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!
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