Bella Italia!

Today has been a GORGEOUS day! The day started a little chilly at 60 degrees but it has warmed up significantly to about 80. We began our day today with a tour of the local food market. All of the food was beautiful! It is amazing to see such fresh produce available every day! After we toured the market we went to our school to have our very own cooking class!

One of our coordinators, Milva, is also a cooking instructor at the university, so we got a sneak peak into what those classes are like. Oh, and when I say "we" I mean all of the students who came on the same program as I did. Fortunately, I chose the fall semester and there are only 16 of us where in the spring semester there are around 150!!!

We learned how to make gnocchi which is a boiled potato that is mashed and made into a type of pasta. It was mixed in with a beautiful tomato sauce. We also made cheese stuffed zucchini flowers that were battered and fried in oil. Then there was the bruschetta which is a toasted type of bread. Ours was rubbed with garlic and topped with tomatoes, salt, and basil. Finally for dessert was tiramisu. I helped with every single dish and it all tasted FABULOUS! I couldn't believe how simple it was. Good ingredients and a good teacher make all the difference in learning how to cook!

After lunch (we ate everything we made!) I went back with some of my friends to their apartment and we just sat for a while. Then we had a walking tour of Florence! Our guide was a teacher from our school and I think I have a class with him. He was really funny and gave us a great tour. We learned about the Medici family (the most important family in Florence's history) and he showed us many of the different buildings that are historically significant.

By the end of the tour we were all tired and I came back to my house to relax. Tonight my host mom is making dinner so it should be fabulous! Tomorrow we leave to go on a 2 day excursion to Southern Tuscany. I'm excited :D

My Italian is improving every day, mainly because my host mom (Gabriella) does not speak much English. I am pretty proud of how much I have already remembered, and all of my friends are impressed (none of them speak as much as I do).

Hopefully I can now figure out how to get pictures attached to this so you can all see the beautiful sights I am seeing!

Arrivederci!

Ho Arrivato! (I Arrived!)

This afternoon (Italy time) I arrived at my new home in Florence, Italy. My host mom and sister are AMAZING women who are going to take great care of me. I spent the afternoon unpacking and SHOWERING, and then took a quick stroll by myself to get a feel for the area. Tonight we have a nice orientation dinner and tomorrow we start seeing more of Florence. We are going to the market AND getting some cooking lessons.

A Presto!

Due Giorni!

I am finally really excited about leaving! I have everything that I need to pack, it's just a matter of getting clothes washed and making sure my suitcase stays under 50 lbs--a serious challenge! I said goodbye to my siblings and nieces yesterday and it was harder than I thought it would be. Never have I been the one leaving everyone else behind; it's pretty scary! Today I have to take care of some last minute money stuff and hopefully finish packing. Tomorrow I will have a leisurely day and visit my grandparents and then I'll be "Leavin' on a jet plane..." :)

A Presto da Firenze! (See you soon from Florence!)

Sei Giorni! (Six Days)

Whoa, where did the summer go? I got back home to Strawberry Point today from a week of camp and a couple days in Iowa City. I have nothing ready except for my credit cards opened so my charges don't get blocked. I'm not even unpacked from camp. Oh well! I'm excited, nervous, anxious, scared, stressed, and everything in between! I leave Sunday morning at 7:01 AM from Cedar Rapids. I will then fly to Chicago, then to Newark, NJ, then to Roma!

Arrivederci!

Diciannove Giorni! (19 Days!)

Ciao friends! Only 19 days until I leave the country! Today I booked a trip to Munich for Oktoberfest where I will meet up with Bekky, a foreign exchange student who came to my high school a few years ago. After a couple of days at Oktoberfest, we will go visit her house in Tapfheim, Germany. Today I got the last of my emails from my study abroad coordinator in New York so that means everything is almost ready! I, however, have a lot of loose ends to tie up before I can bust out of here.

A Presto! (See you soon)

Ciao!

Hello everyone! Welcome to my new blog. This will be the place to go when you want to live vicariously through a young woman having a blast in Italy! Here I will tell all about my adventures, host family, school, and everything in between. I will also upload pictures frequently. Now for some things you might not know!

Where I'm going:
Firenze (Florence), Italy

My school:
Lorenzo De'Medici

My host family:
The Forcucci family

Departure date:
August 29th

Return date:
December 18th

Stay tuned for new information and exciting countdowns!