Hey all! I haven’t updated in a while, so I figured it was about time. Dad told me that at some point I should do a blog about what a “normal” day for me is, because one day I’ll look back and won’t be able to believe I was here. So, I’ll touch on a couple of highlights from things I haven’t missed, and then talk about my not-so-average day in Florence!
First of all, the weekend before last I went to the Amalfi Coast, in southern Italy. They have amazzzing pizza and amazzzing views, so it was a fantastic weekend. We stayed in Sorrento and visited Capri on Friday, Positano on Saturday, and stopped in Pompeii on the way home Sunday.
Everywhere we went was beautiful – well, Pompeii was less beautiful than the other places, but still nicer than I expected it to be. I took hundreds of pictures which you’ve probably all seen on Facebook by now – if not, hop over there and check them out. I’d say the best parts of the trip were in Positano, where I jumped off a 30+ foot cliff (profile picture! and I’ll see if I can track down the video my friend took), and my friends and I rented a boat to drive around in. Sooo muchh funnn! It was really great.
Also, last week, my art class finally took a trip to the Accademia. This is where many of Michelangelo’s masterpieces are, especially the David. You know, it’s funny – there’s a copy of the David that I walk by and look at every day, so I didn’t expect to be wowed by the original, but I really was. It just looks so… real. I have a newfound appreciation for sculptors – on top of already being deeply impressed by their work. It must take so much skill to bring a piece of stone to life like that.
Now then, on to today. Today, like every day for the past couple of weeks, has been hot, hot, hot. According to our Italian teacher’s report, it’s 33 degrees C, but feels like 39. (I thought it was supposed to feel cooler than it actually is? Oh well.) Fortunately there’s been a nice breeze blowing through and making it bearable. I got up a little late this morning – I set my alarm, but forgot to turn it on, so I woke up with my roommate’s alarm instead – but still had plenty of time to get ready, get some breakfast, and hit the road. Breakfast here is small – Graziella sets out bowls, mugs, spoons, cereal, milk, small pieces of toast, breakfast cookies, and tea, and we each just grab food whenever we make it to the kitchen. It’s smaller than your typical American breakfast, but it gets you through till lunch.
The first class of the day on Mondays is always Italian, which is nice because that’s the class closest to my homestay. Today we reviewed much of what we’ve learned this semester because our exam is on Wednesday (ahh!). I’m studying, but I’m not too worried – a lot of the stuff we’ve done has been kind of like a review for me, though there has been some new material. I’m sure I’ll do fine if I hit the books a little more tonight.
After Italian I walked with some others over to Palazzo Capponi, on the other side of the river, for Dante. Today we were studying Paradiso XV and the Crusades. That class has been really interesting, because we don’t just talk about the Comedy and what Dante is saying, we talk about the history and etymology behind Dante’s words. A lot of the time it seems like we’re going off on tangents, but then it all somehow connects back to the reading. Like I said, it’s a really interesting class.
After class we had a general meeting – our last of the semester 😦 David Onestak’s daughter, Lauren, put together a slideshow of pictures from the trip, and it was really cute to see everyone hanging out and having fun with the Onestak kids. Ahh, memories. Following this, I went out with some other people to grab lunch, then made my way back to the homestay to relax for a bit. I ended up grabbing my books and heading back out to get some fresh air, sit in a cool bit of shade and do some studying. I read over my notes from Dante, and did some practice writing, because we were told our exam (on Thursday) would be an essay. When I was done with that, I decided to take a walk over to the market I’d visited with Dan and Josh to look around. I ended up getting something for one of my brothers – I won’t say who or what – and coming back home. (None of my brothers should worry, though – I’ve now got something for each of you.) Now I’m taking a short break to blog, then a little more studying before dinner, then probably more studying. I love finals!
Ital-Ren Summer 