Upon Arriving in the city of Florence, it surpassed my expectation. I was not expecting the city to be filled with so much history, and beautiful architecture. I truly feel like I am getting the complete Italian experience. I am living as if I were and Italian. I look forward to exploring this culture moreover the next four months. I already know I would like to incorporate aspects of the Italian lifestyle in my routine when I head back to the states.

When I was driven into the city, I was amazed by the buildings and how close together they were. Each street seemed like another little pocket of the city to be explored. Although the driving and traffic seemed hectic, pedestrians and drivers seemed to flow together flawlessly. After exploring a little I have already found my favorite market, bakery, and even a few places to buy clothing. I look forward to experiencing all the city life has to offer, and future exploring.

The food in Italy is in a leage of its own. I have never experienced so much fresh food and in such an abundance. I am not only reffering to the restaraunts, the markets are incomparable to anything in the states. I have only been to a handful of restaurants and have tried something new everytime, dishes like risotto, rabbit stew, and napoli pizza (with anchovies and olives). There are a few things I have yet to try like Gelato and pasta,   It won’t take me much longer to venture out and try those Italian favorites.

What I really want to do while I am here is cook with the local ingredients, I love to cook and I want to really perfect Italian cooking. I have already gone on a couple trips to the market and was astounded by the abundance of fresh ingredients. Food here is so rich with real ingredients.   I was amazed when I went to open a carton of eggs and found a feather resting on one of the eggs, and could only think of how that happy accident would never happen in the states. It just shows how fresh the food really is and it made for a really funny story. It is my hope to venture out and find shops with unique ingredients and learn new ways to use them and to take that back with me to the states and incorporate that in my everyday life.

I had no idea what to expect my apartment to be like,without pictures or descriptions I was really nervous. When I arrived I was really happy with what I saw. My apartment is a quaint 2 bedroom on top of a four story building, with exposed beams, a small tower for reading, and a fantastic patio. I am able to cook, sleep and live like an Italian and I am elated to have the opportunity to learn about the culture through experience.

I have already experienced so much in the week that I have been here, it is truly amazing   I am anxious to dive further into the Italian culture and make the most of my time here! Most importantly I look forward to sharing my experiences with others and encouraging them to take a trip like this in their lifetime, because it is the experience of a lifetime.

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Sarah is a current student at Western Michigan University studying at Florence University of the Arts in Italy during the Spring 2015 term.