Buongiorno, la mia nuova casa!

Ciao, amici!

There is much to say but so little space and time, so I will try to keep this first entry short, but I have to share my adventures!

We arrived in Florence on Wednesday evening. Our flight from DFW to Frankfurt was delayed about an hour, but Lufthansa made up for it with its awesome accommodations and service (even in economy class!). We landed in Frankfurt to snow and 14 degree weather...which none of us were prepared for in our light jackets and tennis shoes. By the way, many European airplanes board on the tarmac without a jetway, so you're really in the elements! After the expected European delays, we had quite the landing in Florence--weeble...wobble...SLAM! Siamo qui!! One girl almost threw up due to the roller coaster-like experience. Nevertheless, we made it!

Despite us saying for 14 and a half hours that we would only use Italian with our taxi driver, we got flustered and diverted right back to English. We packed four people with about 12 pieces of luggage into a shrunken mini-van. That was an experience! My knees nearly touched the ceiling--clown car much? We met the TCU group at Hotel Medici...right next to the Duomo and Piazza della Reppublica. The next day we moved in to our apartment...which was even closer to the Duomo! Literally, it is my front yard. And what a great apartment it is! Matt and I share a large room with marble floors, while Patrick has his own room that is only slightly smaller. Ci piace molto!

Most of our days have been scheduled and full of to-do's. I bought a prepaid cell phone that lets me call the States for 0,30 euro/minute. I also tried out the European supermarket thing--intimidating for the uninitiated. Some advice: don't touch the fruit (even if you're going to buy it); start bagging when they start scanning; and bring your own bags because they charge you for them if you don't bring your own. We have made a few meals and had a dinner party the other night. Some good advice we got from Michelangelo, our program director, was to buy cheap sauce, then make it your own with different herbs, spices, and meats. Grazie, Michelangelo!

Interestingly enough, the Italian government only permits two sales per year for its stores. One of those sales is on now (it lasts 6 weeks!), so hopefully I will find some good deals. The Italians are VERY fashionable--shocker, I know. Women won't be caught dead without their mink and boots. And then men always rock fidore and bold scarves. The pages of GQ are their closets and the cobblestone is their runway.

After I get my class syllabi, I hope to make some travel plans! I will post another update after the first day of class on Monday!

Ciao ed a presto!