2 Weeks Down

Ciao everyone!! Long time no talk. That's because I tend to form these great ideas in my head & then never follow through. For instance, when starting this blog (because I had an obnoxious amount of free time before leaving) I convinced myself that I'd update every. single. day. while in Italy. Well, things change, power goes out, flights are cancelled, and BAM before you know it you are in a new country and forget about your great idea. 


After a good two weeks of settling in, meeting the roomies, bonding with the roomies, drinking copious amounts of wine, getting covered head to toe in mosquito bites, traveling to nearby cities, taking an incredible amount of pictures, starting classes, eating lots of cheese, sweating my brains out, and wondering where all my money went, I'M BAAACK.


But before I get to all of that good stuff, let me update. 
I definitely felt anxious and apprehensive about leaving when the departure day quickly approached. The family "good-bye barbecue" and the meeting with friends for one last round of drinks made it so much harder to grasp the concept of leaving for four whole months. 
Then word started spreading that a category 5 hurricane was going to be hitting the East Coast. When? Oh... just the exact afternoon/time I was supposed to fly out. With that said, Hurricane Irene certainly did hit, did some serious damage, & cancelled many flights, including my own. 

Kids canoeing their road...? Bet you don't see that every day.

After some sleepless nights and much time spent on the phone, my mom (you can call her Char) came through and got me on the next possible flight to Italy... four days later. I spent those next four days doing last minute shopping, packing, and spending the afternoons in the house accompanied by candle light (no power) reading & playing several rounds of Monopoly with the Bry man & Ali...winning... one game. 

I was definitely thankful, not for the hurricane, but for the extra time it gave me to get more comfortable with the idea of leaving, getting my stuff together, & spending more time the family and this little guy.

Jackson & Bonnie w/ frosting faces

By Wednesday, I was more then ready to get out of the powerless house, and into a country filled with gnocchi and tomato sauce. Yum!
After a bittersweet goodbye to Char at the airport, a sudden culture shock in NY (believe it or not) sitting at my gate amongst all of the foreign speaking individuals, an eight hour travel time, and my iPhone no longer working, I landed in ITALIA. Of course, I immediately rushed to the first cafe I saw to order my first cappuccino (so Italian). I knew I was no longer in Kansas Connecticut anymore when I asked for skim milk. The guy looked at me as if I had two heads blonde hair (weird) and told me they only had "regular" milk. I immediately nodded like I knew that, and proceeded to pay with euros. See ya American dolla dolla bills.

RIP D.D, you're large iced coffees will be missed.

Thankfully, a huge concern of receiving both bags at the baggage claim was no more. My over-weight bags and I took a 30 euro taxi (absurd, I know) to my apartment, and so it began. 
One of my other biggest concerns coming here was whether or not I would get along with the five other girls I was rooming with. I'm not used to living in a house filled with so many other girls, let alone in another country. My worries were quickly put to rest as soon as I walked through our apartment door (which was a bit of a struggle considering the apartments & doors are a bajillion years old so the keys don't easily turn the lock, therefore I thought I was at the wrong apartment & started to cry- but now I'm rambling). I was the last one to arrive so everyone was already settled in by the time I got there. After messing with the lock/ picturing myself as the next American abroad student getting arrested by the Italian police (this time for breaking and entering) I got myself into the apartment and creepily scoped out the new pad looking for ANY sign of cool girls living there. I checked out the closets, bathroom cabinets, cupboards, fridge.. anything. No luck. Just kidding :) 
I love them!!!! They all came home soon after I moved my stuff in, and we hit it off so well. My roomie amongst roomies is now my partner in crime and has been attached to my hip since the first day we met. So cute, I know. 

Much to my surprise, she's a laxer at Haaaaarvard. One thing I will never understand about those dang laxers is why they feel the need to bring their stick & balls everywhere they go. Jess currently has hers resting on top of the fridge and it occasionally makes a surprise entrance on my head when I open it. She hasn't used it yet but then again, there aren't many places she can toss a ball around. Maybe some wall ball with the Duomo? 

Note: Lax stick above ahead & Raid for mosquitos

The four other lovely ladies are all suuuuper. We mesh well because we're all so different from each other & have a lot to offer our little humble abode. Getting ready, going out, and cooking in is all a great time and there is never a dull moment. We are, indeed, as silly as they come. Yay, girl power!

Midnight Ponte Vecchio walk

Classes? I feel like any class you take in Italy is bound to be a little more interesting then one at home. With that said, I love them! I'm taking Intercultural Communication (my favorite), Literature of the Grand Tour of Italy (my other favorite), Food, Culture, and Society of Italy (my other, other favorite), History of Christianity, and of course Italiano! The professors are all laid back and really genuine. They have their Italian accents when they speak English which is definitely an adjustment because now I have to pay attention every second to understand them. Buzz kill. School- pfff. ;) 

Makin' crepes the Italian, & right way.

Getting around means walking around. Also, bikes, vespas and small cars are all the rage. The cars and vespas are extremely loud, and when they drive by the apartment it's piercing to the ears. Words of wisdom from the roomie, "get a damn muffler." Well said. 
Mosquitos are also raging insects, I've come to find out. The first two days here, we casually kept the windows open because of the 90 degree weather and woke up with mosquito bites covering our entire bodies. I counted nine alone on my forehead. I know I exaggerate a lot but I promise you this is not one of those times. Meeting everyone at school the next day was just greaaaat. I was swollen & looked like I had chicken pox. I insisted on asking everyone if they had a mosquito problem in their apartment just so I could answer back with, "OMG, you don't??!! We do...I got NINE bites on my forehead!!" I'm awesome. We had to upgrade to the strong stuff, Raid, to rid our apartment of those terrorists. So yeah, everyone who gave me advice about Florence, thanks for the heads up on these little suckers!
(Quick side-note)
Things that are awesome:
Gelato, pistachio
Gelato, hazelnut
Gelato, any flavor
If you know me well, you know my obsession over frozen yogurt. Well, frozen yogurts got nothin' on gelato, seriously. 

First gelato in Italia!

As far as trips go, we had a few planned through Fairfield University that were very interesting and beneficial. During the first weekend, we went to Pisa to see the Leaning Tower. It was a great trip, until my roommate knocked over a souvenir espresso mug that shattered on the ground. The owner demanded 3 euros from her, and when she proceeded to walk away without paying, he ripped her sunglasses of her head and held them hostage (is that legal?) until she payed up. She did. And now we've had a broken espresso mug sitting on our kitchen table for two weeks.

One casualty among many.

Last weekend we went to Assissi, Perugia, Siena, and San Gimigano, all of which are part of Umbria- towns that sit up on hills. We were given tours throughout all four towns, and were able to get some pretty incredible pictures. 

We booked Oktoberfest for next weekend of September 23rd, and are planning on going to Amalfi Coast the weekend after that. Tomorrow we're headed to Cinque Terre for a full day of hiking through five towns, followed by a few hours at the beach!! 


Today, two of my roommates and I walked around Florence for a good portion of the day. We found so many cute boutiques, leather shops, & vintage stores. I got a vintage Lacoste sweater for the winter, and a pair of 1970's Italian sunglasses! 

We also made our way across the Ponte Vecchio to the other side of the river. We've heard all good things about it, & would like to start eating/shopping over there more often. 

I'll be sure to post pictures after this packed weekend. Until then, I'll be listening to Summertime by Kenny Chesney with the roomie, even though it's not summertime anymore, and putting off going to bed, even though we have to get up in 5 hours. 


CIAO, Kels