This Does Not Bode Well

Today is my very last day in Florence. My roommates and I are supposed to have a picnic in the Boboli Gardens and then have dinner at our favorite restaurant (il Porcuspino-the same one where we ate for the first time here).
As I left the apartment this morning, our landlord, who lives next door, was blasting Michael Buble's song, "Home". If you haven't heard it, it is all about wanting to go home. I stood there for a second and realized instead of feeling nostalgic, I don't want to go home at all. About three weeks ago I wanted to go home. Now, not so much.
Then I got into the internet place and got an e-mail about going home and teared up. You know what this means. The ugly cry is imminent. I may be able to hold it together long enough to say goodbye, although I doubt it. But at some point tonight or tomorrow I am going to lose it. I'm not looking forward to it- nothing worse than a public display of soggy emotion. But, I don't think I have much control over it.
And, you guessed it, this is my last blog from Florence. I may keep the blog once I get home- I haven't decided.
I can't believe how quickly this time has passed and how much of a dream this semester has been. I came out here expecting a lot of trials and tribulations and instead just about everything was a dream come true. I really couldn't find anything to complain about besides crappy household plumbing and obnoxious Italian men. Everything else was nearly perfect, which is definately not something I expected. I'm wondering how difficult the adjustment back to my life will be. Even just the little things like not saying "grazie" or expecting that people don't speak English out of instinct. I haven't driven a car in 4 months. I'm going from an apartment with 4 other girls back to my apartment by myself. I almost feel bad for my dog because I'll probably be clinging all over her when I get home.
On the other hand, I counted 10 mosquito bites on my right hand and arm this morning, which is unpleasant to say the least. I hope that the mosquito who did this to me exploded from over-eating. I can't wait for my bed at home and air conditioning. I can't wait to rejoin my gym (if you can believe that). I have really toned legs from all of the stairs here and a gelato gut..... not a winning combo. Plus, something that smells similar to chicken fat has spilled in the bottom of our refridgerator and formed a gel- that's when you know it's time to move out.

Thank you so much to everyone who read my blog and kept in touch with me! I am sure that it helped me feel more connected to home and helped hold off the homesickness!

I'm sure I will be seeing/talking to you all very soon!

Arrivederci Tutti!

Wrapping Up

It's been a crazy week. I just finished finals yesterday, which was a huge load off. I'm not really sure why I took them seriously...I went into Roman history and Lorenzo was like,"Ok guys, I already know what grade I think i'm giving you, but if you have a B and your final is good, I'll give you an A. If your final is shit, we'll just forget about it, ok?" He's so funny. I guess maybe i'm just paranoid because I only have 2 semesters left and a very specific plan that I don't want to change (or postpone) for any reason. I just really need these credits.
I actually packed most of my stuff yesterday to see how it all fits and I think i'm in good shape. Michelle cooked dinner last night and we all drank a little too much wine. By the end, we were laughing so hard people were almost choking and running to spit the water in their mouth out in the sink. The best part is that we got it all on video because Cara was still working on her documentary....due today....
Michelle cooked us all breakfast this morning... really gonna miss the in-house chef....and we're all just doing our final preparations for the trip home. I know i'm going to be a mess. I can feel it coming on. Danielle has like ten packets of kleenex waiting in her room.
The weather here is so hot. I think we've had a good three or four weeks of straight cloudless sunshine (which sounds nice, but I've been wishing for a little rainy weather). The mosquitos are out in full force and our apartment is hot so we keep all the balcony doors open all the time. It's really beautiful though. We'll be hanging out in the apartment and a nice Tuscan breeze will blow through. Some flowers on our balcony are blooming and they smell so sweet. It's really cliche and wonderful so I try to just deal with the mosquitos.
Danielle and I got to play cards for the last time last night while Michelle cooked. Probably best we quit- I have ridiculously good luck at Jailhouse Rummy (like to the point where if there was a league I would join and be champion of the world) and I'm starting to feel bad about pummeling her every night. Besides, she gets mad and throws cards....
Anyway, that is life this weekend. We're just trying to fit everything in.
Anyone have any requests from Italy?
As you can see from the picture, we've done a good job taste testing all of the wine...Michelle was so sad to say goodbye to the bottles she kissed them goodbye and talked to them. She was like, "I loved you, and I loved you, and you- not so much, but I loved you......"

Italy Is Really Pissing Me Off Today

All of the things I am about to rant about fall under the "If you don't like it, go home" catagory- so don't bother saying it, cause I am. But if I weren't leaving I think I would be on the news for attacking an Italian person. They are really pissing me off today. First of all, I can't stand the cat calls any longer. It's hot (oppressively) and all I want to do is get from point A to point B. The Italian men have this way of doing a cat call that sounds like someone clearing their teeth ( that gross sucking in through your teeth noise) and not only is it gross, but exceedingly annoying when having heard it for almost 4 months.
Next, I would like to talk about how Italians have no concept of any other people unless they know them. I am sure that to their friends and family, they are lovely. But to strangers, you might as well not exist because it seems like they can't even see you. When I am walking down the street, it is at least a weekly occurrance that someone coughs or sneezes directly ON ME. Covering your mouth doesn't happen here in Italy, (along with most sanitary practices we treasure in the United States), and since I obviously am invisible, why not sneeze right in my face as I am walking by- or better yet, how about wait until I am mid-sentence and basically cough into my open mouth. I just love when that happens.
Next, lets talk about just trying to walk anywhere, period. Since I am obviously invisible it is ok to completely cut me off as I walk down the sidewalk, or, to stop in the middle of the sidewalk so that no one can get by you. My favorite is how the buses, scooters, and cars don't follow any traffic laws so even if they have a stop sign and I am crossing at a pedestrian cross walk, they will still run me over every time if I don't stop walking.
The Italians talk and sing non-stop just for the sake of hearing their own voices. Forget about customer service or even the common courtesy of not touching me if I don't know you.
On top of all of this, my crack-head sociology teacher (if you can call her that) showed us a movie today and sprung a last minute paper on us that is due the day after tomorrow (the same time that we take our FINAL), AND black chunks of probably some form of toxic metal have started coming out of our kitchen faucet in mass numbers. Yuck. Over all, Italy is really pissing me off today. I never thought I would say this, but I think I have had enough of Italians for a while.
The only positive note of the day was that Lorenzo, my Roman History teacher, came into class with his usual perfectly groomed facial hair and I didn't have to take notes today- so I just sat and stared at him for an hour and fifteen minutes. Ah. I will miss Lorenzo.

Night On The Town

The fashion show last night was a big success. It was so much fun and the outfits were actually really good. Michelle's dress wasn't as see-through as we all anticipated, so that was good. I think by the time the show went on everyone had been drinking wine for so long they didn't care if they what they were wearing....
All of our professors showed up too, which was funny. My favorite part of the night was when we were all dancing by the runway and I looked over and our art history teacher was dancing with her husband. It was really funny. She is probably in her fifties and about 5 feet tall. She was shakin' her groove thing to some raunchy hip-hop and all I could think about was how she was giving us a final next week and whether or not she had graded my final paper....
It was a great night and no one fell down on the runway, which was good.
I wish that Italian men weren't so scary or I think we would all go out a lot more often. When we go out at night there is a very good chance that we will literally be stalked by men. And when you're in these little dark streets late at night it is really scary-especially since the police are of no help to us. They don't speak any English and they don't seem to think being sexually harassed or assaulted is that big of a deal. In fact, we just found out that in Italian law it is legal to slap women you don't know on the ass as long as they follow certain criteria. Like, it has to be open handed and fast. They just in the last couple months passed a law making it sexual harassment to kiss women on the street who don't know you. That was nice of them. So, unfortunately we just don't go out very often.
So, now that it is the weekend we all have to buckle down a little and study. It's just so hard to concentrate right now...

The Fashion Show

The school that we go to is an international art school, so a lot of the classes offered are art or design classes. In fact, I just learned yesterday that the campus that houses the art classes used to be the small school that Michelangelo went to when he was first discovered by the Medici family...kind of cool.
Anyway, there were a couple fashion design classes this semester. So tonight, there is a fashion show being put on by our school and being modelled soley by my classmates. Two of my roommates are models. The fashion show is actually being put on at a very popular club here in town. I think it is going to be very entertaining. Our friend Kat is one of the designers and she designed this "sportswear" dress that is very... interesting. It is supposed to be a golf dress (if those actually exist) but there is no way any woman could swing a club in this thing. Michelle, my roommate, is modeling it. The dress is white and practically totally see-through. Everywhere. Michelle doesn't seem to care though. It will be very entertaining to see everyone on the runway in their non-existant outfits. Hopefully I will be able to get some pictures or video or something. Lets just hope nobody falls down like in "Sex in the City"....

Victory Is Mine

I needed to buy a stamp yesterday. So, I went to a Tobacchi (the place where you buy stamps amongst other things) and I asked for a stamp. The guy told me to go to the post office across the street. Here's the thing- I have avoided the post office like the plague since I got here. Not only is the Italian postal service notorious for being one of the most inefficient in the world, but the people are scary. I mean, postal workers in the States scare me enough as it is...add the fact that they don't speak English and hate me because I am American and you don't really have a recipe for success. But, I gingerly wondered into the post office and found the right window. I decided that I would ask for what I wanted in Italian, (sometimes I plan on that and then I panic and just start speaking English), I figured this guy will never see me again in his life. So, if I butcher his language beyond recognition and humiliate myself and they yell at me, I can run away anonymously. So... I stepped up to the window and said, "Vorrei un franco bollo per gli Stati Uniti". The guy got me my stamps, I paid, and left. I won. I beat the Italian postal service. He didn't even yell at me. It was my victory for the day.
On the topic of being a hated American, I have just noticed something funny in the last couple of weeks. Anytime you see a Canadian who is travelling through Europe, especially backpacking, they make sure to put a HUGE Canadian flag patch on their backpacks, sometimes multiple patches, just to make sure everyone knows they are Canadian and not American. When I first noticed it I thought it was funny, but since I have been paying attention to it, I see it everywhere. It really makes you feel weird about being a loathed American.... My roommates and I decided that we should make t-shirts that will solve all of our problems with Italians. Since we are constantly being heckled by men (I'm sitting at an internet cafe right now facing a window and at least 4 men have walked by and winked/made obnoxious faces at me in the last 15 minutes) and the Italians judge what we are like because we are American, we decided we want to make t-shirts that say, "I'm Canadian, and I don't sleep with strangers".
I think that sums it up nicely.

The Calm Before The Storm

You know how in movies when there's a ship at sea and a storm is coming, it is all quiet and creepy right before the rogue wave hits and the boat tips over..yadda yadda, Gene Hackman is there and eventually some people survive?
That is what this last week and a half is feeling like. I am really excited about going home. I miss my family and friends, my little Isabelle, air conditioning, fat free dairy products, high speed internet that is actually high speed, watching Grey's Anatomy in real time, and MY BED, (just to name a few). But, on the other hand, I am desperately sad to be leaving- nervous about how I am going to feel about home when I get there, and dreading this world I live in here vanishing into thin air. I know I will remember it, but it is just a weird feeling that this little life I am living here will disappear the moment I step on the plane.
And so these two conflicting emotions seem to be cancelling each other out for the time being, and all is calm. There's this weird feeling of just waiting, slowly for the days to pass- not wanting to urge them on or slow them down...just floating. The other roommates seem to feel the same way because we aren't really talking about leaving and for the most part I think they are ignoring that it is happening also. Well, except Michelle. I found Michelle sitting on the balcony a couple days ago with a bottle of red wine in one hand and a chocolate bar in the other...at like 11 AM. It actually looked so nice that I decided to bask in the sun reading all afternoon as well, drowning my sorrows in chocolate (my favorite way to drown my sorrows). I missed ancient Roman history, but I figured Rome has been there a long time- I only have 2 weeks.

Quite A Weekend

So, on Friday, as I posted before, my roommates and I layed around the Boboli gardens and read...not bad. Then, Saturday, I went on a solo mission to Siena (yes, I finally made it). It was a little bit of a fiasco, but I survived. I got on a bus in Siena to go back to the train station and after about 15 minutes of riding along I found myself to be the only person left on the bus- which seemed odd. So, I went up to the bus driver at one of the stops and I said, (In Italian mind you, go me...) "Questo autobus vai al ferovia?" (Does this bus go to the train station?) and the bus driver made a face of utter disgust and said, "No." Then he said, (in Italian mind you, which I understood, go me...) "Get off here and wait 4 minutes for bus number 77." So, I got off the bus and as it pulled away I found myself alone on the side of some suburban Siena street with no sounds but that of the birds chirping and old Italian ladies hanging their laundry. I thought to myself, this could be trouble. No idea where I am. Couldn't call a cab even if I wanted to, and the people who live around here definately are not going to speak a lick of English. So I prayed that bus number 77 would show up in 4 minutes. Thankfully, it did and I made it to the train station.
Besides that, Siena was a beautiful little city with tall buildings and narrow, car-less streets. The Campo (where the horse race takes place) was bustling with activity and I bought a big bunch of juicy grapes and sat there for a while just watching everybody and munching on my grapes. It was great.
Then, yesterday (Sunday) my roommates and I went to Monterosso (which is one of the towns in Cinque Terre). It was probably the best Sunday of my life, and that is saying a lot because I really love my Sundays. We laid on the beach all afternoon next to the clear blue water. What could be better than taking a nap on the beach in the Italian Riviera? It was heaven. Plus, it was really entertaining to watch all of the Italians in their beachwear...

I attached some pictures- first of Siena, Monterosso, and my roomies and I.





Wasn't really prepared...excuse my beachwear...

Downtime

I woke up this morning, had a bowl of cereal and leisurely read some of my Harry Potter book. I just finished reading "The Glass Castle" (Can't remember the author's name..oops...) and it was great but really sad. So, I decided I needed something lighter. I've never read a Harry Potter book but I love the movies. So, I got the one that is the follow up to the last movie released. The thing is a honking 900 and something pages. But I'm really having fun reading it. Especially since I don't watch t.v. here, it is fun to get some fiction.
After I read, I went out to the giant food market to get some dried fruit, and some olives and clementines for Linda (my roommate). I love being in the market area in the morning because everyone is still setting up, all the shopkeepers are yelling across the paths at each other, catching up on the morning gossip, and the butchers are out in full force swinging their giant meatcleavers in every which direction. It's pretty funny. Plus, all the cute little old Italian ladies are out getting their shopping done for the day and I love to see what they buy. It's so surreal here- I'm really going to miss the market.
My roommates and I have nothing to do today- we can't go anywhere because all of the trains are on strike, so we're going to the Boboli Gardens with some food and books to lay around in the sun and be totally unproductive. I can't wait.

Easter Candy, Gelato, Mozzarella

I've lost control. I'll admit it, right here online. I have totally lost the power to regulate what I am eating. I don't know what happened...I'll be doing well for a while and then I fall off the wagon. It's like I black out and I wake up eating a Cadbury egg (Kelly brought me a box full of Easter candy...thanks a lot.) I'm worried that if I continue to be this out of control that my roommates are going to find laying on the sidewalk outside the gelateria and the only signs of what happened would be the chocolate gelato smeared all over my mouth. I keep hiding behind the "I only have like 2 weeks left and then I'll be home on a diet, I might as well enjoy myself" excuse. This is never productive thinking. You know it's bad when you look at a ball of mozzarella and think about how you'd really just like to pick it up and eat it like an apple. I hope I can regain control soon, although it is looking bleak.

Pictures

Here are the pictures from my trip this weekend. The weather in Florence (and Italy for that matter) has really taken a turn towards summer. Everyday here is pure sunshine with a slight cool breeze. It's actually really nice. It is very reminiscent of home and the start of summer when the pools start to open and the evenings are beautiful and warm. Such a charmed life i'm leading here in Florence. Today Kelly and I slept in and then we wandered around the San Lorenzo market for a bit. After that we went to the panini place across from my apartment where you can build your own panino. They have all of these amazing ingredients and you can choose delicious things like sundried tomatoes, pesto, artichokes, mozzarella, you name it. I guess the Italian version of Subway...and of course, so much better. So delicious. So, we got these panini and went and ate them on my tuscan balcony in the sunshine...had a nice lazy day (interrupted by school, yuck), and now i'm writing a paper (also yuck) but oh well. It's supposed to be almost 80 degrees here this week...glad i'm going to be missing the summer here because it's gonna be a HOT one.

WOW.

Sorry I havent blogged in a while- been a traveling woman this week. And I apologize in advance for this blog not having any apostrophies-I cant find it on this funky keyboard. Anyway, Kelly and I went to Venice and had a great time. I have been there 4 times now and everytime is just as magical as the last. It is such a unique and amazing city. We did the typical tourist things there and had some amazing meals. Then we came to Rome which is where we are right now. Let me tell you about what we did yesterday.
We woke up and went straight to the Vatican so Kelly could see the Vatican museum and the Sistine Chapel and then St. Peters. Yesterday was the single most busy day of the year for the Vatican because it is Easter and its closed on Monday. So instead of about 50 thousand visitors in day there were about 150 thousand. What a zoo. But, we got through and of course it was amazing. Then, we left the Vatican and went for a late lunch next to the Pantheon. It was a beautiful sunny day out and we sat outside next to the fountain and in front of the Pantheon. Lunch was amazingly delicious (Kelly had profiterol for the first time and she actually almost cried when it was gone) and we just relaxed. Then we went back to our hotel (which is behind the Pantheon...pretty cool) and got ready for round two. A couple months ago I had requested tickets for Easter at St. Peters. So last night, Kelly and I went to midnight mass in St. Peters Basilica with the Pope. It was unbelievable. First of all, our seats were awesome. We were dead center in front of the 7 story altar and about 75 yards back. Really close. When they started, they turned off all of the lights and did the candle lighting ceremony for Easter. Everyone had a candle and pretty soon, then entire basilica was lit by only our candles. It was seriously magical, even for a non-catholic like me. I felt really bad though because it is Passover and I have been trying my best to not eat bread, but you can imagine it is really difficult here. Yesterday I had to eat a sandwich if I was going to eat anything for dinner. I felt really bad because I ate a sandwich and then went to Catholic mass...but what can you do...
So, anyway, it was quite a day. This morning we walked back to St. Peters and stood in a crowd of thousands for the Easter Sunday mass that is done in the square, which was also an amazing sight. I have pictures of all of it and when I get back to Florence I will put them on the blog.
So, things are going well, having fun. Happy Passover and Easter to everyone!

Pick Yourself Up, Dust Yourself Off...

The last few days I have been in a funk. I'm sure it is a combination of things. One, I was sick all weekend. There's nothing that makes you feel more isolated than being sick and far away from home. So, I felt a little homesick because of it. I have also been feeling really confused about going back home in a few weeks. On one hand, I am excited. I miss my life- my life that is sort of frozen to me over there across the ocean...
On the other hand, I love it here and don't really want to leave. It is a difficult thing because it will be hard to leave and hard to be home. I'm a little worried that once I get back, my ordinary life won't seem good enough-or maybe just really bland by comparison. So there's that. That can make anyone feel a little funky. I am also the type of person who needs some good alone time. I used to think I needed it a lot more than I do because for the last 3 months I haven't wanted to be alone at all. But this weekend I have really valued my single room. I have been hiding out in there a lot.
However, today is better. I woke up and felt well enough to make the long trek to the laundry place. I washed my sheets and blankets- the best thing to do after laying in bed sick for a few days straight. So, I've got a new bed, the sun is shining, and my friend Kelly is coming in today. She should be arriving sometime this afternoon and that will be nice. A little bit of home coming to see me. So, I think I'm sinking back into the groove of things and hopefully this funk will continue to fade away.

The Agony and The Ecstasy, Part II

Once again this weekend has been very good and very bad. It started off well enough- I went to Rome, but I decided not to spend the night because I thought I could go to Sienna on Saturday, since I'll be in Rome next weekend anyway. The day in Rome was great. The picture you see is of my knees as I was lying on a grassy knoll by the colluseum...took a little snooze in the sun with the colluseum as my view. Can't get much better than that. I went home on Friday night and that's when things took a turn. Not sure what happened, if I got the flu or if something I ate didn't go over well, but I was sick all night on Friday. That kind of agonizing sick where your stomach feels like it's being shredded. I've actually decided that it must have been the flu because I got a fever yesterday. So, no Sienna. Instead, I have spent the last 36 hours lying on my back in my incredibly uncomfortable twin size bed (because if I lay on my side I feel sicker for some reason). My back is killing me, my knee still hurts from last week's battle that I lost with the stairs, and frankly, the idea of the upcoming week of travelling sounds overwhelming and exhausting. I have watched all of my Friends and I Love Lucy dvd's, so I better not get sicker, or it will be all re-runs for me. I'm actually feeling better- better enough to come down to the web place and jump online for a bit, but I think a nap is in my immediate future. Luckily, I have really sweet roommates who have been getting me juice and tea all weekend. It's hard to be sick and be away from home. But, it looks like i'm in the homestretch and it's almost over. Hopefully i'll have more positive news to blog about this week...