It has been too long

Bonjourno! I apologize for not posting in a few days but now that everyone has arrived, we have had orientations to attend and friends to make :].

On Thursday was orientation which went from 845-3pm...way too long. They simply just went over attendance policies, safety tips and other general information. We met our advisor, Elena, who is very sweet and also has a pretty thick accent. I am really excited to start school! For those of you who are curious, this is what my class schedule is:

Monday: Intro to Marketing 12-230 and Broadcasting: Italian Culture through Television 6-830 pm
Tuesday: Italian 101 9-10:15am and Pairing Italian Wine and Food 6-830 pm
Wednesday: Social Psychology 6-830 pm
Thursday Italian 9-10:15am

Needless to say, my schedule is very spread out and easy. I don't think school is going to be all that stressful, especially since one of my classes consists of cooking and then pairing the dish to wine...awesome. Speaking of wine, I have officially fallen in love with wine and more so the their idea of how a meal should be enjoyed. I personally enjoy quality conversations, especially when they are exchanged over a delicious meal, luckily the Italians share this idea. Eating quickly and not finishing everything is seen, not as rude, but they assume you didn't enjoy the meal (although you did). The pace of life here is much slower and a lot less stressful. I still find myself rushing to get ready or go places, when really, there is no need for that here. I highly suggest anyone with high blood pressure to move here, or in the surrounding countryside.

Friday: Was the first day that I have slept in since I have been in Florence. I am happy that our window shutters work as blackout curtains and that wine makes me very sleepy. Probably the best night sleep I have had in a long time. After waking up at 10, I spent the day with Alex, Lainey (one of my sorority sisters) and her friend Jessi (also from chapman). We showed them around the city since Alex and I are now professional tour guides. It was really nice to be around other people and share in the excitement of the city. We went to dinner at this place called Mamma Toscanna's...I had tagliatelle ai funghi porcini (pasta in a mushroom sauce), it is probably my new favorite dish. Oh, also on Friday we experienced an earthquake...thought I left California but I guess not. It wasn't terrible but definitely unexpected. I also went shopping at Zaras and bought two coats because the temperature is steadily dropping and I am tired of freezing every time I step outside. They are very nice and on sale :] now I have a white coat,and a black coat to keep my red coat company.

Saturday (today): Alex and I went grocery shopping!!! It was quite the experience because here, in the open market they have a bunch of different shops for meat and veggies/fruits/pasta/cheese etc. You go to the stand of your choice and tell them what you want and you pay for it there as opposed to walking around and paying at the end. It was very intimidating considering I don't know what things are in Italian and they do everything by kilograms not lbs. Aside from being a little nervous, everyone was really nice and helpful and I highly enjoyed myself. Other than cooking lunch for ourselves, we have just been enjoying ourselves and relaxing before school starts on Monday!

Ciao!