Siena!

It is a rainy Sunday evening here in Florence. I haven't updated in a few days, so I figure now would be a good time to do so. My roommate Hillary and I are going to watch Garden State when she gets up from her nap in a bit...I am so excited!! Anyway, the weeks go by SO fast here it is scary. This weekend has been very relaxing, I haven't done too much, aside from going to Siena for the day yesterday, which was BEAUTIFUL! I can see why it would be a wonderful place to study abroad as well. I still love Florence though :) We bought a pass to see the Museo dell'Opera, Duomo (which means cathedral, every city has one), Baptistery, Crypt, and climb up this tower thing where we could see a panorama of the whole city. It was amazing! The inside of the Duomo was honestly the most incredible thing I've ever seen. I haven't been inside Florence's Duomo yet, but seriously, it is just one of those places that I feel like you have to go see yourself. I took pictures, but they don't do it justice one bit. Every little corner was so intricate and nothing was the same, I can't even put it into words. It was just breathtaking. I could have spent weeks just staring at the place, but unfortunately we only had one day. The Museum was really cool as well, it is so insane to learn about all of these artists and then see their work first hand. I get so excited by it all! Jill said to me, "Ali, you just get so involved when you look at something, every little detail seems to fascinate you." And that right there is why I am such a slow person, haha. It's true, I get really interested in things. It keeps life interesting that way, I think :) The crypt was interesting because it was unseen for nearly 700 years until its re-discovery during routine excavations in the Duomo in 1999. Anyway, that's a brief summary of my day yesterday. I had some pizza for lunch and chilled in the Piazza del Campo with the girls for a while. And then took the bus back home :). When we got back, we (Hillary, Beth, Jill, Ashley, Alyssa, Danny, and I) booked out tickets to go to London and Spain for fall break!! I'm very excited :)

What else is new...well, I've still sworn off boys. However Jill is practicing with a very competitive swim team here and met some of the guys who were introduced to me and one of them asked for my number and keeps wanting to hang out. So we'll see... Honestly, it would be really nice to have some Italian friends though because then we can really learn about more cultural things. Nothing exciting so far though, I'll update on that topic later. Hillary and I are going to watch the movie now so I'm going to go! Ciao :)

Babe, You Should Be Proud!

My alarm went off at 9:00 am this morning, but because my horrendous bug bites kept me up all night, I snoozed till 10:10. I have at least 25 itchy bumps, one of those being on my forehead. I hate bug spray, but I may have to start using it if this keeps up :( Anyway, I got out of bed and said to myself, "I'm going to look good today." I mean, I put more thought into my appearance here than I do in general at home because, well, its fashion city. But today I was going to be extra fashionable. So I put on some black patterned tights, a jean skirt, black tank top, red jacket, and purple boots. It sounds simple, but on the way to class a girl stopped me in the street and asked if she could take a picture of me for her fashion spread! How cool is that! And when I walked into Italian class my teacher said, "Alexandra! Che elegante!" I love how my teachers say Alexandra here, it sounds so beautiful with the Italian accent, so that's what I go by. After class I went to the Italian department and signed up to be paired with an Italian university student! I keep getting stopped by Italians in the street and not being able to respond. It's getting a little ridiculous, so I hope I get paired with someone I get along with and it helps!! Best case scenario I make a cool Italian friend :) Then I went to the bookstore to get a couple books for class and here I am now, sitting outside Louis Vuitton, waiting till it's time for class, just kind of people watching. (I am copying this from what I wrote in a notebook earlier in the day) I really want another pair of boots. Everyone here has such cute boots and I want them all! But I could sit here and play the "I wish I had..." game forever, you always want more. I should play the "I am SO lucky I have..." game instead! Well, I'm in Florence, about to go to my history class where I have the opportunity to learn about this incredible place that I am living in....gah so lucky!!

So now that I'm out of class and home, I have lots and lots of drawing/reading homework. Woohoo! Once I do a few more drawings, or at least complete the ones I've been working on, I'll put them up online. But I'm going to get back to all that so I can go to sleep at a decent time tonight. Yay for another day tomorrow :)

Picture of my disgusting foot bite...blehhhhh... its hard to see in the picture, but its that huge lump!

Following Through...

I was about to go to sleep, but then I said to myself, "No Ali! You are going to write on your blog EVERY DAY, even if it is just a little bit and not very good." So here I am, 1:00 in the morning, writing about the day. Today wasn't very eventful, but it was still a good day. I woke up, ate some breakfast, and headed to the market to buy fruit. I've avoided the market until today because it is SO BIG and overwhelming, but I managed to decide on what I wanted, after strolling for 20 minutes. Before leaving I helped some lady barter for a ring, and then headed to school to get my permiso di soggiorno (permit of stay). Back at home I worked on a drawing I started a couple days ago and listened to some good thinking music :) Then I went with my roommate Natalie to get a panini, and headed to yoga! Yoga was fun, I'm really weird though. Some stretches I'm super flexible at and others I can barely do. Not quite sure why that is, haha. Oy, side note I have SO many mosquito bites!!! They are driving me nuts! I seirously look like I have some sort of skin disease. Anyway, after yoga class I went to the Loggia dei Lanzi to draw a sculpture for my sketchbook class. The security guard was just so enthralled with my sketch for some reason, he had to sit next to me and watch. (Not so sure it was the drawing he was really all that interested in) But he barely spoke english and I was very focused, so we didn't have much of a conversation. I must say though, he was one of the few Italian men who haven't treated me like some kind of animal, so that was nice. When I finished I walked back home, made some dinner, and chatted with my roommates for a bit. That was pretty much my day :)

Walking down the streets with a very straight face and avoiding eye contact with males is become second nature to me. When I'm walking with a group of girl friends and a group of Italian men walk by and shout "ciao belli" and then make disgusting kissy noises, "che schifo, vai via!" tends to slip out of my mouth. I really want to work on my Italian because at least once a day I get mistaken for being Italian and someone will come up to me and just start talking or asking a question and I stand there blankly..."uhh....non parlo italiano bene, mi dispiace" and then they look surprised and walk away. It's hard to meet anyone because of the language barrier. But I think I'm getting a little better. I can answer basicish questions and understand better than I used to. I just freak out when I'm put on the spot. I feel like I'm learning a lot every single day though. Mostly about myself. It's hard to put into words. But I do think that I'm maturing. Alright, bed time. Till tomorrow!

Singin' In The Rain!

Alright, so clearly blogging on a regular basis isn't exactly one of my strengths, but I'm going to keep trying! This past weekend I went back to Cinque Terre because we went with my API program the weekend before and it was just so amazing I had to see it again! This time, however, it wasn't exactly warm and sunny. It was actually POURING rain! But even though this was the case, I have 3 and a half months in Italy, and the only way to do it is to make the best of every situation. So that is exactly what we did! I wrote in my journal after hiking up Riomaggiore yesterday, so I will copy that into here:

"I am sitting on a bench outside of this cute little church overlooking the Mediterranean. It is absolutely stunning. We woke up this morning in our hostel in Riomaggiore (one of the Cinque Terre). The hostle served its purpose, I was ready for the worst and it really wasn't bad at all. I mean, I made a few jokes about possibly getting scabies from the blankets, but aside from that it was fine. Last night we ate dinner at a tratoria. I shared pesto pasta and muscles and spaghetti with Tre and washed that down with a nice glass of white wine. For dessert I split a chocolate and creme pastry as well as a fruit torte with Jill. It was all delicious! Earlier in the day I had chocolate, vanilla, and mint gelato and shared a slice of the most amazing pesto pissa with Jill. So basically, the weekend has been full of incredible food. Yesterday was quite an adventure. We were supposed to take the 7:20 am train, but missed it and came back for the 9:50 am one. Took that to La Spezia, and then had to take a separate train to Cinque Terre. Meanwhile its absolutely pelting us outside. Luckily I threw in my rain jacket last minute or I would have been a less happy camper. Anyway, I was starving so during the lay over I went with Andy and Linda to get a kabob in the town. Its funny, I wouldn't expect it, but there are so many kabob places around here. After missing the train we were supposed to take, again, we took the next one. It is an understatement to say that the Italian train system is confusing. We made a few random friends who shared in our frustration though. When we finally made it to Riomaggiore we took some rainy pictures and walked around and laughed a lot at our luck. Danny left his phone on one of the trains. Whenever we needed a bathroom they were no where to be found. But for some reason we still managed to keep our spirits up :) It was just a great group of people I guess. We met some Canadians who saved up money for the past 4 years and are traveling all over the world for an entire year. That really inspired me to want to do the same! It would be quite amazing. I'm learning so much from just living in a different country. We woke up this morning, threw on my clothes from yesterday, and checked out of the hostle. I got a creme croissant, hot chocolate, banana, and water for breakfast and then we all headed up the terre. We just kept walking up until we hit a trail that we hike up for about an hour and a half. It was absolutely gorgeous! It is very humid, probably because of all the rain, but not too hot. Just perfect I think :) Wow, the sun is peeking through the clouds right now and there is a wonderful little breeze going. I am so sweaty and wearing the same clothes as yesterday. Haven't showerd or shaved my legs. Am not wearing any make up and have lots of pimples. But I don't care one bit! I feel fantastic and beautiful :)"

We ended up hiking down after that and stopping by Vernazza on the train before heading back home. It really was a great weekend! I did a lot of thinking and also had some good conversations with the people I was with. I am exhausted, but also thrilled that I decided to go for the weekend.  Tomorrow I would really like to be productive because today I spent putting up all my pictures and drawing and writing. It was relaxing, but I didn't do much and I don't like that. I guess I needed a day like this though. Anyway, I am off! Ciao!

Yoga Master

That's what I'm hoping to be by the end of the semester here. Although I'm pretty sure yoga is definitely not an Italian thing, I have offically signed up to be a member of the Yoga Club here at la scuola Lorenzo de Medici. Nothing wrong with some good old relaxation/exercise time. So that's what I did this morning before class. Then I went across town, you know, next to Loui Vuitton (as I said, the LdM buildings are all over the place), to my first class- Italiano! My professor, Daniela, seems totally awesome. She's super low key even though she only speaks in Italian. I'm thinking about going to the Italian department tomorrow and seeing if I can move up a level though, because I want to challenge myself while I'm here, and as dad says, "it's friggin pass fail". After Italian, which was 12-1:30, I had an hour and a half break. So I went back home to make myself only the best sandwich ever...nutella. Nutella is huge here by the way. Anyway, went back to the same building at 3:00 for my History class. Its actual name is The Quarters of Florence: History and Culture. I am SOOO excited for this class!! Excited enough that I came home and made my roommates let me read them the notes I took in class. Marcello Bellini (my prof.) is fantastic, he's so passionate and knowledgeable and I just can't wait to learn!! He said by the end of the semester we will be able to guide anyone around the city :) So come visit and I will teach you! But man, it was hot and humid today. I decided to wear pants...terrible choice. I was sweating, not just a little surface sweat, pouring sweat down my back and neck and forehead. Keep in mind, I've also got Mt. Vesuvious popping out of my nose. So... excellent first impression for all my new friends. But Natalie claims that if I pretend it doesn't exist my pimple will leave the premises of my nose, so I'm gonna try it. Anyway, came back after class and made some delicious pesto tortellini and ate dinner with the roommies. We had a lovely chat about life and then did some Italian homework. And here I am now, writting in (on?) my blog before I go to il letto. Its getting late so I need to wrap this puppy up. But yay for another day in Firenze! Buona notte!

Eeyyy... Ciao Bella!

So I'm walking along the side of the road, minding my own business, and walking down the street opposite of me is a whole soccer team of Italian boys. Their soccer ball comes rolling towards me and I decide to try and awkwardly kick it away, and of course mostly miss it, but that's besides the point. All of the sudden they are all yelling Ciao bella!! Eeyyy ciao! In movies its funny, but I don't know how else to react to a clan of yelling teenage boys besides avoiding eye contact and walking away quickly. Haha, but hey, that's Italy. I'm just trying to fit in as much as I can because they clearly think American woman are easy. Anyway, I had a LOVELY day today! I actually started to get sick two nights ago. My whole body was achy, not just because I'm sore from walking around so much (pathetic, I know), like sick achy, and my head hurt pretty bad so I stayed in and rested all day yesterday in my apartment. Pretty crappy :( But I managed to get my bottom out of bed for dinner at my friends Beth, Jill, and Kate's apartment upstairs. They have a rooftop terrace and the view is amazinggg, especially at night while the sun is setting. So we all ate spaghetti and salad and they drank wine, of course, but I didn't have any because mom taught me well. Alcohol suppresses your immune system. So you should be proud of me madre :) Oh, and speaking of spaghetti, I realized on Friday while I was taking my Italian placement exam that the title of my blog is gramatically incorrect. Gli spaghetti is plural, so it should actually be Mi Piacciono Gli Spaghetti, so I'll change it eventually. But at least I remembered it for the exam, haha. Anyway, my computer doesn't have much battery left and I left my charger in my room with my sleeping roommate so I'll have to type fast. So today... I wasn't feeling fantastic in the morning so I just showered and chilled here till 1:00 and then I forced myself out of the house. I thought to myself, "Yes, being sick sucks, but at least im sick in Italy. I need to make something of the day." Yay Ali! So I ventured out to explore the city a bit and find my classes. Now, I don't have the best sense of dirrection. It took me an embarassing amount of time to find the Lorenzo de Medici office, but I found it eventually. I first spoke with the Dean, I think his name is Brad, about my accomodations, like getting extra time on tests and all that fun stuff. He's a really really nice guy and super helpful. And then I asked my academic advisor, Olimpia, to show me on the map the best rout to find my classes. She was like, "You know what, I'll walk around with you and take you to them." My school here isn't like a campus. The buildings are all over the city. My furthest one is about 20 minutes away from the office. Can you believe that?? People here are so nice!! Anyway, we walked and talked and I found all my classes. She taught me some useful stuff too. Like, in Florence a long time ago the house address numbers were colored red and the shop numbers were colored blue. Now some houses have become stores and vice virsa, but the red numbers have no correlation with the blue numbers so when someone tells you an address they will say blue or red usually. Anyway, I'm glad she explained it to me because I was pretty confused. I also learned that Italians view shorts as slutty. So even though there are lots of people walking around in shorts, mostly American girls, I'm not going to be wearing my shorts again...but yeah, she is so sweet and I'm definitely going to try and get to know her more. So I found all my classes and walked around some more, ran a few errands and went back home for lunch. My roommates Hillary and Natalie and I decided to go out for gelato because our program gave us free cupons to this amazing gelao place! And oh my god, it was seriously the best ice cream I have ever had, hands down.

And then we took a walk over the Ponte Vecchio, window shopped all the jewelary stores, took lots of pictures, and went to this bar called Negroni that was reccomended to us by an API advisor. First of all, the surroundings were stunning! We got a seat outside and ordered an aperitivo. So, this was a confusing concept for me, but some bars do this thing where you order a drink for 8 euros and get endless appitizers for free! So its like dinner and a drink for like 10 bucks! Pretty awesome... and it was delizioso! Four different pastas, rice, vegetables, bread, chips, sauses. Yummm. And I got this lemon drink that ended up being waaay more rum that lemon so Hillary drank most of it because of the immune system suppression deal. And after dinner we walked back through the streets and listened to live music and oooed and awwwed at all the beauty around us. That was my day :) So yes, everything is fantastic over here in Firenze! Although I do have an enormous zit the size of Jupiter on my face. I'm trything to wish it away...but maybe dad will be happy because I'm sure the boys won't come near me when I have two noses. Ooh! I start class tomorrow!! I'm actually super excited. I have Italian and Florence sketchbook I think? I can't remember off the top of my head. But my first class doesn't start until 12:00, so I can get a good night sleep and walk around beforehand. Alright, I'm off to dreamland :) Buona notte!!

Vivo in Italia!!

So, I wanted to write every night on here, but I guess I should have expected that I would be super busy, especially the first week, and wouldn't have much time. But I have a bit of free time now, so I write I shall! I am officially a resident of Florence, Italy, pretty awesome! I have only been here for about 4 days now, but I already feel at home. The city is amazing! It is so beautiful and clean and so different than anywhere I have ever been; however, I almost feel more comfortable and familiar walking around these streets than anywhere else. Its kind of strange actually. I've heard a whole lot about culture shock and I feel like I could be in the "honeymoon stage", hopefully it doesn't change, but we will see. I have met a lot of people on my trip, mostly girls considering there are like 15 boys out of about 100 people, but I came here to learn about myself and grow more independent, so who needs boys :) I feel like I've definitely made some good friends already, and there are so many other nice people to get to know! A lot of the girls here are interested in the same stuff I am, like art and fashion and the Italian culture and nature and learning etc, so it is really nice because we all have that to bond over. My apartment is wonderful! It is so spacious and eclectic, so much more than I was expecting. I will put up photos onto my facebook. The food, of course, is amazing. Anyone who knows me knows that I live off of pasta and ice cream already, so I am absolutely in heaven!

And the Duomo...probably the most incredible thing I have ever seen in real life. Along with the Ponte Vecchio. It is so crazy that I have seen so many pictures of this city and now I am actually here, looking at it, so close that I can run up and touch. I feel so happy and free. Being here makes me want to embrace each day and really truely live it to the fullest. I am not wasting my time sleeping too much or watching tv or on the internet. I plan on trying something new each day and learning a whole lot. Speaking of new things, I went to my first bar the other night and ordered my first drink. Also bought my first bottle of wine. It is funny how wine is such a huge part of Italian culture. Anyway, this morning I had orientation and an Italian placement exam for school. I'm really excited for all my classes to start! Sorry this isn't going to be my best blog entry because I have a lot of errands to run now, but I wanted to write so that I have somewhere to work off of. Something new I've learned: if you make eye contact with Italian men and smile they take it as an invitation to engage in furthering the length of your encounter. I've heard this before, but it is true. Good thing my father made me practice being unapproachable. Thanks dad. Alright, well I am off to to market! Ciao!
~Ali