Week 1: 08/26 - 09/01
Finding my footing in Firenze
Proof of Life! And the Basilica Santa Croce.
Ciao!!
Monday marks my first official week living in Florence, Italy, for a study abroad semester!
It’s been hard to wrap my head around the fact that I would be coming here for as long as I’ve thought about it. The last time that I visited Europe, I was in France for spring break with my family when I was 10 years old, and I don’t remember a whole lot. I also don’t speak any Romance languages (hello, Chinese!) and I felt kind of silly about moving somewhere with a translation barrier. Duolingo can only do so much!! All that to say, it has been a beautiful whirlwind so far, and I am so grateful that I picked Florence for my study abroad destination.
Walking by the river!
I landed in Florence on Monday afternoon at about 2pm, on what can only be described as Ms. Frizzle’s airbus of American students. Apparently, all of the universities talked and decided to jam us together.
I met a boy on my flight who attends UNC-Chapel Hill, and he mentioned that his school was not providing transportation to his apartment. He would be navigating not only the city, but also the taxis, for the first time. I can’t imagine that! Luckily, SAI herded us into vans driven by Italian men who didn’t understand us and pushed us out the door at each of our stops.
Once I bested the decades-old locks, I investigated our new apartment. Florence is a river city, just like Richmond and Nashville, so the Fiume Arno cuts the area in half horizontally. My apartment is on the Southside of the river; while it is definitely far from the university and classic attractions like the Duomo (25-35 minute walk), it is far more authentic, less crowded, and offers much better food. Can you tell I’m working on being positive about the hike?!
It has been fascinating to be pushed into such a new way of living. Breakfast is traditionally not eaten in the home; we have tested out several nearby cafes and tried out our Italian. Luckily, “un cappucino e un cornetto, per favore” is pretty easy to say, and they are much nicer when we make the effort. We also had to ask around to learn about Conad, which is a small grocery mart with cheap essentials like water, toilet paper, and food.
Most of all, I have had to adjust to how delightfully slow and casual everything is. All of the teeny shops are manned by two or three workers dressed in plainclothes, lounging at tables and chatting or smoking a cigarette. They will stand to help you when you need it, and then retreat to their perch. The first few times we walked around, we thought that some of the restaurants were unstaffed! Instead, it turns out that work is just more casual here.
A classic trattoria in our neighborhood.
Then, there is the afternoon schedule: work pauses at about 2pm when all of Florence retreats to nap or rest. Stores reopen at 4 and then shutter at 7 for aperitivo time, which is a loungey drink with friends and perhaps a bowl of nuts or chips. Then, restaurants will open at about 8 to start dinner service, and cafes will flip their menus and transform into bars. Bars run for the rest of the night, and then clubs open at midnight. Everything happens in slow, slow stages!
Another aspect of Italian culture that I’ve had to adjust to is the street etiquette. Italians do not wave, they do not offer those American “we’re strangers but I’m trying to show you that I’m not weird” passing smiles, they do not say excuse me, and they definitely don’t care about where you’re walking. Straight off the plane, I practiced saying, “scusa,” for navigating the streets, but I’ve left it in the dust with other American pleasantries. Italians are not nice, and Italians do not stop, so Italians are not pickpocketed.
Basilica Santa Croce in the piazze by our university.
The men are also far less polite here in Italy than they are in America. Groups of them will sit on stoops and share packs of cigarettes while they call out to us as we pass. There’s no real intent behind it, but they seem to enjoy vocalizing how they feel. When the Italian police officer explained Italian catcalling to us, he promised that “It’s not harassment! That is just the way.” Seems to be a trashy hobby they’ve developed.
We’ve finished our orientation and are left with lots of free days until class starts on Wednesday, so we have been taking time to explore our neighborhood and get used to life in the city. It is quite hot and sweaty here in Florence, so we’ve been adjusting to long walks and little water. Now I know why Italian girls don’t wear a lot of makeup: they sweat it all off!
On Friday, my roommate Brelan and I explored Piazze Santa Croce and the Ponte Vecchio on our way to check into the SAI office. The Ponte Vecchio is called “the bridge of gold” because it is lined with dozens of old jewelry stores offering stunning trinkets and jewels for the discerning tourist. They also offer the fleur-de-lis on just about anything in pure gold; apparently the Florentines invented it first, and then it was stolen by the French. I’m not about to get in the middle of that.
On Saturday morning, Brelan and I dragged ourselves out of bed around 9:00 and trotted across the bridge to meet with some members of our school for a tour of the Sant’Ambrogio market. Aside from the absolutely uninhabitable 96 degree heat, it was nice! We walked with one of the locals and tried out samples of fresh melon, mozzarella, prosciutto, and pecorino cheese. My favorite item was a classic Italian grab-and-go called a coccoli, which is delightfully salty pocket of fried pizza dough filled with prosciutto and soft stracchino cheese. It was pretty much everything good in the world and I have no doubt I will be back for more.
It’s amazing to see how fresh everything is. Italians prepare whatever is in season, so right now they are eating melons, and sautéing or frying zucchini flowers (apparently this is a classic local snack). They grab only what they need for the next day or two, and they know their vendors well. Everyone is greeted with a familial call and wave, and then they playfully haggle over prices. It’s also cool to see how many fresh varieties they have of everything. I’ve never seen more types of plums or grapes than I did at the market. Once I build up the courage (and practice a few phrases), I will head back there and try to buy some essentials.
On every first Sunday of the month in Florence, the museums and gardens open to the public for free. My roommate, Virginia, and I, are both taking art classes here, so we agreed to visit the Galerie Degli Uffizi. It is one of the most famous museums in Italy, and perhaps in the world. As the story goes, the museum was originally a palace commissioned by a Medici Duke of Florence in the 1500s. Now, it holds works of art made by legends like Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Caravaggio, and more.
After a quick stop at a caffe (which is very hard to find during the Italian siesta hours), Virginia and I made our way over the Ponte Vecchio and down the river walk to the Uffizi. We were delighted to find no line, and made our way into the museum quickly. The Uffizi is a classic Italian building: no A/C, laughably long sets of stairs, and a set of guides and docents that had almost no interest in being there. Virginia and I learned to move quickly and avoid the crowds of sweaty people.
We spent about three hours scooting around each room and discovering world-famous paintings that we’ve studied in class or seen on t-shirts, like Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus, or Caravaggio’s Medusa. There were also perhaps hundreds of Christian pieces recovered from churches and monasteries throughout Europe. Stunning iterations of Mary, Jesus, and even the Apostles hung everywhere, decked in gold leaf and made on enormous slabs of wood or plaster that had been cut out of the wall.
After the Uffizi docents shooed us out of the building when it closed at 6pm, we took a meandering walk back to the apartment and stopped in a few clothing stores. Everything is pretty expensive here! It’s hard to know what is quality and what is a tourist trap, so we held off on purchasing anything for a bit longer.
Now, we are hanging out back at the apartment and trying to keep up with our water intake. Tomorrow starts off another week here in Florence — we still don’t have class until Wednesday, and I think everyone’s getting a little restless without some structure. I’m excited to see how academics and new classmates will change things up!
Bye for now!!
Charlotte