Ho avuto un pazzo prima settimana in Italia! I have had a crazy first week in Itlay!
General update: I arrived on Monday after an 8 hour flight to Rome and then a quick connecting flight to Florence. We stayed in a (sketchy) hotel on Monday night and had our first day of orientation the following day, which consisted of a few meetings. From there we finally got to go see our school - it is absolutely breathtaking. I'm still in shock that that's where I'll be going to school for three months. On Tuesday night we were introduced to our host family and moved in shortly after. My host's name is Lucia and she is such a sweetheart but come to find out...she doesn't speak English. We were told that most of the hosts speak some English but we ended up with one who doesn't understand or speak much at all. Her apartment is amazing! (Photos to come) She lives on the top floor and owns the two apartments next to each other on that floor, so my roommate and I pretty much have an entire side to ourselves, aside from the kitchen. We had a few more meetings the rest of this week and then registered for classes this morning, which was a little hectic, but I got all of the classes I wanted! I will be taking Italian language, Italian culture, Mediterranean Food and Culture (OMG), Sustainable Urbanism and Comedy in Italy Past and Present. I couldn't be more excited, especially for my Food and Culture class.
As excited as I am for this incredible experience, it's been a bit of a "rocky-ish" start. I like my roommate and she and I get along well, but she snores. Badly. I haven't slept through the night yet and that has been quite a challenge with the jet-lag and the overall stress of acclimating to a new place. I sleep with ear plugs, a fan and white noise on my phone and can still hear her snoring at night. Not really sure what to do about that. I can only hope that it will get better.
In terms of our host, I didn't really have any expectations. All I knew is that another girl who stayed with her last year spoke very highly of her; however, our host has been my most difficult adjustment so far. She doesn't speak English and trying to get familiar to a new place when you can't ask the owner anything is insanely difficult. It doesn't feel like she really wants to get to know us or help us with anything, but that could very well be due to the language barrier. When I talk to my friends about their hosts they get so excited and talk about all the things they've helped them with and shown them, as well as about their plans for the "immersion weekend" that we are all supposed to partake in this weekend with our hosts. Lucia hasn't told us anything that she's supposed to and hasn't made any plans for this weekend. There's just so many unknowns at this point...
Until now I had never really understood the concept of culture shock; however, it is certainly something I understand now. I knew I would get lost along the way, and I'm still excited about that, but this first week has been so overwhelming. I just keep telling myself that after a week or two of classes and a routine that it will slowly start to get better. For now I am just looking forward to when I finally feel acclimated, and can walk the streets of Florence with ease.
Current thoughts: There's no place like home.
General update: I arrived on Monday after an 8 hour flight to Rome and then a quick connecting flight to Florence. We stayed in a (sketchy) hotel on Monday night and had our first day of orientation the following day, which consisted of a few meetings. From there we finally got to go see our school - it is absolutely breathtaking. I'm still in shock that that's where I'll be going to school for three months. On Tuesday night we were introduced to our host family and moved in shortly after. My host's name is Lucia and she is such a sweetheart but come to find out...she doesn't speak English. We were told that most of the hosts speak some English but we ended up with one who doesn't understand or speak much at all. Her apartment is amazing! (Photos to come) She lives on the top floor and owns the two apartments next to each other on that floor, so my roommate and I pretty much have an entire side to ourselves, aside from the kitchen. We had a few more meetings the rest of this week and then registered for classes this morning, which was a little hectic, but I got all of the classes I wanted! I will be taking Italian language, Italian culture, Mediterranean Food and Culture (OMG), Sustainable Urbanism and Comedy in Italy Past and Present. I couldn't be more excited, especially for my Food and Culture class.
As excited as I am for this incredible experience, it's been a bit of a "rocky-ish" start. I like my roommate and she and I get along well, but she snores. Badly. I haven't slept through the night yet and that has been quite a challenge with the jet-lag and the overall stress of acclimating to a new place. I sleep with ear plugs, a fan and white noise on my phone and can still hear her snoring at night. Not really sure what to do about that. I can only hope that it will get better.
In terms of our host, I didn't really have any expectations. All I knew is that another girl who stayed with her last year spoke very highly of her; however, our host has been my most difficult adjustment so far. She doesn't speak English and trying to get familiar to a new place when you can't ask the owner anything is insanely difficult. It doesn't feel like she really wants to get to know us or help us with anything, but that could very well be due to the language barrier. When I talk to my friends about their hosts they get so excited and talk about all the things they've helped them with and shown them, as well as about their plans for the "immersion weekend" that we are all supposed to partake in this weekend with our hosts. Lucia hasn't told us anything that she's supposed to and hasn't made any plans for this weekend. There's just so many unknowns at this point...
Until now I had never really understood the concept of culture shock; however, it is certainly something I understand now. I knew I would get lost along the way, and I'm still excited about that, but this first week has been so overwhelming. I just keep telling myself that after a week or two of classes and a routine that it will slowly start to get better. For now I am just looking forward to when I finally feel acclimated, and can walk the streets of Florence with ease.
Current thoughts: There's no place like home.