italy is fantastic. my school is the most absurd building, along twisting and narrow streets you turn into a dark and gloomy entryway and soon are meet with a steel gate. through and up the stairs which are wide, sweeping and complete with statues on the banistars and frescos on the ceilings you find youself in a building constructed by a close friend of cosmo de medici in the 1400s. yes, i go to school in a bulding over 600 yrs old. its funny then to be emailing in such a room. in the courtyard between the stairs and the gate is a marble stature of a man and women, a god and goddess. either way, its striking and beautiful.
i have to go grocery shopping after this, which is as interesting as it should be in italy. the produce is best off the old men who run the open air markets and even the stuff in the standas is more real then in the states. i have eaten, since i arrived bread, cheese, fruit, vegtables and wine...as it should be here in firenze. all of the above is plentiful, cheap and of good quality even at the prices. my walk to and from school passes the most historic and central parts of town...and if you dont have an image pop into your head when you hear the *florence cathedral* or *duomo*...you may want to google it. that folks is where i go to school, about 4 blocks down the road. the plazza della reppubblica which holds the copy of micheangelos david is another four blocks through the cobblestone streets, and the building that houses the original 14ft marble masterpiece is on my way home, i walk next to the gates of the building at least twice a day. my roomates and i are planning on taking a short citybus ride to the top of the city, to watch the sunset over our new home tomorrow evening. tonight we have a welcome dinner put on by CAPA (my school).
everyday is like out of story book, be it a comedy or romance. the streets are breathtaking and exactly how american movies protray the country. the florentines hang out of their windowsills in the evening and watch the people go by. the vespars tear down the road at tremendous speeds. old men bicker about soccer and drink espresso. a little politeness gets you far with the language barrier, but even i, speaking only a handfull of phrases of italian have been able to carry on normal business such as shopping and navigating the streets. for the record, i have yet to be lost. good job me!
my roomates are nice and while they have more of the nightlife on their minds than i ( i am an art history major who definatly came here for that!) we get along. we have already had a lot of fun staying up late talking and laughing at night when they go out and dont want to i usually navigate my way around another part of the neighboorhood or city alone,. whcih is exactly what i want to do anyway...non touristy, just quietly taking it all in.
it feels like weeks since i got here, i have seen so much! i am looking forward to getting into a routine, but one that is still full of surprises and amazment. a group of us are visiting the amalfi coast and the cinque terre over the next two wkends. clearly, as anyone else would be, i am excited! there is another wkend trip to venice that is not until november but i am additionally excited for. we are going the wkend there is a famous art show that only comes around every 2 yrs. the studio art teachers light up when they talk about it, so i am sure it holds much wonder.
also, through a class i am taking i will have an oppurtunity to go to the opera (which i am definatly taking!).
my everyday life is pretty ordinary and yet extraordinary at once. i wake up, get ready, go to class, have lunch, go to more class and then return home, possibly stopping at a store for something i need on the way. the thing is, i wake up and strech in the tuscan morning light, hear the man across the steet open his fruit stand and know that men and women are rushing in and out of the bakery next door, quietly eat breakfast on one of my two balconies off the apt. walk down narrow, cobblestone streets that weave in and out of historical buildings and beautiful shops full of friendly florentines, stroll past the duomo and baptistry, and go to class in a ancient building. then when i stop for food, i navigate new languages and buy food fresh from the countryside. so then, in that way...its always exciting!
the CAPA staff is friendly and the classes, although they have only just begun seem intersting and i have tons of oppurtunities between my art history class and my historical cultural class to go on many field trips in and aroudn the city, and special oppurtunities. for example, yesterday afternoon, the drawing instructor lead the way down the steet to see the best shop for supplies. as we approched the keeper was just getting back from lunch (at 3pm :) and we waited while she opened. as we stood around, men from the next shop over came back too. these men have a very unique and prestigious job. when sculptures from famous buildings such as the duomo begin to deteriate they and they alone in all of italy are entrusted to replace them perfectly. knowing we were students and with an itailan speaking instructor we go to look inside the building. a very once in a lifetime moment. also, as an art history student (or storia della arte) i recieved a card better than christmas-birthday and everything wrapped into one. through the program we got unlimited passes to all of the state museums in the city. the uffizi, acedemica etc are all at my disposal. one could want no more ;)
so, so far this trip is everything i wanted it to be, and quite a bit more. ciaò! -corrie
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment