is talking. This becomes even worse when you are in a foreign country, and everything you do is a reflection of where you come from. Anyways, my very soft-spoken and sweet professor, who is italian, was giving a lecture, and a group of girls would not stop whispering. The professor is not the type to address the problem, so he just kept talking, and looked kind of sad and exhausted. It was all I could do to not leap across the table and strangle all of the bimbos. They are so disrespectful and self-absorbed-NOBODY CARES HOW DRUNK YOU WERE LAST NIGHT! I grit my teeth and tried to look extra-attentive, in hopes that he noticed that someone was paying attention.

I'm not sure if this is really about "culture shock." I get annoyed with my peers at home when they are disrespectful, and hate that I usually can't escape being associated with their behavior. I also get annoyed with any creepy old men that jeer at me in any context. One thing is for sure though- I have never seen a gypsy in the U.S.

A week of surprises

Buongiorno everyone!

I am very excited because I woke up this morning to sunshine! Now I can say c'è sole instead of c'è nevica!  I am currently enjoying a leisurely breakfast of cappuccino and kiwi as I look out onto our sunlit terrace. My plan for the day, because I don't have class until 3, is to go on a little solo adventure. I think I might make my way over to the Ponte Vecchio and walk until I find a lovely place to sit down with my sketchbook! For my Florence Sketchbook class I am required to have several pages in my sketchbook filled with direct observation drawings from the city. For my other drawing class I must have 5 sketchbook pages done with regard to facial expression/proportion. All in all I have a lot of drawing to do, but I am certainly not complaining!

Before I take off on my Monday adventure, I must fill you in on my very exciting week/end. It all began on Wednesday afternoon, while I was wandering the streets aimlessly between my very inconvenient 8AM and 3PM classes. I bumped into some friends, and we went to get lunch with some other friends. during this trip, one of the girls from a different school mentioned something about seeing a ballet later that night. Naturally I pinned her to a wall and demanded she give me her tickets immediately. No, just kidding, I actually went to the library to try and look up more information online. It turned out to be very mysterious and only certain students in one program were given free tickets (those bitches!). I went to class that afternoon very sad that there didn't seem to be a way for me to get to the ballet, as I've been experiencing some pretty severe dance withdrawal. Later, I arrived home to find that my friend, Riley, had somehow bought three tickets online for me, her and Sheila. I had very little time to throw on a nice outfit, grab some dinner and hop in a cab to get to the ballet. It was Swan Lake, and I'm still not even sure what dance company it was, but it was absolutely breathtaking. I was beyond giddy, because most of you know how I am about dance! I'm still not sure if it made my dance withdrawal worse or better, but it was a bittersweet fix to be sure.

Best Bruschetta in the world>

I got another surprise this weekend when my good friends Kelly and Colleen came to visit me from Rome! The three of us studied Italian for three semesters together back at SLU, and Kelly and I have been partners in crime since freshman year. Needless to say, I was pretty ecstatic about their impromptu trip to Florence! We spent the weekend walking around the city being very cold but very happy. We even accidentally stumbled upon a chocolate festival in one of the Piazzas. I have been there five times in three days...

Other highlights of the evening...

Kelly and Colleen stayed at an amazing hostel! For anyone that comes to visit Florence, I highly recommend it! I slept in their room on Friday and Saturday night, and it was a cozy place indeed. Everything was very clean and high-quality. There was a TV, computer with internet access, extra blankets and a functioning heater! This was all quite luxurious, and I didn't even mind sleeping in the crack between the two beds.

Cuddling on the very very cold and windy bridge!

We also discovered the true meaning of the Don Giovanni-esque stereotype among Italian men. On Saturday night I went to a bar with Sheila, Kelly and Colleen. We arrived somewhat early, and sat at a table, and had a very animated conversation while enjoying our cocktails. Eventually we were approached by some Italian guys, who did not speak a word of English. They sat down and we all struggled to communicate. As the night wore on they got more more pushy and inappropriate, and were also clearly lying about their age. They insisted that they were 20-22, but I would have put them in the 18ish age bracket. The guy that latched on to me was named Deivid (haha), and he kept calling me his girlfriend, and telling me he loved me. When I would brush these comments off, he would look like a hurt puppy and ask me why I didn't like him. At some point it became a bit of an emergency that we leave, because nobody was enjoying this heightened state of attention. On the way out, we had to squeeze through a throng of men, and I have never felt so objectified in my entire life. They will just grab you, or touch your face and make gross noises at you. The moral of the story here is that for anyone back home who thinks I will be bringing home a man, think again!

Travels to Francia!

Ciao Tutti!

This weekend I traveled to the French Riviera! The trip began with a cold and brutal walk to La Piazzia Indipendenza at 5:30AM. Pretty much everyone on our two buses fell asleep immediately after boarding. Of course I caught a cold just in time for the trip, so I had a fistful of tissues everywhere I went. However, after my little bus-ride siesta I woke up to the beautiful view of Genova, Italy. Genova is just one of the incredible cities bordering the Mediterranean Sea in the region called Liguria! Shout out to my good friend Giulio because he is from here!

Our first stop was Monte Carlo, Monaco. I explored the quaint city with Riley, and saw some of the most beautiful views of the port down below, and waves crashing into the rocky shoreline. We accidentally got caught up in a tour-group of Asian people-not very inconspicuous! Shortly after escaping, a very excited Asian man ran over to me and put his arm around me while his friend took our picture. Then we took a group photo with Riley. I felt like quite the celebrity, albeit a strange one. After a bit more exploring, eating lunch and discussing plans to marry the Prince of Monaco (unfortunately he is spoken for), we boarded the bus.

Next stop: Nice, France. Also, as a side-note, you should know that by this time I was losing patience for the obnoxious American guys on our bus that somehow made it into college even though they are surely 14. My deteriorating health probably did not help my attitude, and the wads of tissues were accumulating fast. My solution was to take a nap when we reached the hotel that afternoon. I awoke relatively refreshed and headed to dinner with the group. Sheila, Riley and I lamented over the lack of olive oil in the cooking, and the questionable dessert. Later on I tried to ask for hot tea in my hotel room, a seemingly simple request, but I was denied. Requests for extra blankets on our essentially naked beds were also denied. My opinion of France is not improving. I really wanted some tea (badly) so I went across the street to a really fancy restaurant with my friends, and I sat at a table and drank a whole pot of tea without taking my coat off. Probably not socially acceptable behavior, but I was desperate.

The following morning we drove to a little mountaintop village called St. Paul. This was perhaps my favorite location we visited, and the view from the top was absolutely breathtaking. No pictures I took- and there were many- will do it justice. Everything in this town is ancient, intricate stonework, with winding plants covering everything. You can even walk up on the stone walls surrounding the village and see the whole valley, sea and mountains included. My favorite part was the cemetery I found with Sheila and Riley. Here we met an old Frenchman, who seemed to be the gatekeeper of the cemetery or something. I'm pretty sure he was just an old guy walking his dog, but it seemed much more romantic to me.

We left St. Paul and headed to Cannes, France. This ended up being my least favorite place, mostly because I don't feel comfortable in a country where I don't speak the language...especially France. Sheila got ripped off while buying postcards, and I just felt kind of out of place altogether. One good thing about visiting France; it made me sure that I made the right choice about studying in Italy. In Italy I already feel comfortable. I understand the language (more and more each day), people are friendly, they always have olive oil available, the streets are now familiar, and Italians just seem eager to share their country. I feel privileged to be here, not like an intruder.

One last stop on the trip was made at Eze, another mountaintop village. Eze is also home to a famous perfume factory, Fragonard, which we toured briefly. I bought Moroccan oil for my hair and it is AMAZING. The view from the top of the mountain at Eze was indescribable! We had to climb a slightly treacherous pathway across uncertain looking stones to the tippy top, and it was definitely worth it!

Overall it was a wonderful trip, and I saw the most beautiful scenery I could ever imagine! I also gained a unique appreciation for Florence, and am very happy to be back. Sadly, it is just as cold as when I left, but hopefully the weather will improve soon. My cold is going away, so hopefully the good luck will extend to the weather.

Shout out to Grace, because I know you are reading!

Ciao for now!



Also... for your enjoyment...(I am always inspired by creative sculpture)

Nevica Nevica!

My little host brother, Nicò, says this with enthusiasm, but I am not happy about the fact that it is snowing! Apparently it is unseasonably cold in Florence this week, and I am very unprepared. I should be a seasoned  warrior of the cold, as I spend most winters buried under several feet of snow, but I foolishly did not pack very much warm clothing. Also, they don't have the indoor heating systems that we have in upstate NY, so it's very cold in buildings/classrooms/apartments as well. Hopefully this will not last for very long!

In other news, I started my classes this week, and am happy to report that they all went very well! My first class of the week is Wine and Culture on Monday afternoon. Don't let the title fool you; this class is serious! My professor is this wonderful and adorable old man named Giovanni, who talks about wine with such colorful language, it's like they are his friends. He is very passionate about wine and food, and even makes some wine himself, naturalmente!

I also started two different drawing classes this week. One is called the Florence Sketchbook, and the other is Analytical Object and Figure Drawing. The sketchbook class will mostly be held in various museums and other monumental locations throughout the city. It sounds perfect for me, because I get to explore the city and all of its incredible artwork, while creating some of my own! I had to take entrance exams for both classes, which involved several quick, gestural figure drawings and a more detailed one hour drawing. We had a nude model come in for each exam. The poor woman had to sit in the cold! For the second exam my professor called me over after only 20 minutes of drawing and told me I made it into the class. She said I did very well with proportion and the use of shading with charcoal, and then she sent me on my way. I'm not sure what happened with the rest of the class, but I felt pretty special!

My Italian class is both painful and wonderful. Painful because it is from 8-8:50 on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. This means I have to leave the house at about 7:30, while it is still pretty dark and cold. The pain dulls by the time I get to class, and soon I forget how early it is. I absolutely adore my professor. Her name is Francesca, and she is very funny and comforting, which makes it very easy to relax. There is ABSOLUTELY no English allowed in class, but surprisingly I find that I always can understand what is going on. We spend a large chunk of the class just sitting in a circle (there are only 8 of us), and discussing various things. I am amazed by how quickly I am learning, and it no longer feels like such a struggle to think on my feet. I have even noticed that sometimes when I am not really paying attention, I will overhear someone speaking and it doesn't register whether they are speaking in English or Italian, I just know that I understand it. Similarly, sometimes when I switch between reading something in English and then something in Italian, I don't notice the language change...and I just keep reading.

This weekend, starting on Saturday morning, I will travel to the French Riviera, Nice and Monte Carlo! I hope it is warmer there! I will have many pictures when I return, which will give you something pretty to look at.

A più tardi!