Being an expat...

Ciao friends, fam, future self. Well, I have officially been traveling Italy for two weeks now.  It seems like it has been way longer, yet, not at the same time! (Make sense?)  Classes started last week, and I am taking an anthropology class for Fashion and Desirability.  It's pretty interesting and my teacher is awesome, but being in a classroom for 2.5 hours is yuck, especially when you are not in school mode. On the fun side, she took us to a few artists/artisans workshop and a local art exhibit tour, which only happens once a month.  We were offered free wine and food while we admired all the local artist's unique work.  It was a nice change from all the renaissance art I have been seeing. I also forgot to mention that I took a cooking class! This was so much fun, our chef, however, got really frustrated with me.  "MAMA MIA, JUICY (that's how he said my name) SO SLOW!!! NO, NO, NO! Here, you stir." Whoops, the food we made was delicious though...can't remember the names of the dishes unfortunately.

This past week included a lot of walking, and a lot of getting lost ( people are trying to help me with my directions by letting me lead them home, they give me two blocks to figure out if I'm wrong before they tell me that I am going in the opposite direction that we are supposed to be...can't be good at everything, I guess ;) jajajajheheehehohohoho. This weekend a few of us decided we wanted to explore a few of the smaller cities outside Florence, so we hopped on a train and visited San Gimignano and Arezzo! They were both so cute and beautiful!!! We explored torture museums (yikes!!!!!!), went to a free wine tasting, ate at really cool local restaurants, went to a really awesome antique fair, ate a lot of gelato, had a lot of philosophical, and smart convos on our train rides, heel clicked, skipped, laughed really hard, the snorting kind, and left feeling very lucky. I AM SO LUCKY!

 I love it here so much!!!! Yet, it has been a lot of getting used to.  For example, not running up and petting/cooing at every dog you see in the street (they do not like that at all),  not smiling at anyone, (when you walk you have to get your putanna face on), not looking at anyone in the eye (the police warned us that  men can see that as an invitation...) fearing for your life every time you cross the street, trying not to get offended when someone honks at you, paying to go to to the bathroom or not being allowed to use a bathroom, quick showers, feeling like a loser every time you open up your huge map and endless amounts of walking and no sitting (which I actually love) and the list goes on. 

The past two weeks have definitely  been a learning adventure! I feel guilty for how much fun I am having.  It's weird going from 30 + hour work weeks + school and homework to fun everyday...:)  Oh and I almost forgot, the fashion... surprisingly the boys here have better fashion than the girls.  However, the boots/shoes...o.m.g. Also, the old people...o.m.g. 

I have to go hang my super wrinkly clothes up now! Catch ya later alligators, after awhile crocodiles!
p.s. I'm going to an Italian Opera tomorrow!!!! So excited!