MAFIA

For the most part, this past week was pretty uneventful. Classes are getting much much harder...and since they only meet once a week, I have TONS of reading to do. I just finished reading 200 pages of the most boring art history ever written. But I decided that it will all be worth to see the Sistine Chapel ceiling when I'm in Rome next week!

So far, my drawing class is sooooo incredible, and definitely my favorite! We meet for six hours once a week at different places around Florence. We've gone to the Uffizi twice and the Boboli Gardens, and we just sit around and draw for six hours...whatever you want. It's so wonderful, and the teacher is super laid back and hilarious! Last week I was working on a drawing of a statue of Venus, and he came by to look over everything. He said it was great...but I should do something else...something more entertaining. So, he made me draw the backside of a sculpture from an awkward angle...so now I have a drawing of horse's ass in my sketchbook...really nice. The best part is, for my homework, I just have to find something I like in Florence and draw some more! so fun =)

Oh, and, in my cultural history class today we learned about the MAFIA! I found out that the mafia only really exists in Sicily, and there are other organized crime groups all over Italy. The biggest, sketchiest, most dangerous, most powerful group is called the Camorra, from Naples. It's made up of a group of about 40 families that have been around since the 1800s, and they control pretty much the entire economy through illegal and legal businesses...their biggest industry: cocaine. They control over 80% of the cocaine trade in Italy, 50% in Europe, 30% of the global economy. woah...and the coolest part is, it's totally a current issue. A guy in Barcelona, Marino Santafede, got arrested for his involvement in the Camorra and the cocaine trade with South America a few days ago...he had 24,000 euro in his pocket when the police picked him up. So i decided that maybe that's why people deal coke...apparently, in Florence alone, 1 million euros worth of cocaine is dealt every week.

Okay, enough on the details of drug running operations...I was just very intrigued. I didn't think that the mafia was still actually around and active!

So yes, classes have turned out to be quite interesting. I feel like I'm finally settling into Florence. I can actually go for a walk without getting lost. Liz and I went exploring today and found a bunch of super authentic Italian markets with fresh fruit and veggies and cheese and meat! Everything is so much cheaper when you don't have to buy it in the middle of downtown where all the tourists are. I'm ready for the tourist season to die down...they are everywhere...all the time.

This week I'm headed to the Amalfi coast and exploring Pompeii. Then we spend a week in Rome with our professors. We have visits scheduled to the Vatican and the Colosseum, and all the fancy Roman places, so it should be a busy week! I still can't believe that I will get to see everything in person...welcome to Italy! I can't wait!

7 hours of hiking and finally, the beach

With the first week of classes over, this weekend marked my first adventure outside Tuscany. But it all started in Florence at La Tavola, where I went to a cooking class! I learned how to make gnocchi, eggplant, and...tramisu!...and the chef said I should become a cook. The tiramisu was surprisingly easy to make, and sooo incredibly delicious. Also, really awesome, I ordered at a restaurant yesterday with a bunch of people and the waiter asked if I was Italian! My response: "...um no, do I look Italian?!" And he said, "...um no, but your accent is very authentic." We had a pretty indepth conversation, considering I've only been here 10 days, about studying here and what else I was doing. So apparently I can totally pass for a native speaker...woah!

After my cooking adventures, I headed off to Cinque Terre for the rest of the weekend. Cinque Terre ("Five Lands") is on the eastern coast of Italy, and is made up of five coastal towns that overlook the ocean from super high cliffs. We stayed at a hostel in the first town, Riomaggiore. You can either take a train between the five towns, or...you can hike. And hike we did! For SEVEN HOURS. It started out easy...too easy. The trail was paved, there were handrails. No problems. But then...you get past the second town and go on to Corniglia. The dreadful hike into Corniglia finishes with a climb of 368 stairs. But these are not your regular stairs...they're wayyy steep and, mind you, you have to climb them after hiking all uphill. And that's only the beggining. After Corniglia you go on to Vernazza and Montorossa. These were my favorite towns. We stopped for lunch under an explosion of giant colorful umbrellas (I ate octopus!) and watched sail boats and awkward men in tiny speedos play around in the water. But then we had to hike again. This was worse than that hike to Piazza di Michelangiolo (which now seems like a short stroll). And like that hike, I have never climbed up a ski mountain...but I imagine that this was much, much worse. And, like that other hike, it was hot. And it would randomly start pooring, but the rain was also hot. So...I was hot. Story of Italy: it's hot.

But we finally made it to Montorosso and laid on the beach and relaxed...for about 20 minutes...until it was time to go back...ALL THE WAY BACK TO WHERE WE STARTED. I thought I was tired before. But to do it all over again...my body hated me yesterday. It definitely didn't help that I got attacked by some monstrous beetle type bug. I have a bruise where it bit me...and it feels like I got a shot. I've decided that there is really nothing I can do to avoid the bugs here...they just really like me! So in the end, we finally made it back to our hostel and ate dinner by the water, and totally passed out. The weekend was amazing. I seriously think Cinque Terre tops my list as one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. But there's no way I am ready to hike those 16 miles uphill any time soon!

No big deal...just a regular Sunday afternoon in Italy

I'm sitting here in my apartment...it's 5 am and I'm watching the Bronocos on my computer! Oh what I'll do for some American football. Too bad I can only see little x's moving across the screen. But what a great game!!!

Anyways...Yesterday Liz, Erin, Lauren, Kristen and I went horseback riding in Tuscany, followed by dinner and wine tasting at a Tuscan castle from the middle ages. O my gosh, it was one of the most beautiful experiences of my life! My horse was ginormous...apparently I was voted the most experienced rider of anyone there, so I got paired up with a monstrous horse. The ride lasted about 2 hours through Tuscany, and we saw a bunch of villas and vineyards, and then we ended at the castle for dinner...which seems to last about 3 hours no matter what you do. But then I guess it does take a while to eat a 5 course meal! Speaking of which...on Friday we had a welcome dinner for our program that took literally five and a half hours! We ate so much food, but you don't even get full because because it takes so long for the food to come out. Plus, you walk so much in this city that you're always hungry.

We hiked up to the Piazza di San Michelangelo, which is at the top of the city. It's a good three miles I'd say from our apartment...but uphill the entire way. Like climbing up a ski mountain uphill...and it was so hot and humid...but the view from the top was incredible! You can see the entire city, and the sun was setting by the time we got there...ah, how wonderful!

Other than that, classes started today, so I'm on my way to learning Italian. That class meets for 6 hours a week, same with my drawing class. Then I have 2 other classes about Italian culture and history, so it should be exciting. But a lot of work...18 hours of credit! Well, I'm back to bed for an hour before I have to get to class. Miss you all!

mosquito mayhem

My first night out in the city was filled with Irish pubs, karaoke, an Italian discoteca, and tons of mosquitos. I never thought a mosquito could be so sneaky...but you can't even feel the suckers biting you out here. I literally have 12 bites on one leg alone. The worst part is they swell up super huge before you even know that they're there. And then once you see them, you obviously have to start scratching away. Then you start feeling like mosquitos are attacking you all over, but it's just your imagination. AH! I'm just hoping that they will disappear with the hot weather.

Day One!

After what felt like a lifetime on airplanes and taxis, I finally got to Florence this morning at 10am. Now, nearly 12 hours later, I am surprisingly still awake and running on some hidden source of energy! The city is amazing...our apartment is literally an eight minute walk from the city center...where the Duomo is, and so many other amazing sites. There are carts everywhere filled with purses and scarves, and all sorts of other things to distract me form saving my money. Though, so far, I've only spent money on a bottle of water that turned out to be disappointingly disgusting because it was sparkling and bubbly. gross... Then my friend Lauren and I nearly got attacked by some wacko man in the middle of the square. Apparently he thought it was funny to scream and run around at the top of his lungs and try to catch us...not too funny, but our very first strange experience. Moving on to the grocery store...not really the same stuff there either. The milk is...warm. I don't do warm milk. Which means I won't be eating cereal for the next four months. Truly a tragedy, and major letdown in my breakfast options. So for the most part, Florence has been great so far. It's super hot and super humid, but probably one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen.