Bianca's blog

Wow, is the semester really over already? I can’t believe that it was only four months ago that I was cultured shock by the major differences here in Florence. I remember feeling overwhelmed with confusion as I would try to find my way through the city center streets. Today things are completely opposite, I am able to give tourists directions and find my way from anywhere. I have picked up some Italian habits and can blend in among the locals at the store or on the bus.
I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to come abroad and am so lucky to have had such an amazing experience. As much as I wanted to be able to be fluent in Italian, I didn't expect I would get very far in my elementary level course. However I surprised myself last week when I was able to have a full hour conversation with some locals in Milan about the differences between Italians and Americans. This was most definitely the most rewarding moment because my semester abroad brought me to that point of success.
I have had no regrets about my time abroad except if I could do one thing differently I wish that I could have stayed longer. This is because my experience didn’t become genuine until the last months. I think if I have the chance to travel again I would stay in one place for a long amount of time to be able to immerse myself fully.
The Italian lifestyle has introduced me into a new way of living my day to day life. Not only am I enjoying the moment and won't stress about the future as much as I did before I got there, I also learned to “take it easy.” There is no rush in Florence. People’s schedules are never as strict as they are in the US and I will take this back with me so I wont have to worry about spending hours at lunch or dinner with my family and friends.
This experience is something I will always look back on and cannot wait to tell my children about the time their mom lived in Italy. When people tell stories about their past, they tend to tell only the good parts and ignore the unattractive parts of traveling. However for the majority of my experience abroad my memories have all been positive.
I remember going into my semester pretty nervously about my home stay living situation. I wish that NYU prepared the students more for the type of immersion and stressed that this is one of the best options. I feel that many students I have met wished that they had chosen the opportunity to live with a sweet family who cooks for them each night.
This blog was a great opportunity to reflect on my experience abroad. It is hard to keep up with so much going on each week. However The Art of Travel let me appreciate and learn about the importance of living in a foreign country.

I have heard more than once that people’s biggest regret from college is that they didn’t get the chance to study abroad. For those who don’t think that they will get anything academically from a semester abroad are wrong; while the credits may not apply to your major completely, living in another country is definitely a learning experience and I highly recommend it. The challenge is choosing your city and asking yourself, “What are my limits?” You have to decide how immersed in another culture do you want to be. Do you want to be somewhere modern and fast paced like New York? Do you want to take yourself outside of you comfort zone? One NYU study abroad site isn’t more fun than another, they are all in good cities. However, these are important questions to consider before choosing to study abroad in Florence. 

Florence, Italy is in the western society of the European Union, however it is neither modern nor urban. I would recommend studying abroad in Florence if you are interested in the unique tradition, nature and culture. I believe a lot of students were not prepared for this drastic change in lifestyle, they looked for what they couldn’t have and didn’t feel comfortable in Florence until the very end. These students learned about the customs the hard way, by being ripped off by tourist traps or treated badly on the bus. However if you want to learn the Tuscan traditions the easy way, I would suggest living with a family or joining an immersion language group.
I learned that a lot of Italians want to practice their English, however most Americans stay together in groups and do not participate in international programs. Forcing yourself to meet some locals is worth the initial embarrassment of not understanding Italian, because you will feel rewarded after you help them with English. These conversations let you view the country from the inside and find local restaurants, bars or activities.
In addition to knowing about local immersion programs, I wish I was more prepared for the weather. The landscapes of Florence are one of the most beautiful parts of the city, however you cannot enjoy it if it is pouring rain and you don’t have rubber boots, or if its freezing cold and your coat isn’t heavy enough. The weather has been very unpredictable this semester and has affected a lot my travel experiences.
Florence is a perfect city because there is so much life to it, and while it is small, there is always something to do. Make sure to take an easy course load when registering for classes, because you want to be give yourself the freedom to do more than homework every night. The city is close enough to take the hour train to Pisa Airport for low-cost Ryanair or WizzAir flights to almost every main city around the continent. However while the flight is cheap, you have to think about how much time you will be outside of Florence and ask yourself if it is worth it. While booking all of my trips around Europe, I am happy I stopped myself and made my spring break an Italian trip. Ten days around Italy wasn’t enough time to be able to see every region. The train system in Italy is very easy and convenient, I wish instead of flying and driving to other countries, I used Trenitalia more to see other cities in this country. 

I fell in love with Florence when I crossed the Arno River and discovered Piazza Santos Spiritos where not only are the restaurants are amazing but the gelato at La Carraia, Coffee at Volume and aperativo at Zoe became my favorite places to go. I suggest using your first weeks exploring what is around you before going visiting other cities. There is nothing worse than discovering an amazing bar like Rex, or a new gelateria like Badiani two weeks before you leave. Learning your surroundings doesn’t only help you get to know the city but also helps you learn the language outside of the classroom.

When I first came to Florence, I spent the first few weeks meeting friends and explored the city with these friends. I thought weekdays in Florence would be enough and I could use the weekends to travel to other cities in Europe with these friends. A group of us organized low cost trips using Ryanair to visit Frankfurt, Palermo, Prague, Barcelona, Oslo, Stockholm and Paris.  I was so impressed and excited for the amount of stuff we could do at such a cheap price, however I didn’t take into consideration the amount of effort and time it takes to travel to these places. 

I couldn’t be happier with all of the places that I choose to visit. Although, after experiencing the low budget trips, I learned that it is not smart to try to see everything all at once. This means I shouldn’t have tried to do Stockholm and Olso within 2 days, and also learned that I shouldn’t have tried to fit more than 7 cities into one semester abroad. 

I had my epiphany when I was reminded recently that I go back to New York in three weeks! That can't be possible, I still have so much to see in Florence, I just got comfortable here, I am not ready to leave! While I spent four months here, I learned that I should have spent less time traveling and more time becoming a Florentine. Once I had this epiphany, I decided that a three day trip to Paris is not worth the 5 hours of travel. I would not be able to “love” Paris in 3 days, it takes a semester or even a year to truly know a city. I have been to Paris and have done all of the “necessary” touristy spots. If I was to go to Paris, I would want to spend a longer amount of time learning French or the culture. Therefore I decided to refund this trip and spend my last three weeks in my enchanting home, Florence. 

This epiphany taught me that I have to value the time I have in current places, and there is no rush to see everything at once. I believe I value the tourist attractions such as il Duomo or Piazza Signoria more than I did when I first got here; now that I have lived here and learned about the city, I have more of a personal connection with the sites around me. 

My experience in Florence would not the same if I didn't live in a home-stay. Not only am I speaking Italian and learning about the culture, but I get to be in the comfort of Marcos’ home. Although I didn’t know Marcos before traveling abroad, I felt like I have met him before. He had all Italian features, but reminded me so much of my Irish grandfather. The most vivid memories I have of my grandpa before he past away were his stories and cooking. Marcos is probably 10 year younger than my grandpa, but has experienced just as much. Marcos has been all over the world and witnesses it all. While he was raised by an Italian family, he knows a lot about the war from an American view from when his mom worked on the US army base. The stories were so similar to my grandpas navy stories.
Marcos has the same white hair that my grandpa had and wears the same button down shirts with pockets to hold his glasses and pens. Like my grandpa did, Marcos spends most of his time in front of the television. The time that he is not at the TV he is in the kitchen. When I was a child my grandma never cooked unless it was baking. Here in Italy the family dynamic is the same, Marcos’ wife is the baker and Marcos is the chef.
At dinner Marcos could talk about Florence or Rome for hours. If I mention a city I wanted to visit, he would run to the library get a map and show me everything I need to know about traveling. He admits that he does not understand how to use the Internet and will repeat information that I knew over and over. While at times our conversations get redundant, I don’t mind if he will tell me a story of him in Japan for the third time because I just smile and listen. I am comforted by his similar features and I feel as if I am with my grandfather here in Italy.
I have been at his house for only three months, but he treats me and my roommate like his children. He will teach us about every ingredient he puts into his risotto and brings home candy or cake from the store just to see us smile. I didn’t need to take the time to trust Marcos because his sweet character and wisdom earned my trust immediately.

“I am on my way home.” It slipped out of my mouth without me even noticing that I just called Florence home. The moment I got back from a trip to Prague last weekend, I felt so happy to be walking among the familiar streets and places. However I noticed that this weekend, when I was traveling back from Barcelona, I started to feel this comfort of “home” on the bus to the airport before I even left for Italy. This is because the spirit of Italy isn’t the location or buildings, it is the people and their attitudes. I caught the last bus to Girona airport in Spain for my late flight to Pisa. I noticed that everyone around me was speaking Italian instead of Spanish and they all had their PINKO canvas bags. The bus ride was excruciatingly hot and the bus driver refused to turn the air on. That is when all the Italians started to make a fuss and making fans out of magazines or standing up to air off. I heard so many “mama mia’s” and Italian curse words. As soon as my friend got up to talk to the bus driver again, everyone started clapping. I couldn’t help but smile because the Italian spirit is present in this bus and I felt included. 

When I first came abroad I had a hard time understanding the people in Italy. However, instead of understanding it, I have just started to accept them for how they are because this is the genius loci of Florence. Being stared at for wearing sandals on a cold day, or yelled at by an old lady whose trying to push her way to the front of the line is just part of the everyday life. It is considered normal to see teenagers intensely making out in public. Cappuccino's and cheese are never consumed in the afternoon. Nobody picks up after their dog; they expect the rain to clean the streets. Almost everyone smokes cigarettes. There is rarely parking in Florence, therefore everyone has a motorino. Unless I look lost and confused, they don’t treat Americans any differently. Nobody works on Sundays. While all of these quirks of Florentine people bothered me when I first arrived, I now have gotten so used to these strange habits because without it the city would be very different. The town is small enough that everyone knows each other and stops their friends on the street. I feel included in this warmth and I am going to miss this unique lifestyle when I go back to New York.

While the Italians I live with explain a lot of reasons for the crazy actions I see around Florence, it was nice reading about every little detail in Beppe Severgnini’s La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind. Everyday I pass through more than one piazza, such as Piazza San Marco or Piazza Della Liberta. In his section about Tuscany, he introduced the use of each piazza. While I thought they were all just squares where people or cars can pass through, I learned that there were many different piazzas in Italy. For example there is the commercial piazza, political piazza, working piazza, theatrical piazza, sexual piazza, sentimental piazza and therapeutic piazza. In each description I tried to see if there was place in Florence with a “political piazza” or if there was a “sexual piazza.” In the beginning I considered them all tourist traps, however now I understand that the Piazza Signoria is an important political square because in Palazzo Vecchio is where there are important city meetings and events. If I had to pick a square that would be a “sexual piazza” it would be Piazza Santa Croce. While in the day time the beautiful square’s focus is the church's facade, at night time it fades into darkness and the  focus becomes the loud music and alcohol from the clubs on Via di Benci. I was told to never go behind the church at night because of how dangerous it can get.

The multiple uses of piazzas is very fascinating after Beppe Severgnini pointed this out to me. From the moment I got to Italy, I sensed that the Florentines have no problem staring at you because your a tourist. However, La Bella Figura explained that Italians stare at everyone and piazza’s are the place to be entertained. An example of these “stage-like squares in Italy is Capri’s Piazzetta. People sit outside four bars - The Gran Caffe, Al Piccolo Bar, The Bar Tiberio, and the Caffe Casso- and watch the world stroll by. When the actors get tired they sit down and members of the public take their place” (98). I was a victim of this theatrical act in Piazzetta in Capri over spring break. Because the Island is so small, the locals congregate where the tourist go as well. Tourists are their business, however I learned they still like to mess around with the foreigners. Walking through this square, I was stopped by the host at Bar Tiberio. The man insisted we come in for his 10 euro pizza and dragged me and my friend inside. As soon as we saw the frozen pizza in the display, we were not going to spend that much on prepackaged food for lunch. Chasing after us, the men around the square laughed because we didn’t fall for his trick. The tourists at these piazzas provide the old Italian men smoking cigars with a comedy show because most of the time they don’t even notice the frozen food and will be oblivious to the tricks they play on them.

People watching is an enjoyable activity and I learned that Italians have no shame of judging or staring at your outfit. These squares were created hundreds of years ago although their traditions continue. From people watching to commerce they are a place to enjoy yourself over an espresso and gelato. These piazzas all have churches in them although Beppe Severgnini explains that “People come here to see and to be seen, which is why they are happy and return the smiles they expect” (99).

 

Work Sited:
Severgnini, Beppe. La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind. New York: Broadway, 2006. Print.

In Oldenburg’s The Great Good Place someone says that compared to America, in European cities such as Vienna you are “persuaded to go out often because we are within easy walking distance of two concert halls and the opera, a number of theaters and a variety of restaurants, cafes and shops” (5). This statement is 100% true in Florence, Italy. Despite the inconvenient hours of shops, there is always something to do within walking distance. From cafes for a quick espresso or discoteca at 1 in the morning. I really appreciate this city life because when I lived in my suburbia in California, there was no place to congregate and nothing to do.

When traveling you want to find a place where the locals go. While there are plenty of cafes and lounges around, I found a perfect spot in Florence. I was invited for drinks at Caffe Letterario Le Murate by my Italian friend. I was not sure what I was looking for when I entered an apartment complex court yard. However I was shocked to find a group of diverse people outside sitting and smoking cigarettes. It was about 10 PM and some people were drinking espresso and reading, while others were finishing dinner or drinks. I heard music from the inside and saw a few familiar faces from other bars in Florence. 

I knew that Le Murate is a “great good place” because of the size and amount of people there on a weekday. I noticed that a lot of bars and cafes are empty on weekdays and concerts and events only happen on weekends. However I learned that everyday at Le Murate there is either a concert, dj set, movie screening, book reading or art display. There is a monthly news letter distributed out to their costumers and inform everyone about events that you can be involved with. Another reason Le Murate is frequented by locals is because of the student discount and low-cost menu they offer. They have good food at the breakfast buffet, lunch, aperativo and dinner.

Apertativo is one of my favorite cultural discoveries here abroad. It is what Italians do for fun, instead of an expansive dinner or party. Almost every bar and cafe sets out snack food from 6:30 to 8:30 for any one who buys a drink. This is the Italian version of our “happy hour” however it involves food and at places like Le Murate, it could be a light dinner. Also the time is very convenient because people could be at the cafe for studying or reading, and can take a break when aperativo starts and socialize with friends over a glass of wine. I have found aperativo at Le Murate a great way to practice my Italian, most of the friends I have made there don’t speak english so Italian is the only way to immerse.

Before coming to Italy, my impression of Italian art was that it was religious and from older periods. From studying Art History, I thought all the Madonna paintings would look the same and that statues of naked David’s wouldn’t be that interesting. My experience in Florence has changed this impression completely. The moment I entered the Academia and saw Michelangelo’s David in person my jaw dropped. The size of this statue was outstanding and the details were insane! After seeing this, I realized that the other statues of David were very different and unique because they each created by a different sculptor and depict a certain scene of him slaying the goliath. This is similar to the way that Alaine Bottom pointed out that Van Gogh interpreted Provence differently than other artists before him.
Florence is the home of the Renaissance; some of the most important artists lived and worked in this city.  I spent hours in the Ufizzi museum and noticed that while many of the paintings were of the same subject or location, each artist has a different interpretation of the religious stories depicted. The style and interpretation differ because of their own personal life and position in society. The artists could be using the religious scenes to express their own lives. Walking through the museums taught me more than the history of art but also the history of Italian culture. I began to notice this trend when I saw Carrivagio and Gentileschi’s Baroque style. Carrivagio painted the scene of The Calling of Saint Matthew, although it differed from previous paintings because it was placed in a bar setting with peasant characters at a table. I loved this style of painting because it showed the fashion and what the life was like in Italy in 1599.
The use of art to depict society is still used today in Italians modern art as well. While I am surrounded by masterpieces in Florence,  I also learned from my photography class that the Italian community values modern art just as much as its classical art. I have come to recognize the landscape around Florence and Tuscany in paintings as well as photographs. At a local cafe in Santos Spiritos called Volume, I noticed that the second time I visited that the paintings on the wall were different than the ones before. The following week there were new photos. I was impressed by the local artists because they captured the people, culture and architecture of Florence in different ways.  These modern artists in Volume and on the street (graffiti in picture above) each say something about the Italy’s current environment. Art in Italy is highly appreciated because it has always been a means of expression and education about its culture and society.

Everyday I witness “Staged Authenticity.” On my way to campus, I have to pass the Duomo and Piazza Signoria. Here at Piazza Signoria is the copy of the statue of Michelangelo’s The David. There are lines of people waiting to take a picture of the smaller and fake version of this masterpiece. Little do they know that the real thing is only a few blocks away from them in the Academia. To them the copy is enough because they are “in Italy” and don’t have time to see everything the country has to offer. However I don’t believe they are actually “seeing Italy” in an authentic way. They are outsiders looking in, and think that they will understand the country from a distance.
Italy has worked with tourists for hundreds of years. For example the pilgrimages who travel to see the relics in Italian cathedrals were the prime source of the churches profit. “Pilgrims attempted to visit a place where an event of religious importance actually occurred” (593). The cathedrals were built larger and grander in order to attract and fit more people inside during these journeys. Today it isn’t any different, however instead of experiencing a religious event, they are just there to see the history and art.
I do agree with Dean MacCannell’s idea in Staged Authenticity that “Touristic consciousness is motivated by its desire for authentic experiences, and the tourist may believe that he is moving in this direction, but often it is very difficult to tell of sure if the experience is authentic in fact” (597). The difficulty in determining authentic and inauthentic in Florence is that the Italians don’t want to share their experience. The tourists continue to look on the surface because no one will let them into back regions. Tourists have to keep their distance in order to avoid any conflict, therefore this cycle of looking only at the facade of the region repeats itself.
I feel that the closest way to understanding an authentic experience is living in the country for a long period of time. Here you can get to know the reason for their behavior and communicate with them about non touristic topics. Studying Abroad is a special opportunity to see Italy from the back regions. “Being “one of them,” or at one with “them,” means, in part, being permitted to share back regions with “them.” This is a sharing which allows one to se behind the others’ mere performances, to perceive and accept the others for what they really are” (592). However I have noticed that some students don't integrate with the locals and stay among their fellow Americans and won't get be “permitted to share the back regions with them.” This is That is why I am grateful for my home-stay because I have learned a lot more about authentic Italian customs from a family that is very willing to share their culture with me..  
I have started to appreciate the value of authentic products in Italy. I believe tourists travel to Italy to experience the “real things” such as hand-made pasta, local wine, or real gelato. However they may be ripped off if they don’t notice the quality of their purchases. I recently learned that the beautiful fluffy Gelato that you see in Piazza Della Repubblica is not authentic. The bright color gelato is “gelato industriale” where it is a powder mix made by a machine. Italians usually avoid this tourist trap and only eat “gelato artigianale” at local places. This gelato is hand made, with no harsh chemicals. This staged gelato experience is one of many traps that Italians offer tourists in an effort to make more money.  While the visitors think they experiencing real gelato they are in “a kind of living museum for which they have no analytical terms” (596).

The short story Aromatherapy, Italian Style in Italy, a Love Story: Women Write about the Italian Experience by Camille Cusumano represented my first impression of Florence. To the character Holly, Florence was "The city of David, the Ponte Vecchio, and the Duomo. I went looking for many things: the warmth of sun on my skin; the quiet dazzle of fading frescoes in crumbling churches; the cool strength of white marble; and the heat of steaming pasta, for which I relaxed my strict no carb rule” (Page 2). This interpretation is true, though I believe there is a lot more here. She came there to experience Tuscany (Chianti), while I am here to study the Italian language and culture. While our intentions were different, she and I shared the shock of Italian Aromatherapy. The smells in Florence are very pungent and different that what we are used to in America. The book accurately describes it as "clouds of exhaust; whiffs of urine wafting from hidden corner; the perfume of ripe cheeses poring out of shop doors" (3). While this could be a problem for some travelers, it is therapeutic for the cancer survivor Holly. 

I have noticed that throughout my stay, each individual smell can teach you something about Italian’s culture.  My first day in Florence, I was greeted by Marcos smoking a cigarette on the balcony. “Ciao!” He ran down the stairs, and proceeded to carry both bags with the cigarette in his mouth. The house was large enough that the smell didn’t bother me, however it was always around. The smell of stale cigarettes was everywhere I went in Florence. After getting used to it, I learned that smoking is a lot more common in Italy than in the US. There is no “designated smoking area.” Old men like Marcos have been smoking their whole lives. Holly experienced this when she “walked into the dark fog of cigar smoke emanating from the man sitting innocently behind the counter” (4).

This beautiful city comes with lots of body odor, trucks that emptiy septic tanks and car exhaust. Oh there are times that I need to hold my breath for minutes to get through the streets. However I have learned that deodorant is considered unnatural, older buildings do not have updated plumbing systems and that the smelly cars are only around my neighborhood and the outskirts of Florence, because the city center only allows electric cars and motorcycles. The Italian culture doesn’t follow the modern trends of other countries. For example, a new court house was built in Florence and there were protests against the architectural style because it didn't blend with the rest of the city. Yet they are really proud of their creations, and appreciate nature.

I notice every smell and become curious toward new odors. From differentiating wine to types of bread, there is always something to learn. After reading the stories from Italy, a Love Story: Women Write about the Italian Experience, I have developed new sensory perceptions of Italy including an appreciation of  its unique scents and sights.

Work Sited
Cusumano, Camille. Italy, a Love Story: Women Write about the Italian Experience. Emeryville, Cal.: Seal, 2005. Print.

Many people say “Florence is a small city.” I agree with this statement compared to New York City. However getting around everyday has been a lot harder than any MTA Subway system. In my daily routine I have to give myself at least 30-60 min of travel time. Its easy to walk anywhere, but that is at least 20 minutes from my house. Everyday I struggle to force myself out of bed at around 9 AM and wake up to a simple Italian breakfast waiting for me. The only exception is on Thursdays when I have to wake up at 7 to get to my 9 AM Marketing class. My home-stay family has already been awake for hours, so they just leave me and my roommate the pot of coffee, cereal and some Nutella which we eat with bananas.

I try my best to explore the city with my free time in the morning, but so far the weather in Italy has been below 30 degrees with rain and snow. I still haven't had the chance to climb to the top of the Duomo. However I don’t need to worry about this because my schedule is as simple as the Italian life style, I am very relaxed here. When I get to the top of Via Bolognese, I usually get an 80 cent cappuccino or chocolate croissant from our campus cafe. That gets me through my beginner Italian class and then I catch the bus back to the city center for my photography class. By the time I am done, I am starving because my snack food and fruit won't hold me over. On my way home I'll stop at the famous Pugi Pizzeria, where you can get your fresh pizza by the slice and have an amazing lunch for under 3 Euro.

Living in a home-stay takes away a lot of the pressure of everyday life. I don’t have to worry about what I am having for dinner, or how much it costs.  I can always count on having my 3 courses of food at 8:30 PM each night. After using four different keys to get through the bolt lock doors, I come home to a clean room with folded laundry. I am very grateful for this and I wish I had this luxury back in New York. Although I am very comfortable, the daily in Florence is very different than any in the US. The way of crossing street, catching the bus, ordering food, pushing doors, recycling, and conserving electricity is hard to adjust to. I will always find myself in a situation where I am not doing it “correctly” (according to my italian home-stay father) therefore people will label me as an foreigner.

Italians don’t host many guests in there homes, so cafes and bars are places where people hang out with their friends. After class, I found a few favorite places to spend time with my friends. We recently fell in love with La Carraia Gelateria, and the cafe Volume. Both of these spots are on the other side of river, but so worth the distance. Volume is where we can do our homework, eat and listen to live music. I love it here because after it’s daily happy hour, “Apperitivo” the study lounge turns into a bar where you can meet locals over cheap glasses of Italian wine and fresh olives and mozzarella.

I agree with Botton that there is usually an initial pleasure from seeing or hearing a foreign language when traveling.  However this was not the case for me in Viareggio, Italy. I had the opportunity to take a day trip to a nearby beach town in Tuscany to see the famous Carnival parade. This is celebrated all over Italy, however both Viareggio and Venice are famous for their crazy festivals. The only expectations I had for this day trip was that it was going to like one big party. There was a huge celebration in Viareggio, however it was not like any party I’ve been to. People were dressed in a diverse range of costumes and had there faces painted. People were drinking on the street and children were everywhere. Everyone was skipping and dancing throwing confetti in the air and spraying silly string. It was a lot of fun, however there was one problem... I did not know what they were celebrating!

The carnival is famous for its parade of paper mache floats. These huge masterpieces were very creative and beautiful, however they were very different than any parade I have seen in the United States. These large vehicles, were decorated with signs, and messages. There were large animals or figures, such as a wolf, devil, phoenix, or even politicians. They were intimidating and hovering over a group of people standing and dancing on the float. My conflict with the Italian language began at Viareggio because I wish I understood what each float meant. They all were symbols of protest or the publics opinion about the complex government here in Italy. There were pictures of politician’s faces and signs written in italian, that I couldn’t read. Outside of my basic vocabulary, no dictionary would tell me the significance to the slang painted on each float. Basic words recognized were “economia” and “rivoluzione.” 

I felt uncomfortable at Viareggio because I have little knowledge of Italian politics, and won’t understand the public opinions until I can communicate with them better. The I learned from the parade that Italians may be relaxed and slow paced but are very passionate about their rights and customs. Other forms of expressing their opinions are the organized strikes that occur in the transportation system. While there have been a few days that I could take the bus or train, I noticed that the Italians don’t mind the inconvenience because it is making a statement. I hope living here for the semester will give me a better understanding of their opinions. 

I have a secret to finding my way around any city and it is my IPhone. Google Maps has been my hero in plenty of situations when I am lost or I don’t know where I am going. Fortunately living in New York I was accustomed to the simple grid of Manhattan, and the directions of the subway lines, that I no longer needed to look up directions.  As long as I knew Eastside, Westside, or Uptown and Downtown, I would eventually find my destination without trouble.

Before leaving for Florence, I didn’t realize that I wouldn’t have Google Maps or a phone to call or text people. My first few days I spent glued to the Florence map that NYU provided us with at orientation. It was hard for me to figure out what is north, because the city has streets that cross diagonally across the town. For example if I made a left out of my apartment, I would eventually walk to the main part of the city. However, one wrong turn you could end up on another side of town. Florence is smaller than New York but its separated into so many Piazzas and bridges that it seems more complex. Every street has confused me because their names all have a "via" and sound so similar to each other.

It took me a few days and walking with Marcos around the neighborhood to understand that I am outside of the city center and farther from the Arno River than other students. Although it has been 2 weeks and I am still in the processes of figuring out ATAF, the Firenze bus system. I thought I got the main idea of the busses after Marcos showed us how to get take the 6 bus to the 25 bus to get to school. I was happy to learn before it was too late that the busses won’t stop at your stop unless you press the "fermata" button, and won't pick you up unless you hail them like a taxi. However on my way back on the 6 bus, the route was different so I didn’t realize until 10 minutes later that my roommate, Marah and I already passed our house. We began to panic as soon as the bus crossed an unknown bridge to another side of town we've never seen! I saw that the 6 stop in the other direction was up a head so we pressed the "stop" button to hop off and run to the other side of the road chasing the 6 bus. The obnoxious orange bus passed right by us with no hesitation and we were stuck at the stop in the cold for another 15 minutes. We were too scared to walk anywhere because we didn’t see any familiar landmarks like the Duomo, and NYU had warned us of thefts and walking alone at night.

It has been a week since then and I now surmise that NYU exaggerated the danger in Italy. I learned as long as you don’t flaunt that you are American and stay with a friend that there is nothing to fear. The taxis are a waste of money, unless you use them between 10pm and 2am when they provide a 15% discount to females (only if you remember to ask). I learned the hard way that hailing a taxi is more expensive than to call one. I can walk to the city center from my house, but I found a few buses that I can take to visit farther locations. I am now beginning to find my way around Firenze. I don't pull out the map of Firenze as often as the lay of the land is becoming indelibly marked in my mind.

 

Ever since I was a little girl, I loved traveling. It was easy for my family to travel because I enjoyed road trips and plane rides. Alain De Botton’s Art of Travel explains that “there is a psychological pleasure in this takeoff” (38). The takeoff has always been exciting for me because I anticipated the destination; I love that we have the freedom to go almost anywhere on this globe. During the takeoff, you are either on on your way to an unknown place, or returning to a familiar place with new stories.

However on January 24th, I felt differently when I took off from Newark airport. I watched New York City’s skyline get smaller and already started to miss it. The idea of separating from my favorite city for four months, made me realize that Florence isn’t a vacation, it will be my new home. I have traveled to Italy before so I had no anticipations or expectations before my flight. I kind of ignored the fact that I am going to be living among people that I cannot communicate with, and will have none of my close friends with me. My nerves just hit me when I saw other New York University students, and realized I had to go through the awkward encounters of freshman “Welcome Week” all over again. 

The story of Duc Des Esseintes, made me understand that no travel books or images of Florence could teach me everything I need to know about my experience. My first few days were different than others because I am in a home-stay in the residential areas of the city. I was quickly forced to figure out the bus system, the map and people I live with. In addition, I was not prepared for the sudden temperature drop to 21 degree’s and 2 inches of snow! While I was meeting other people and visited the NYU campus, I independently got to understand the beauty of my new home. 

I associated Florence with touristy images like the Duomo and Ponte Vechhio. However my home-stay father made time to show me and my roommate that there is much more in and around the city center. On our third night we drove to the past the main tourist stop, Piazzale Michelangelo to the top of the mountain to find the church, San Miniato al Monte. I have never been to a church at night. While we quietly passed the monks, I discovered that interior was full of the old mosaics I studied in my art history class. Because it was at night, I didn’t feel like a tourist when I stopped to take picture of the Florence’s sparkling skyline along the Arno River. The nervousness I felt on arrival has been replaced with a victorious feeling of claiming Florence to be my new hometown.

All my life, I have always gotten interesting reactions when I introduce myself as Bianca Bianchi. Most people don’t believe that my first name is almost identical to my last! However for my first week in Florence, every Italian I’ve encountered has not been phased by this common Italian name. I feel proud to be among my family’s culture, until someone starts speaking to me in Italian. This is because, other than restaurant conversation, I cannot speak one word of my heritage’s language. I have never needed to speak Italian until now. I grew up in San Diego, where the most popular second language is Spanish. My high school never offered an Italian course, and the most I learned about Italy was in AP Art History my senior year. Although I have visited Rome, Florence and Lombardy when I was young, I knew all my life that I wanted to learn Italian and spend some time there. Therefore studying abroad through NYU couldn’t be more prefect. 

When I was accepted into LSP, I almost anxiously choose the option to study here for my freshman year. However I am happy with my decision to wait because my first three semesters helped me select Gallatin for my Junior year to study Media and Entertainment in a Global Environment. Like I predicted, I immediately noticed that Italy’s and Europe’s pop culture consists of a lot of American music, while America listens no Italian music. I still have time before I declare my concentration but I want to study what it takes to become an international superstar like Adele. A long with this blog course I am taking an Italian Culture course, Introduction to Marketing, Experimental Photography and Beginner Italian. 

To really get to know the Florentine lifestyle and challenge my Italian skills, I also chose to live in a home-stay with an Italian family. I was so nervous about this type of housing, but I wanted to bring myself out of my comfort zone. Being in the safety of NYU, around my peers speaking english all the time, would lower my chances of achieving my goals here in Florence. Therefore living with my roommate and 3 Italians was the only way to go. I couldn’t be happier! I was prepared for the worst. I knew there was a chance I would have to stay in a old building or small home; I was even prepared to share a bathroom with the whole family. Although it was a pleasant surprise to I met the Rotelli’s and see that they live in a gorgeous two story apartment. My roommate, Marah and I have already grown close to Mario, Sarah and his 20 year old daughter Stephania. We are lucky that they speak good English, but they will take the time to teach us Italian at our 3 hour long AMAZING dinners. Ive already seen so much in my first week thanks to them and cannot wait for more to come. This post could go on forever with me listing all of the food I have eaten, or clothes that I have bought but I'll keep it to 500 words for the first blog. Living in another country has brought me out of my comfort zone and although I already miss certain parts of home, but I hope the next four months will help achieve my goals in studying Italian and the Italian culture.