When I first arrived in Florence, I was not sure what to expect. I had read a little bit about Italian culture and what kind of etiquettes you should have. Being here for the first couple of days, I was really surprised at how receptive people are here to American culture. I was caught off-guard by how many shopkeepers here speak English as well as other languages. though, I shouldn’t be so surprised since this city is a huge tourist site. Also, I found it astounding just seeing how many foreigners live here in Italy. I was expecting Florence and Italy in general to be rather homogenous, but I have met quite a few South Asians, Chinese, Africans, and Romanians. It’s so pleasant to see just how cultural diverse Florence can be.
During my first week here, I had a really tough time adjusting to life here in Florence. My roommates and I spent days just trying to figuring how to use our keys for our apartment doors. (They are hard to open because the buildings are so old!) The first few days of walking around town, there were so many motorists that would’ve ran me over if I did not cross the street quickly. Perhaps pedestrians here don’t have as much right of way compared to those back in the states. Not only that, there have been countless times where I’ve gotten lost in the city for hours, and I even missed my first day of class because I had mixed up my class times!
After my first week here, however, I am starting to feel more at home here even though I miss my family and friends at home. I really love being able to walk around the city and see all sorts of historic buildings around me. I’ve been visiting really lovely cafés for a relaxing lunch, and I found a pretty exquisite art store where you have a relatively huge selection of supplies. In my class, I really love the fact that our professor will take us to different sites so we can paint gorgeous architecture and landscapes. Most of all, I am excited to find so many events going on here in the city. My first weekend here, I planned for all the events I want to visit while I’m still here. Taking the time to do so really paid off because I was able to go to a music festival recently. The Festival au Désert is a African music festival that is currently taking place at Piazza Madonna delle Neve, which is right outside the Le Murate café. I came home from the festival about an hour ago, and I already miss the relaxing night air and the excitement from the bands and the crowds. I am so happy that I have this opportunity to study abroad here in beautiful Florence, and the fun is only beginning!
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Bich Thi-Kim Nguyen, University of Texas at Arlington
