First Week

I haven't been very good about keeping this updated but I'm going to try to get better.  This first week has definitely been a hectic one!  Just in a list form here is what the break down of the days has been like:  Tuesday - Flew out from Indy.  We had three flights!  Yikes.  Indy to DC, DC to Munich and Munich to Florence where upon arrival we thought we would be taken to the school but instead we waited for an hour because there was only one shuttle.  FUA didn't think ahead but that is the Italian way it seems.  The flight from DC to Munich was not to bad.  Jess, Em and I only got a sum total of an hour and a half to two hours of sleep but we made it through Wednesday. 

Wednesday after taking a death shuttle through Florence to FUA to check in we received our keys to our apartment and headed that way.  Except we ran into some trouble when we couldn't open the door.  Eventually Em got it open but we waited on someone from FUA to come open it for an hour.  Time is not a priority here.  The apartment is freezing but besides that fact we have a living room with a table and couch, a bathroom with hot water, a kitchen with all the amenities and our bedroom.  We all sleep in the same room but its nice.  However, you can hear everything that happens outside and we live down the street from a bar.  Joy!

Thursday we had orientation and some other activities.  We also got acquainted with the city.  Went on walks, found a dollar store and bought some groceries!

Friday we had our permit of stay meeting as well as a campus tour.  We saw the Duomo and it felt so surreal to be by something I had studied during my art history classes.  The tour ended with our meal at Ganzo.  I had couscous and olive tapenade as my appetizer, tomato and Vodka soup with lime as my entree and a chocolate mouse for dessert.  The culinary students cook at Ganzo as a part of their program and the menu changes every week!  We have punch cards that cover meals but they are not for the whole semester so we are trying to space our Ganzo meals out.  After dinner we went out for a drink with some new friends but headed back relatively early

Saturday we had a shopping tour.  We met at the Duomo with other FUA students but before we began Em and I saw another familiar piece - the Gates of Paradise!  Our little hearts fluttered yet again at something so familiar.   The tour continued around our neighborhood which ended at the super market where Jess, Em and I got some supplies for dinner.  Jess and Em ended up going out that night but I was too exhausted and slept from 7 to 8am the next morning....Sunday!  It felt nice to catch up

Sunday we went to IKEA.  We had to take a shuttle but it was free.  However the trip ended up taking up the majority of the day.  I only got a blanket.  I regret not getting another pillow as the shops within the city limits are a bit pricey but I'll live.  That night we cooked dinner - Pasta Primavera and got ready for classes the next day

Monday.  Our first class is at 8 am Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday but we wanted to be in the same Italian Class.  The teacher's name is Marco and is a very nice man but teaches at a very fast pace!  I think I'll be ok though.  Many of the words already seem familiar and connect with English as well as French.  After Italian Emily and I went shopping as we don't have class again until 3 on Mondays.  My next class was ceramics...Hell on EARTH!  I don't want to go into specifics because I think I'm going to drop that course anyway.  I'm going to see how my last class tomorrow goes - Installation Art, before I decide.  It might actually be the lesser of the evils.  The studio classes are extremely expensive too.  I wish I could have known before so I could have planned more.  On the bright side I will learn a lot.

Tuesday.  Again we had Italian and right after I went to my next class form 9 to 2:30 - classic portrait photography.  I'm excited to learn how to use a film camera and on the walk to the supply store to buy film I got to see the fake David as well as the fake Rape of Persephone.  I knew they weren't real because they were outside but even the replicas made my heart melt.  I also got to see the three story H&M across the street!  After class Em, Jess and I walked to YAIF to pay for our internet at our apartment then snuck back to H&M to get our fix.  We only bought sale items though.  I got a hat and a pair of earrings for 10 euro.  Not bad!  Then we headed back home.  I laid in bed for the rest of the day getting things organized in my agenda and watching How I Met Your Mother.  When Emily got back from dinner we ran to the dollar store to get chapstick and chocolate and ended the night reading and going to bed early.

Today!  Wednesday February 1st, 2012.  Again we had Italian and after I had Fresco painting.  During class we went literally across the street to see a famous fresco - The Last Supper by Andrea Castagno.  I almost cried this time.  Not only because this piece is so beautiful and so important in terms of the history of art but because this seems to happen every day.  I can see all the things I have studied so easily.  I really am here.  After class I went to Billa - the grocery store close to our apartment and the dollar store to get some ear muffs.  There is a chance of snow here.  I thought I had escaped the cold!  The rest of the day I have nothing planned and I am very much excited about this.  We might go out later but after an over due nap. 

I am very happy here.  It is hard at times.  There have been difficult and stressful situations that I could have in no way prepared for but I am making it through.  I don't think I have been this consistently happy in a long time and I am very proud of myself for coming.  I never thought I could remove myself from everything I know and what is comfortable but I have and it truly has already been a rewarding experience.  I am excited to see how the rest of these 15 weeks pan out.