Week Two

Second full week in Firenze and it's been getting better. Dominique, Alyssum and her boyfriend Cullen, and myself have all pretty much bonded and been our own group. Beth and Alex have pretty much disassociated from the rest of us. Yeah we kind of interact with them but apparently they don't like me all to much. Apparently they saw one of the first videos I posted from here and I said they were party girls. They were offended and said they they're not party girls but they don't have the balls to say shit to my face. So going out every night drinking and not coming home until between 3 and 5am and bringing home a strange guy doesn't constitute as party girls? Yeah, that's what I thought too. We're going to try and sit down and talk to them today and if things don't change within the week, I'll talk to CAPA and someone is probably going to move out. It is what it is and that's all that can really be done about this.

So I went to Boboli Gardens Friday. It was so amazing and so beautiful. Even though there isn't a lot of things in bloom right now, it was still gorgeous. It's freaking HUGE! I actually got lost in the gardens. You need a full day to actually explore the full garden. It was a little sad though. I went to one of the romantic places in Italy by myself. I really wanted Bobo to be there. It was nice though just to kind of be you know. After that, the four of us went out to dinner at this really tiny restaurant. It was sooo good! I got this chicken dish with a balsamic sauce over a salad. It was nice not to have to cook too haha!

Saturday, we went to Pisa to see The Leaning Tower. The train station here in Firenze is huge and rather confusing. To buy tickets, you have to use the ticket machines. They don't have actual people to buy tickets from. The tower was really cool. Not as big as people made it seem. Actually, if anything, it was kind of a disappointment. There's nothing in Pisa except the tower and this one section that's essentially a strip mall kind of area. Yeah, the tower was really cool to see and yes we took the typical touristy pictures but really not wroth doing again. Once really is enough. The Duomo they have is beautiful and so underrated! That was worth the trip too. The pizza in Pisa isn't great. It's also possible that we've just become so used to Firenze pizza that we might be becoming "snobs" about it. It was a nice day though to go out and stuff. I made risotto for the first time too! I undercooked it a little bit but it was really good. I'm proud of myself for it. Risotto isn't exactly an easy thing to make and it takes practice and patience to make it well.

I think I'm starting to settle in a bit more here too but not always in a good way so to speak. Mentally, all the things I thought I kind of left in New York are coming back. I actually thought I'd be better here because I'm not bombarded with media and American ideals of women and things like that. I can't help but feel like, with these new people, it's all coming back to how I was treated in the states. They haven't said or done anything to really warrant me feeling this way but all those things just keep flooding back into my head and they're starting to effect me. I'm starting to feel like I need to withdraw myself more and more from the group. I don't know! It's all really confusing actually. I don't even know if I have an opportunity to talk to someone here about these things and I'm a little worried that if I can't, what will happen. I just don't know right now and it's a little concerning to me.

Week One and Done

So my first full week of living in Firenze is done with. I really enjoy my classes. My psych professor is freaking hilarious! She's so funny and she's also a mental health counselor here in Firenze. I think Thursday after class I might stay and talk to her for a little bit about that. Not being a counselor in another country but being a counselor in general. The anthro class seems like it's going to be really awesome. I've never taken an anthro class and I'm glad I'm taking that one. Plus, the professor has an awesome mustache ha ha. The watercolor class seems interesting. I haven't really played around too much with watercolor before. I usually work with acrylics or photography so it should be interesting and the professor is awesome. The Italian class is structured so odd. I might say something in class tomorrow about slowing down a little bit and explaining some of the stuff.

I'm starting to get better at understanding Italian but I haven't really had much luck with speaking it. Every time I want to respond to something, I combine what I remember from Spanish class and Italian. I'll have to practice that a lot more.

I went to four different museums over the weekend. Dante's House, the Galileo Museum, San Marco museum and the Uffitzi. Dante's house was soo cool! I kind of got a creepy vibe walking in the house but it's amazing how much he is appreciated here in Italy. The Galileo museum was intense. There was just sooo much to see in that museum. They had some of Galileo's bones and one of his teeth. I wish like Ra, Sid, Kurt, and Bobo could have been there. They would have loved it. The Uffitzi was gorgeous. The ceiling alone can make you cry. I got to see the original "Birth of Venus" painting by Botticelli. That whole place is just amazing. It sucks that I couldn't take any pictures but I'll always remember. The San Marco museum was really awesome. It used to be a monastery during the Renaissance and underneath the building were all these murals from that time period. It was just amazing.

I am adjusting better here. I'm almost adjusted to the time difference and I walk like 10 miles a day here. Some of us are already trying to plan our spring break in Greece. I don't know if I can afford to really travel like that but I'm going to try.

I still cry every now and again cause I miss home so much but I'm getting used to being here. I think once classes pick up a little more, I'll be ok and by then before I know it, it'll be April and we'll have to leave.

Oh and congrats to Danielle on all the weight she has lost so far! It's a complete change for her and I know it's going to be tough but I'm so happy for her and I know that the woman that she's always been is really coming to blossom. I'm excited for Jessica too cause she'll be going through weight-loss surgery too. She has to get her insurance approved and then she'll be on her way.

I still say to you Danielle, come out to Italy. Bite the bullet and just do it.

Adjustments

My week of classes is almost over. I have 3 more tomorrow and then my school week is done! So far, I really like my classes. The professors are awesome and the classes seem like a lot of fun, especially my anthropology class. I've never taken an anthro class in my life so it should be interesting. I found out from that class that people in Italy generally go food shopping daily or every few days because everything is so fresh that it doesn't keep as long as food does back in the states. At some point, I think all of us girls should sit down and figure out food stuff. I know the one girl is vegetarian but we can all work with that. I think if we buy main food items for everyone, it'll work out better and then people can get specific things for themselves. It might save everyone some money in the long run. Alos I kind of feel uncomfortable around my room mates. I'm starting to feel like I used to feel, comparing myself to them and becoming kind of recluse. I'm the biggest girl here and it's uncomfortable. I'm going to wait another week and if I really still feel this uncomfortable, I'm going to inform CAPA and that's all I can really do.

I'm planning of a few trips around Italy. I want to go to Venice for Carnivale, which is this huge celebration a few weeks before ash Wednesday. It's celebrated throughout all of Italy but Venice goes all out with huge costumes and stuff like that. I really want to bring home some Venician masks. They're so pretty. There's also this huge Medieval tradition done on Easter. I forget what it's called in Italian but it's basically this huge cart burning with eggs in the cart. Sounded interesting so I'll be going to that.

I met Grandma Norma's friend Antonella yesterday. She's a very sweet woman. She doesn't speak much English but she completely understands it and I can understand some Italian and speak pretty much none (for now). I'll probably meet up with her again at some point and meet her children and we'll see how it goes from there.

I really hope Danielle decides to come to Italy for like a week or however long she can stay. She was saying that with her tax return, she could do it. I say do it! It's a once in a lifetime thing and I know she's been wanting to go to Egypt and I can get super cheap flights to Cairo to go see the pyramids. I hope she decides to come out.

I'm still trying to adjust to the time difference and everything else. College for my friends and boyfriend start on Monday. I really thought they had another week but I was wrong. Bobo and I have already kind of created a schedule to talk while he's in school and I'm here. I have a feeling it's mostly going to be Wednesdays and Sundays but it's better than nothing. I talk to my family every Friday and it'll all work out. I just worry too much about things that haven't happened or just things in general. Bobo and I were talking yesterday and he was basically telling me that everything was going to be fine, that he wasn't going to cheat on me, and that we've done the long distance thing already and we'll be fine. He said something like being together for 4 years is longer than being apart for 4 months and that we're going to be fine. I just worry about that kind of stuff and I know I shouldn't really but I can't help it. I'm becoming more and more adjusted. I don't have weeping fits as much and I'm kind of getting my bearings. I'm sure in the next month I'll be just fine.

Florence, I'm here

I arrived in Florence today. I left yesterday on the 12th at 6pm from JFK airport. I had a 4 hour layover in Paris, France and then on to Florence, Italy I went. The apartment is kind of small but it's really nice. It has 3 bedrooms, 1 1/2 bathrooms, a nice kitchen, and a beautiful garden/front yard area. I met all the girls. They all seem pretty nice. Two of the girls are kind of party girls and one of the girls is a vegetarian. They all drink though. Two party it up and the other two drink wine with dinner.

We ventured out to the larger supermarket that's probably a good 20 minutes walk. I don't think I want to shop at another American supermarket again! I've never seen sooo much fresh produce, meats, cheeses, just everything! It was amazing. I actually had a hard time trying to do some food shopping cause I was in such awe of this place. And the stuff is pretty cheap too! Even when you add the 30% for conversion to American, it's still amazingly cheaper than food shopping back in the states. I know I haven't seen anything but the airport really but this place has a great mixture of modern and old.

After dinner (pasta of course) we went to the gelato shop that's right down the block from our apartment. We are all sooo in trouble! That place is SUPER cheap and freaking delicious and amazing! It's just really awesome to be here.

On the flip side of that, I really, really miss my family and my boyfriend. I know I only just got here, but I miss them all. I know I went to school about 3 1/2 hours away from my home but I still was able to come home now and again, I could talk/text my family, friends, and boyfriend, I got to see people I knew everyday. I don't ave that here. The internet in the apartment is shotty and there's no privacy so it's not like I can really skype with my boyfriend or family. I'm used to being able to see my boyfriend often and getting to talk to my boyfriend pretty much everyday and getting to talk to my family very often. I'm going to ask my mom if she'll put the international plan on my phone and I'll pay for it just so I can use my cellphone because the internet phone that I have may not really work that well because the internet connecting in the apartment is not great. I'm just so worried about my relationship with Bobo and everything. I hate having an adjustment disorder and depression. It makes things like this seem a million times worse.

A New Year and the Italy Visa Process

Happy New Year everyone (a few days late)! I hope you all have a happy and healthy new year and I hope you all kicked it off in a great way!

I just want to say that the Italy visa process has probably been the single worst experience of my life. In less than a week, I've had to go down to Manhattan 3 times! That's freaking expensive by the way. It all started on December 28th, 2011 which was my scheduled visa appointment. I had a 12 noon appointment and was not seen until almost 2pm. After waiting for so long, I hand in the paperwork that I had, and I really thought I had it all. I was missing my verification of enrollment form, which I was never told that I needed and it was not stated anywhere by the school or the consulate that I needed it, and my transcripts because the school didn't send them out on time and there got to me a day later (thanks SUNY Oswego). When they looked at the bank account info I had from my parents, they told me it wasn't enough and that I needed to bring another one to them. My mom calculated how much was needed and that specific account had the amount I needed. I was polite and said ok and thank you and went on my way.

Yesterday, January 3rd, 2012 I head back down to the consulate for the second time, with all my paperwork in hand, or so I thought. When I get there at 9am (for returning applicants, you don't need an appointment but you have to be there between 9-10am) I was seen immediately and I give the woman the paperwork yet again. She hands me back the second bank statement and tells me that it needs to be signed but never told me previously or that day that it needed to be signed and who needs to sign it. I thought my mom had to sign it so she signed a copy and sent it by fax to the consulate. Nope, not good enough or what they wanted. They need someone from the bank to sign it. For those of you who don't know, ING Direct is NOT a freestanding bank. It's an online bank and that's it. How the fuck am I supposed to have someone sign it? Somehow my my got it done (she's a freaking miracle woman I swear!) and I had to go back down yet again today to hand in the paperwork. It was all correct and now on Tuesday the 10th I have to go back down and pick up my passport with my visa stamped in it.

After this horrible experience, I don't think I ever want to be a student in another country. My mom is going to write a letter to the dean of SUNY Oswego and the head of the International Education department. This whole process was absolutely ridiculous. Nothing on the consulate website was correct and not everything that we needed was on the International Education site o the Italian consulate site. Nothing was explained explicitly or correctly. It was just horrible. There's no other way to explain it.

On a different note, I'm completely freaking out about leaving. I've cried almost everyday since New Years. It's not about going to Italy and I know it sounds so silly to be crying about it but I'm leaving for almost 4 months, not being able to come home until my semester there ends and not being able to always talk to my family, boyfriend, and friends. It's kind of scary. I'm trying to spend as much time as I can with everyone here and it's starting to get close to crunch time with packing and buying some things that I'll need. It's really starting to hit hard and I'm starting to become a wreck. I know it's going to be great for me and all. I'm just really scarred. I have no other way to really describe it.