Ciao!
I have finally made it to Italy and I am in love. I could honestly leave it at that, not telling you anything else. My point would be made and you would have to come see Firenze yourself. Not to worry though, I will not leave you in wonder. Instead, I will let you in on my first impressions and observations.

Firenze is a small city and you really can walk anywhere. Trust me when I say that my feet feel the efforts of their labor. The architecture speaks to the timelessness of this city, adding to its character and charm. I have become oddly obsessed with the doors of various buildings; their iron detail, color, carvings, height, width, door knocker, etc. I feel as though the doors are a reflection of what lies behind it, whether that be a person or shop.

Speaking of shops…those who love fashion are made to feel at home in Firenze. Every street is lined with sweet little boutiques, vintage shops, and designer stores. It is hard not to fall in love after every bend and turn in this city and it’s easy to let the Euros slip from your fingertips.

Moving a bit closer to home, I live in an apartment with three other ladies. We are fortunate enough to be located right on the river Arno. I feel blessed about this because any of the bridges that run across the river make for a beautiful viewing spot for a Florence sunset. I also, suggest a walk to any of the main Piazzas if you are fighting jet lag (a very real thing) and need something to do. Evening strolls in Florence are cool and relatively quiet. The noises in Italy are pretty loud; from motor bikes to ambulances to loud conversations, it all comes in max volume. I only hope that as time goes on,these noises will move further into the background.

Living in an apartment is new to me for a few key reasons: We are responsible for filling the fridge, buying cleaning products, and buying household products (toilet paper, paper towels). When something isn’t functioning right we are the ones with the power to fix it by notifying our landlord or submitting a maintenance request form. There is a lot to learn about being completely independent and in living in a space that is not completely your stuff. For a few examples: I am not used to a gas stove and oven, thus lighting it is a struggle. I am not used to such a small fridge for four people. Nor am I used to having a washer in my bathroom and a drying rack in my family room. All of these differences have made me feel like I am very privileged back home and maybe even a tad spoiled. Until I am used to these differences, I will laugh at myself when I overbuy food and have to cram it into my self, when the shower decides it no longer want to be hot, or when I bump into that drying rack every time I turn the corner. All of these are lessons learned.

As for school, this week marks the first week of classes and I could not be any more excited. I feel that SAI has done an excellent job at getting us set up and making us feel welcomed into the area. They are gracious enough to understand that a whole day of travel means that we are incapable of fending for ourselves, so they pick us up from the airport and drop us off at the doorstep of our house. Luckily for us, we got to keep our sweet Italian boy to be the muscle in getting all of our luggage to our third floor apartment. Orientation went just as smoothly, getting us all of the necessary information about our stay and a ton of fun information regarding the going ons of Firenze. To top it off they provided us a delicious assortment of foods and an opportunity to get to know one another at a reception held at the most beautiful building.

So far, so good in Firenze! Until next time!

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Brittany is a current student at Point Loma Nazarene University studying at Florence University of the Arts in Italy during the Fall 2014 term.