When in Florence...WIF!

I'm in Florence! I have been in Florence since last sunday, but I've been super busy. There's so much to see and get acquainted with. I haven't stepped inside any museums or churches yet. We reached Florence Sunday around 3. The city was more crowded than usual because of a historical soccer match that takes place every year. This soccer match is insane. It isn't even soccer. It's like rugby with no rules. The teams are all from around Florence. They have to mix the members of the teams so that the fighting won't be AS bad. Yes, some years had to be cancelled because the fighting was out of control. Some guy got his eat bitten off. Gross. We watched this game in a pub right near school on Sunday. Sunday was also a holiday for all citizens called Festival of Saint John the Baptist.   I got to my apartment and a few of my roommates were there asleep, but not my actual roommate. The apartment was so hot, I couldn't last even ten minutes in there. So i went out and explored some of the streets closest to mine. I live on the other side of the river from the Duomo. I live basically where all the residents live. Being on this side of the river has its advantages and disadvantages. It was better food cause its with all the locals and it is not as crowded. The market on this side of the river is really close to me as well. I walk along the Ponte Vecchio bridge every morning to get to class which is so beautiful. It takes me about 15 minutes to get to class. The downside of being on this side of the river is that I'm farther from all my friends who live near the Santa Croce area. All of our hangout spots so far have been near the Santa Croce and Duomo area. So, when it's a late night, the walk back to the apartment can be kind of a drag. It also puts me on edge because of all the weirdos that are out. Luckily, we travel in groups so it isn't too bad. I've met a lot of new people this week. I really like Darcy's roommates, Joanna and Alex, as well as Emily's roommates, Livia and Katie.  We've also met two Canadians, Nick and Stephanie, who are awesome! Everyone loves Canadians haha. They remind me of Robin from How I Met Your Mother. (I'm dying, by the way. I haven't watched any TV in two weeks and I never got to finish the sixth season of How i Met Your Mother. And I am so behind on the bachelorette.) Everyone has been really nice! I've been hanging out with Morgan, Darcy, and Mallorie the most this week. Also, at orientation I met up with Vincent and Joey. Vincent goes to UGA and we'd been talking a little before the trip about going to Prague. We call him the Prague guy. He and Joey (who goes to Florida) are really nice and fun to hang out with at night. They both live on the same side of the river as me, so they usually walk me and my roommates back to our apartment. It's nice having some guys in the group. Makes us feel a little safer. This weekend, a huge group of us is going to Cinque Terre and Siena. In Siena on Monday, there is a horse race called Palio di Siena. There are 17 contrada (districts) in the small town of Siena that compete in this horse rose. The rivalry is huge during this event and in general life circumstances. I've been hearing stories all about it from my Food Writing professor. Speaking of my professor and classes, they are going well. I like my food writing class better than my Advertising class so far. Joanna is in my food writing class. There are only four people in this class. And, Madison (my roommate) and Emilee (apartment mate) are in my Advertising class. There are five people in this class. The classes are really interesting, but there's a lot of reading and writing, especially in the food writing class. I expected this, but it's been hard balancing work and play. And, of course, weekends I'm not really going to be here so it makes the homework tough. We've been learning about food and wine. My food writing professor has been taking us on field trips to get us acquainted with the local markets. Markets are open Monday - Saturday from 7:30 - 1 p.m. Italians eat lunch around 1 - 1:30 p.m. so that is why they close when they do. In my advertising class yesterday, we watched the movie Nine. It has some huge stars in it like Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman, Kate Hudson, Marion Cotillard, and Daniel Day-Lewis. It's all about the live of Frederico Fellini who was a huge Italian film director who directed famous movies like "La Dolce Vita". Definitely a good rental, so check it out. In my food writing class, I've been reading food writing by M.F.K Fisher, John Dickie, William Zinsser, and Ruth Reichi. I like both of my teachers even though they are kind of different. My food writing teacher is American. She is from Birmingham, Alabama. Roll Tide! She's a huge Bama fan. She went to College of Charleston and majored in Political Science. She studied abroad in Italy for a semester and loved it so much that she was convinced to spend the rest of her life there. She finished school and moved to Italy and worked as a nanny for a couple years. She went back to the U.S. for grad school where she majored in Italian Literature. Then, she moved back to Florence, got married, and got a job teaching at FUA. She's very strict on writing and grammar (ugh), but she's very friendly and has been a big help. My other teacher is from Britain, but has spent most of her life in Italy. She has an accent that is a blend of the two. She's a fashion designer as well as a teacher and some other stuff I don't remember. She has a dominant personality, kinda snooty. But, she certainly knows her stuff. Our class focuses on what is "Made in Italy". We discuss the stereotypes of Italian culture and food. We discuss why foreigners are so intrigued on coming to Italy or purchasing from Italy. People say, "Oh I just bought this leather bag online from Italy." Well it's not real leather. it's a scam. But, Americans pride themselves on having anything that's "Made in Italy." We examine how Italy is constantly trying to balance old and new. You have to preserve the old, but make room for the new to keep up with the rest of the globe. Over the past couple of weeks, I've seen a lot of contemporary art, fashion, sports cars, etc. These new designs stand side by side with old Renaissance artwork. High end fashion stores sit beside old cafes, leather factory, carving workshops, etc. The way of life for Italians has changed more in the past two decades than it has changed in the past two centuries. Women now work. That Italian stereotype of old women/grandmas (nonnas) in the kitchen making big deal all day is going down the drain. Women work. I see them on their bikes and Vespas to work everyday along with the men. They do not have time to go to the market, the cheese shops, the meat shops, the fish shops, like they used to do. So, it's taken italian women a lot of time to adjust to these changes. It's also difficult when kids get out of school at 1 p.m. and mothers and fathers are working. By the way, kids have school Monday - saturday in Italy. Ew. Soccer is big here. If you all don't know, the Euro Cup is going on. We've watched the Italy vs. England game last Sunday, June 24th. Last night was the Spain vs. Portugal game. Tonight is Italy vs. Germany. We're hoping to go to a pub/bar down on the river to watch the game on the big screen. Germany is expected to win, but it would be awesome if Italy won while I'm here! I think the finals are on July 1st, this Sunday while I'm in Cinque Terre. Darcy is obsessed with soccer, so we've been watching with her. She literally sits on her seat and is twitching from nervousness the whole time. She's cheering for Spain though (boooo). Tomorrow is a free day. I don't have classes Monday or Friday or every other Wednesday so that's pretty sweet. I'm hoping to do some Florence art museums and churches tomorrow with people. My roommate has a Florence book with a million post-it notes of everything she wants to see while she's here, so we better get started on that. OMG! I felt so bad for my roommate this past week. She was supposed to get to Florence on Sunday at like 7 a.m. But with the Atlanta airport being retarded, her flight was cancelled three times for technological reasons, number of pilot hours, etc. She didn't get here until Monday right before orientation. And, her bag was still in Atlanta at that point. She has to wear the same stuff for three day. She only just got her bag the other day. I don't know how she survived that. She had to stop in Paris and only had an hour to switch planes. That airport is insane. Do NOT go through the Paris airport ever. You have to take like three buses to get to your connecting flight. She almost missed it. Thank God she didn't! I was so worried when she never showed up on Sunday. I had no idea what had opened. She's such a trooper. She's so sweet and we've been cooking together at night. Trying to save money, you know? We eat breakfast and dinners at the apartment mainly and grab something quick between classes for lunch. There is this thing called Aperitivo which is like the Italian version of cocktail hour. It's really neat. You only have to buy one drink and there's a buffet of appetizer food to eat for free. Every place seems to have this. I definitely want to do some of that, and I want to try a Wine bar. That would be really neat. Wine is amazing :) I want to try different kinds. At the pubs, I've mostly been getting my beer or rum and coke. Luckily, drinks here aren't too expensive. I love how even at a pub you eat and drink. Whether it's bread or potato chips, there's always something on the table to snack on.

What I Learned Today About Wine Labeling/Words:
Abboccato - medium dry (white or fizzy wines)
Amabile - medium sweet
Amarone - bitter, dry (Red)
Classico - good quality, certified DOC
Dolce - sweet (pairs well with cheese or something after a meal, like dessert)
Frizzante - slightly sparkling (using natural fermentation process. No carbonation added.)
Reserva - Wine which has undergone a period of aging (Red. Wine does not need to be aged)
Secco - dry (White and Sparkling wines)
Spumante - fully sparkling
Superiore - high degree of alcohol (not commonly found)

The Italian version of Champagne is called Prosecco. It's really good.

We watched a clip about the Antinori family in Florence. Making wine has been a family business for them for 600 years! This is the oldest family business on earth.

Keeping It In The Family - 60 minutes

I haven't taken too many pictures yet. Since I have six weeks, I figured I'd wait a little and just enjoy it for now. If you do want to see any pictures, look at my Facebook. My friends are posting pictures all the time.

I hope you all are enjoying your summer! I know I am. I'm doing and seeing so many incredible things! When in Florence! WIF!