CINQUE!

(me & piccante)

We're all officially attached to Piccante. He's only been here a week but has SO much more personality now. Everytime we turn around he's pooping or peeing on something (or someone), but he's the highlight of everyone's day!

I finally got a picture of my side of my room!! Our apartment's distinct stinch gets worse by the day but I still love living across from the Mercato. There's so many cool things right in our piazza. We go to The Fish Pub across the street to hang out alot because they play American music, and have officially become regulars. The owner even lets us pick what songs we want to hear!

(my humble home)

Thursday night was Samantha's friend's, Ashley, last night in Florence. She had been working as a nanny for a family but decided it was time to go home. We decorated the apartment with tons of bows & pink streamers, and we threw a "Ciao Bella!" dinner party! We made tons of food (I was in charge of nachos) and served it with candy & wine!! After dinner we went dancing at YAB which was PACKED & playing really weird techno music. At one point, Luisa & I went outside for fresh air and I totally held my own (for like 2 minutes) in some Italian conversations. I was super excited about that!

(ashley!!)

(ashley's ciao bella dinner decor)

Yesterday we went to the Florentina v. Genova soccer match. We took a bus to get to the stadium and sat on like the 4th row. Florence won (1-0)! The fans have no problem cussing out the opposing team at any given point during the game. I wasn't really into the game but it was a fun experience.

(me, megan, katie, luisa at the soccer game)

(everyone's favorite player--mutu)

After the game Luisa and I went and hung out with some Aussies and South Africans. They were SUPER nice & really funny! That's one thing I'm really loving about Florence--there's such a diverse group of people here and the tourists/students my age are always up for making new friends.

I get to go to the Uffizi this week with one of my classes so I am really excited to FINALLY get to see Botticelli's Birth of Venus & all that other great stuff!!

Thanks for all the e-mails & mail!

Ciao! <33

PICCANTE!

Just introducing everyone to the newest family member of Mercato Centrale 17--Piccante.

We saw him in the window of the pet shop down stairs & it was instant unconditional love.



(don't worry, we've already made living arrangements for him for when we leave Florence)

QUATTRO!

I visited my first Italian museum yesterday!

(Outside the Museo Salvatore Ferragamo)

Museo Salvatore Ferragamo--

Salvatore Ferragamo was an Italian shoe designer who started a totally revolutionary showmaking technique (the Feragamo method). Thanks to Mr. Ferragamo I am able to wear my cork wedges!

Right now the exhibition's theme is colour. There was a huge color wheel made of his shoes which was so pretty! All the shoes were arranged according to their dominate color. It was cool reading about what each color has represented throughout history (definately helps when analyzing paintings!).

There were wooden lasts on display of tons of classic Hollywood stars -- Audrey Hepburn, Katherine Hepburn, Marilyn Monroe, Sofia Loren ... And beautiful pictures. I got really excited when I saw a photograph of one of Ferragamo's shoes taken by Christo, one half of my favorite environmental installation artist duo Christo & Jeanne-Claude (they were responsible for the Gates in New York).

The coolest part about the whole thing is that you can go upstairs to the actual Ferragamo shoe store, browse booklets of all the shoes that were in the exhibit, and order a custom made pair for you! ...I already picked out my faves! (early birthday present anyone?)

Megan and I are officially "regulars" at the gelato shop across the street. Money (the gelato man ... & I doubt that's how you really spell his name) let's us practice Italian with him which is pretty exciting. I actually got to say "Mi chiami Jordan. Sono Americana di Alabama. Ho venti anni. Habito in Piazza Mercato Centrale. Studio arte." Impressive, huh?

My roommate Samantha, her friend Ashley (she's nannying with a family in Florence), & I went out last night & ended up meeting a group of AMERICANS! (THANK YOU, ENGLISH!!!) I love going to the discos here because they play those songs that are on your favorite Ipod playlist but you would never claim to actually listen to them! (ehmm, miss brittney spears)

(Me, Samantha, & Ashley)

I went & saw the sunset over the Ponte Vecchio -- Very Pretty!

(The Ponte Vecchio)

I get to go to a Florence soccer game next weekend so I'm getting really excited about that. Apparently soccer is a big deal here ... it's the football of Italy. I've heard the fans get pretty fiesty (they're not kidding around when they say nose bleed section) but Lorenzo de Medici organized the whole thing so hopefully I'll come back the way I left. =)

I'll let you know ...

CIAO!

TRE! (... & A HALF)

A glimpse of the nightly music outside of Mercato Centrale 17.
Special appearance by Luisa Guercini.
So please ... sit back, relax, tilt your head to the left since I can't figure out how to turn the video upright, & enjoy the Italian Steve Urkle!

TRE!

IT'S RAINING!! HURRAH!! It's been raining on & off since about 5 pm today & I am SO excited! Life with no air conditioning isn't as tough as I thought it would be, but the heat has been getting to be a little too much ... especially since our classrooms aren't air conditioned.

Speaking of classrooms ... I started school this past Tuesday! There are 10-15 students in each class, and I really like all of my teachers & classes.

Italian 101 - I'm really having a hard time speaking Italian. I feel so horrible living in a country and not knowing their language. I did complete about 6 lessons on my Italian CDs but I haven't had to use any of the phrases I know. I'm excited about learning Italian in my Italian 101 class but I'm really not catching on. Our book is written in all Italian ... no English, so I'm having to figure out a lot of things on my own (& that isn't a good thing considering I never pronounce any of the words right.) BUT I really really love my teacher! I have no clue how to pronounce her name but she is so precious! She looks like a classic Italian woman and she dresses super cute! It's so weird that all my teachers are allowed to come teach in tank tops & deisel jeans.

Hidden Meaning in Renaissance Art - This class is going to be my favorite! Every week our teacher (whose name I can't pronounce either) picks out 1 painting. We discuss all the theories surrounding the painting and its meaning. My teacher is an Italian man... short.(Very James Lipton-ish). At first I thought he was going to be super boring, but he's actually really funny! For our first class he was demonstrating how we would be approaching each painting, and he used DaVinci's Last Supper as an example. It was a hate fest on Dan Brown, and he basically bashed anything and everything Brown has said about the work! It was hilarious but actually very interesting to see him base his arguments against Brown's theories on art history alone. Usually you hear people arguing with Brown through religious of DaVinci's previous sketches and personal history.

Age of Revolution - This class is going to be my LEAST favorite. Mama Mia!! There is SO much to cover and I'm not a fan of most of the periods we cover, but my teacher is REALLY knowledgeable on the era. She is so sweet and really wants us to not only learn but experience art. We are going on tons of field trips to Italian museums this semester.

Contemporary Art - This class is actually taught by the same teacher I have for Age of Revolution. I know I will be working my booty off to stay caught up in these classes, but I know I'm going to leave here knowing so much more than I ever thought would be possible, simply because of the fact that my teacher expects so much from us. I really enjoy contemporary art so I know I will enjoy the lectures.

Leonardo Da Vinci: Genius at Work - This class focuses solely on Leornardo Da Vinci, his life, and his works. We are going to talk about not only the impact Da Vinci made in the art world, but we are also going to talk about his scientific inventions and life. My teacher is from Germany and has lived in Florence since the 1990s. She is really pretty, smart, and is SUPER SUPER sweet. She has the coolest accent--a mix between German, English, and Italian. You can tell she is so excited about teaching the course which makes me even more excited to be taking it!

Two nights ago, Lorenzo de Medici school planned a dinner for the students (free food = YAY!). We ate dinner on tables in the grass RIGHT ON the river. It was gorgeous! The waiters were cool enough to let my roomsies and I stay WAYY past everyone else ... we're VIP, so there was no surprise there! =))

(samantha, me, katie, megan, & luisa at the dinner on the river)

I hope everyone has a FANTASTIC weekend! Love & Miss you all! <33

DUE!

If the legend is true it looks like I'll be back in Florence one day!

Friday night we went and saw the Il Porcellino--a larger than life sized hog. If you rub his nose then that means you'll be coming back to Florence.

(Me, Megan, & Ashley with the Il Porcellino)

Last night Megan and I had just finished eating pizza (YUM!) when we started to hear "When the Saints Go Marching In." We followed the noise a block over; and before we knew it, we were walking in a parade making our way to the lantern festival. Tons of people were in the streets carrying lanterns. It was like a mini circus with booths of cotton candy and balloons.

(Lantern parade!)

I got really excited when I saw TWO pig lanterns! There was even a squirrel lantern (they must have been an Alpha Gam!).

(My favorite lantern!!)

I'm still head over heels crazy about my roommates! We've all been taking turns cooking dinner. Every night there's a man who plays the acordian for one of the restaurants outside our window. We get to have good food, great conversation, and really awesome music for dinner every night! Two nights ago Megan and I cooked Mexican food! We made quesadillas & nachos for everyone.

I made my first Italian shopping purchase too! We spent an ENTIRE day window shopping--trying to figure out which stores were legit and which ones were sketch. I bought a pair of brown mary janes from a store named Coin (think Belk on a much smaller scale). We found a few other stores that were cute, but so far I think I favor American fashion. We took a mini shopping break and had the best snack EVER! A cup of watermelon with chocolate gelatto on top--seriously consider trying it out for yourself!

(Our reward after a hard days work of shopping!)

I start class tomorrow so I'm really looking forward to meeting my teachers and actually learning some Italian!

CIAO!

UNO

As most of you know... I FINALLY MADE IT! :)

Florence, Italy is a little piece of perfection and I'm so excited to learn more about the Italian culture.

I'm living in the Piazza Mercato Centrale. It's a chic court flooded with parked mopeds, eateries, and shops. Right across the street is the Mercato-we go there to get fresh fruits and veges. There is an entire floor where butchers sell all kinds of meat...It's pretty gross. If you want to purchase anything, you have to ask the owner of the stand to pick it out for you. You're not allowed to touch any of the products yourself. Even in grocery stores, you have to put on a glove to pick out an apple!

(View from the window in my room)

(Dried fruit at the Mercato)

I'm living with 5 other girls. One is arriving later in the month, but the other 4 are Megan, Luisa, Katie, and Ashley. They're all super sweet! We cooked pasta tonight to celebrate moving to Florence!

(Dinner in our new home! (L to R): Me, Katie, Megan, Ashley, Luisa)

We walk around everywhere, which I love! We purposefully get lost just to venture down one more street. We stumbled upon a democratic convention today (after looking for IKEA for like an hour...we didn't find it...YET!). It was such a cool environment: there were booths set up inside and outside (even a vegetarian booth!!). They had a whole booth of books (complete with Barack Obama's book .. in italian!!), and they sold the BEST gummy bears evvveeerr!!

I still haven't had Gillato (that's next on my list), but I did eat Italian pizza and it was DELISH! I will say that peanut butter here must be a delicacy because a baby bucket of skippy is 5 euro which is like 8 dollars (!!!). Insane.

I still don't know how to speak Italian but I can't wait to start my Italian class! (Apparently I'd been pronouncing the word for "thank you" wrong and had been telling everyone "grace"). I have orientation tomorrow so I'll get to meet my advisor!

I'll try and update again soon! Remember to e-mail me whenever you can!

Ciao! Jordan