Where has the time gone?

It is now mid-semester break in Florence, Italy, and I find myself asking, "Where has all the time gone?" The past few months have been times of excitement, transitions, learning, and many, many new experiences.

When I first came to Italy I spent a few days with my program, ISA, in Rome. The fact that I was in Italy still hadn't sunk in, so we spent the days soaking it all in like tourists. We saw the Colosseum, Pantheon, Roman ruins, and Trevi fountain, tasted our first gelato, and tried our first Italian-style pizza. Unfortunately with the combination of jet-lag and new foods, my stomach didn't transition as well as the rest of me. I missed a day of sight-seeing, but soon felt better when we arrived in Florence.

Florence is a huge city (300,000 people) compared to my college town (50,000) and my hometown (4,000). I am a small-town girl so I was nervous about navigating myself around a big city. Florence may hold a lot of people, but the main part of the city is very walkable. The map looks like a labyrinth of roads that go in every direction, but once I started to recognize the main Florentine buildings, I found myself wandering around without my map, exploring the smaller streets and "off-the-beaten track" areas. I have learned that this is THE best thing to do if you want to get to know a city. I've been here for about a month and a half and I still haven't seen a fraction of Florence.

The best times I've had so far have been when I was wandering around with no schedule. I have met some very friendly and interesting Italians, and I've successfully had very simple conversations with them in Italian! I also made a friend just by visiting a Synagogue one day, and in a couple of weeks he will be showing my friend and I around his hometown of Paris. It is an incredible experience to meet so many people from around the world.

There are many wonderful and interesting characteristics and lifestyles of Italians that I have noticed during my stay here. First, everyone dresses in style. Even in the freezing cold month of February, Women had boots, stockings, dresses, fancy coats, the whole nine yards. You don't see people walking around in T-shirts and sweatpants (if you do, they are Americans), and even the dogs are stylish. Nearly every dog I saw this winter had a sweater or a coat on. My dog back home has a sweater and he gets teased for it; here it's completely normal. Also, dogs are allowed in most stores. It was definitely a surprise to be browsing around a clothing store next to little sweater-claden pug.

Next: the food. Italian food is not only delicious, it's delicious AND healthy. I have eaten pasta and a main course of food every night since I've been here, and I am LOOSING weight. The reason why Italians are so slim and healthy is not because of the wine they drink: it's because they walk everywhere on a day to day basis, and they eat fresh produce and baked goods that have no preservatives in them. Before coming to Italy I was prepared to gain weight from all the good food, but instead I am pretty sure I will lose weight here and gain it all back when I go home if I slip back into my American routine of eating unhealthy and driving everywhere.

There are many more things that set Italy apart from other countries, but I'll save them for another time. More to come!