Italian Stereotypes

My professors keep asking me how being here has disproved Italian stereotypes for myself. At first, all I could think was, what stereotypes? I thought about this episode of South Park where they went to the museum of Tolerance to learn about stereotypes, and I could not remember any Italian stereotypes. Of course, I conclude my knowledge of life to whatever is on South Park. 

Anyway, I started to think. There are plenty of Italian stereotypes - They're loud, in the mafia, they eat pizza and pasta, drink a lot of wine till they're drunk, womanizing, etc. 

There is an issue  have with feeling like these aren't true portrayals of Italians. I'm living in Florence, a city that has lost it's identity to pave way for the Italy that tourists want to see in what was described to me as "abroad Disneyland". So yes, there is a lot pizza, pasta, and bars advertising drink specials or what not. Sometimes I have to say, where are all the Italians at? 

Not every Italian is loud. They aren't constantly screaming at each other. Sometimes I feel like the one who needs to tone it down around them. 

Here's my favorite - Italian men are womanizers. Yeah? But they're all super attractive so that's okay, right? Laugh out loud. Not every Italian man I pass looks at me like I'm a piece of meat and they're ready to eat me up. I usually ignore them when it's night time and I'm walking down the street, and I hear them saying "buona sera". Um no, grazie.  Usually, a stank face with a look in the eye that says "I will tear you apart and leave the pieces in the street" get's them off my back.  But I am in Italy, and I do want to talk to the people. Because somehow, even though I have seen some of the most attractive men here, only the weird ones approach me. Older men or men with a receding hairline, even a Jonah Hill look a like offered to buy me a drink the other night. I mean dang, if they're supposed to be womanizers, can't I get a cute one to talk to? 

What my professoressa said about the drinking here is true. It's so common to see people having a beer or a glass of wine at lunch or dinner. Maybe split a bottle at dinner. It surprised me because some people are drinking with their lunch and it's not even noon yet! But they aren't drinking for a feeling. They're drinking for the overall experiences of tasting the food and drink. They aren't getting crazy and drunk. 

High Low

There are a lot of things that I love about being here in Florence. But for everything that I love or like here, there is something that I do not. Here is what I'm feeling:

High #1: I  love the way the people here live. Back in the States, I live a very busy lifestyle. There is always something I'm supposed to be doing, and I tend to stress a lot. But here, the Italians know how to get their work done, and enjoy their life, too. They have perfected a balance. I've spent a couple of hours in a restaurant just enjoying the company I was with and not feeling impatient to go do something else. This is something I want to take back with me - the appreciation for the now.

Low #1: I'm sorry, but it is really hot. I mean I know I'm from Texas, but it is hot here.  I'm talking about living in a constant sheen of your own sweat. Or having your bangs melting against your forehead all day. My apartment has no AC. This is a legitimate struggle for me. Do I sound like a princess yet? GOOD. That's how I was raised. In a house with AC.

High #2: I've said it before but I'll say it again - the food here is absolutely amazing. Everything here just tastes so FRESH. And it's so much better for you. No preservatives, right?

Low #2: We went to Santa Croce yesterday, and since I just gave a presentation over the church, I was really excited to step inside and look around. My Italian Culture professor, Sara, is great. I really enjoy her class and teaching style. However, I would've appreciated more time in the church. I felt that our time there to explore was rushed. I wanted to look at all the chapels and see some of the graves! It was such a beautiful church. I'll probably just go back on my own time.

High #3: Everywhere you look in Florence, there is art. Or history. Or culture. It's amazing. I walked by Michelangelo's house today. That's crazy to me! I'm seeing these priceless pieces of art that I studied years ago and never could appreciate how beautiful they were. There are buildings here, like the Duomo, that were built centuries ago and still amaze architects today. There is just so much character here.

I can't think of any more lows. This place is amazing and I feel so happy.

My Weekend Relaxing

Most of the students on this trip went to Rome this weekend as an additional trip, so I had a lot of free time this weekend. Don't worry, I actually did some of that studying that's supposed to happen in study abroad. Knocked out the outlines for my presentations in class, but I could not quite bring myself to start my research paper. Eh, maybe tomorrow.

Yesterday was also a day spent on cleaning and laundry. Those things I have to remind myself to do between having fun. I apparently mistook a radiator in my bathroom for a drying rack, and there may have been a small hole in the pipe that soaked all my washed clothes, bathroom floor, and hallway, but I don't think thats my fault! I mean, the toilet seat was already broken when I got here. I just had to finish it off! (If you didn't know, my toilet seat completely fell off my first full day here. Don't worry they fixed it today).

Also! Funny note: We lost our power last night! Yes! No wifi, gas, or electricity. And it was still super hot in the whole apartment! Some food spoiled in the fridge and we were all victims to cold showers, but no one was seriously harmed. We called the schools emergency line for help, but they told us it was likely we would go through the night without power. I checked the breakers but they were all still up. So what do you do in Florence when your apartment has no power? I got the heck out of there and found a restaurant with wine and wifi.

But my roommates and I were still perplexed with the question, "What do we do now?" To go home and sit in the dark seemed like a horrible boring time. So, we didn't. We continued our mission of pursuing night life in Florence. We heard some of the other Texas State students would be in Santo Spirito, a small town square on the other side of Ponte Vecchio.

We walked over there and quickly found the other groups. We spent a few hours out on the square, meeting some of the locals. Then, for no other reason other than we're in Italy and why not, we danced to the rhythm of the bongo drums the italians were playing. It was so weird that it was just too fun. Almost every student from the CAPA program in the town that night walked by and joined in. I loved it.

On the way to Santo Spirito, we passed a man who was painting these magnificent pieces in the street. I almost walked right by without thinking of it, but I stopped and it was amazing. To think about how much time he must spend on these paintings to get them to look so detailed, the shading, the fact that he was able to create that on the city streets. It was just true art. I'm so happy I was able to witness it. He just kept working as if there wasn't a stressful of people gawking at him.

This morning, all of my roommates and I walked over to Arch de Repubblica. We heard if you went to the top of the mall in the piazza, there was a wonderful restaurant to get some coffee. Naturally, the sight was breath taking. And my espresso worked wonders for me, as always. We couldn't seem to get our waitress to come back to us for a food order (or to explain what food they served) so we ended up paying and leaving. 

The rest of the afternoon was spent at la piscina. I don't think I've gone to a pool to relax and swim since before I was a lifeguard. And with the heat in Florence it felt so refreshing! And I really love the slight tan I have going on for myself. 

Then tonight, my roommate Madelynn and I attended a cooking class. I was supposed to learn how to make spaghetti from scratch, along with the sauce, and make tiramisu, but the class was so packed there was no way to see it all. But damn, I did a really great job of lining a layer of cookies in the tiramisu. They'll be sending us the recipes so hopefully I can try at home in the states. (MA! BUY ME A PASTA MAKER!) I bet I could make some sweet homemade pasta. 

Tomorrow is back to school. I'm giving a presentation on Santa Croce. You know, the church with a bunch of famous Italians buried in it. 

Love you Mom, Dad and Fonzi. Do try to survive without me.

OH! Almost forgot. Our landlord came by this morning to figure out the power. Apparently, there is another breaker that was failed to be shown to us. Apparently we could've had power all night and not had to thrown out those beautiful delicious cheeses.

Fiesole, eh?

On Saturday, June 7th, I got to sleep in. Even though sleeping in means waking up every hour on the hour to the glorious church bells in the city until around 10 a.m. when you decide it's time to start your day, but it still felt food to just lay in bed and catch up on SLEEP!

My flatmates Morgan and Madelynn and I decided to take a bus out to Fiesole, a small scenic town on a hill that overlooks the center of Florence. It was so beautiful. The town is small but we went to a local market were vendors were selling their handmade jewelry. I bought a ring for myself and a necklace for my lady love, Hannah, who's 21st birthday was that day. Afterwords we walked around the neighborhoods of Fiesole and admired the view of Tuscany you can see from on top of the hill. Everything there is so scenic. I felt like I was walking into a fictional town straight out of a storybook. 

We also went a restaurant in the town square. I had an amazing Caprese L'insalate. Man, do I love me some cheese. 

We also ran into a man from Switzerland. He's been living in Italy for forty years now, but he grew up in Switzerland. He told us about traveling to the United States, going to New York and then traveling all the way to Salt Lake City, from there staying in Hawaii, and then going to California. But he only had enough money by that point to buy a plane ticket from New York back to Switzerland, so he had to hitchhike all the way from California to New York. I thought that was so amazing - traveling to a foreign country and just going wherever you felt like. This man travelled in my native country more than I have. 

We went home and spent some time relaxing. I usually use that time to lay in bed and try to talk to my friends who are just waking up. But we decided to go to the public library in Florence for Aperitivos. Basicaly, you buy a drink ( I went for an Italian craft beer, Moretti, and it was molto been!) and you get to partake in a buffet of food, including quiche, pizza, pasta, chips, bread, etc. Oh man. I am really loving the food here. Can I just sit and eat forever? 

At night Morgan and Madelynn and I  decided to test out the Florence night life. We walked towards Santa Croce and occasionally stopped into bars that we thought looked interesting. The most exciting point of my night was meeting some of the locals and testing my Italian translating skills. I couldn't get past the basic small talk, but I was pretty impressed at my ability of translating for my roommates. 

Today I'm trying to catch up on homework, cleaning and laundry. Morgan and I are sitting at a restaurant because we got lunch while we studied. In typical Italian culture, I had some wine while I ate. That certainly makes doing homework more fun. Morgan is an art student, and while I typed up and outline for a presentation of Cosimo I de'Medici, she drew my portrait. All I could think of was Titanic and "Paint me like one of your French girls". But she did great. 

Since it is so incredibly hot here, I think we are planning to spend part of our day at the piscina. Which is fine by me! 

Love you mom, dad, and Fonz. Thanks for the perfecto videos of my little prince.


Also, here are some pictures of me being super artsy.

Michalengelo's David. Absolutely beautiful. 

Wine, cheese, and proscuitto and salami. Nothing better. 

Closing week 1

I've been in Florence for almost a week already. It's quite amazing how fast it took for this place to feel like home. But it does, and now I can't imagine going home. The first week has been filled so perfectly fast-paced and busy. 

We started our trip with a tour of the CAPA facilities. In case you didn't know, CAPA is the school that I am studying through here in Florence. Our orientation was followed by a walking tour of the city. When you look at Florence on a map, the idea of walking from one side to the other seems long. But everything is so close! In just a few minutes I can get from my apartment to the Duomo or Ponte Vecchio of Arch della Repubblica or the l'Accademia and on and on. I just step onto the street and start walking and I'm bound to find something amazing! 

The classes are great too - there is some studying in "studying abroad". My Italian Culture Professoressa, Sara Lagi, is wonderful at teaching the history of the city. I'm not much for history, but she starts to talk about the Medici and Italian Unification and it's actually interesting. My Italian Language class feels like it does in Texas State except MUCH BETTER. This week we sacrificed having class in order to attend a tour of the handicraftsmen of Florence. Molto bene. The amount of work and detail these people put into the craft is truly beautiful. I forget sometime how much care can go into these arts, and these people really care. Everything is so unique. 

Okay. Enough about school. Like whatever, right?  Let's move on to something that is truly to die for. THE FOOD. Mamma mia the food here... I. can't. EVEN. Every bite is a little bit of heaven. I have zero will power here. Always eating bread, cheese, I even end up eating proscuitto every day. Of course, there is endless pizza and pasta. If you order pizza, you basically get a big personal pizza, and I'm honestly amazed if I can finish it all. It's so funny to the way they interpret American diets. I found a "New York Pizza" with hot dogs and french fries on it. Did Gumby's just become international? 

The drinks are perfecto, too. Every morning, I find my way to a cafe - any cafe - and grab an espresso. The coffee addict in me is thrilled and satisfied. I am definitely going to bring some Italian coffee home! And, in typical Italian fashion, I usually have a beer or glass of wine with my lunch or dinner. I had an Italian craft beer today, I believe a Moretti, that was pretty good. But the vino is just incredible. So fresh and sweet or dry and tasty. I am in a whiner heaven. Next Friday we are taking a trip to Chianti and a wine tasting will be involved and I am so excited!

We've been doing plenty of sight seeing - especially the past two days! Yesterday we climbed the Duomo. Now, I don't know how I didn't realize this, but you actually have to climb stairs all the way to the top. Yeah. That high point that over looks Florence? You have to freaking CLIMB UP TO. What a workout. The stairs were so narrow and steep. But then you get to the top and you look at the view and it's just breathtaking. There is really no way to describe the beauty here. No picture does it complete justice. We also went to see Michelangelo's David. My god to actually look at this sculpture. The impeccable detail to make a block of marble look like a person - veins up the arm, the curls in the hair, even his pupil. Sometimes you just need to stop for a second a think about it. 
We also say the baptistery, the cathedral in the Duomo, the ancient roman ruins underneath, the old bell tower. It's truly amazing. 

I'm having serious struggles with my devices from the 21st century so uploading the pictures I've taken on my camera take a little longer than usual. Be patient and I'll be sure to post some soon. Hi Mom, Hi Dad, Hi Fonz.