Il fine de Firenze

The full impact (without the real impact) of how hard it is going to be to transition back into my former life is hitting me. For over 3 months now, I have had a complete life without fast food-always home cooked meals, learning techniques for survival and then doing them naturally due to not being able to understand the language, repeating: being completely on my own and learning to survive with just my ideas-in a foreign city and continent. I have not had supermarkets-such as walmart, I walk EVERYWHERE (will I even remember how to drive a car), push the light switch on-instead of flipping it, limited and poor internet connection, no drinks except soda (which I don’t drink much) or water, drinking wine with almost every meal-and it being totally expectable, and other tiny tiny details that are my life. Italy is my life. I have a full, complete life here without anything of America. When I say this, I completely realize other people don’t fully grasp what I am trying to say. I can’t explain to someone, who hasn’t been through this, how difficult and rewarding it has been to live in this country that is COMPLETELY opposite from America. I am already getting frustrated with trying to be understanding when someone from back home writes something that clearly shows they won’t understand my transition when I get home (that’s totally and completely not that persons fault, it’s mine for not being understanding about the situation) I can already tell I need to get a head start on apologizing to my friends but especially my family for how difficult I am going to be for the first couple weeks I am home. I am already homesick for Italy, and I haven’t even left yet. As I just said, it’s not something I can explain to someone who hasn’t been through it. It is unique to this situation. People are hopefully willing to be patient with me even when I seem distant at times or want to be a hermit because I can’t take all the “new” stimuli once again. At the beginning of the semester, if you would have told me I would have to get use to driving that mile to the store instead of walking, I would have told you, you are crazy. I would never have thought I would need to make an effort to fit back into the life I was born into. But I am already realizing, it’s going to be challenging.  I’m good with that type challenge though, something I’ve learned J

Who knew you are actually suppose to study while abroad. I think they need to take that out of the equation. It would make things so much more enjoyable. Do I even remember how to write a paper? I sure hope so because I have tons of work due soon. If I wanted a semester with very little work, I should not have chosen SU. The feeling of accomplishment is great after finishing something though. Also, I am learning tons and tons about the Medici family (quickly discovered they are one of the most important families in Europe-and lived here in Florence). I’m doing a paper and did a presentation on Luxembourg Palace in France-a Medici married a French king (Henry IV). It’s very fascinating.

My nutrition class is getting so boring. I already know most of the information the prof is currently covering-it’s not really focusing on the Mediterranean. My Italian class is getting a little better, even though I am still horribly horrible with the language. When I think about how I started with knowing NO Italian and how far I have come, it’s a long way. When I compare myself to how far everyone else has come and how far the prof wants me to be, it’s not very far. Languages are not my specialty I’ve learned. I’ve dissected how I learn and how a language needs to be learned-there is a difference which I won’t get into. My photography class is crazy right now. We are printing full sized prints of photos we have taken over the course of the semester for the final critique. Next week, we have an art show in the evening with the other studio arts classes to display what we have done. Each of us gets to print 2 very large photos. My prof knew exactly the ones she wanted from me. She seriously feel in love with them because of the mysterious “sensitive” quality she said I showed in the photograph. Honestly, when I took both photos, I didn’t think anything of them and almost deleted them on the spot but didn‘t want to take them time. They were both at night and rather abstract. But she raved about them, still does. It’s weird because what she sees as a good photograph and what we as the students see as good is totally different. She’s the professional though.

My mind is scattered so without a transition- As my photography prof and I were trying to print my photos for the art show coming up in a week, we were having a lot of difficulty. She was getting increasingly frustrated so I said, “Cross your fingers.” It was so funny, she looked at her fingers then quickly up at me while she said something like, me fingers are uncrossed..? It’s just something that came out of my mouth without thinking. Anyone in the states would have known that was insinuating luck, she had never heard it before so I had to explain what it meant. She thought I was crazy.
My last weekend trip:
I’m very excited about this weekend (which starts after my cooking class on Friday). I am going to Como, Italy and Switzerland!! So excited! Lake Como is right on the border of Italy and Switzerland and is suppose to be gorgeous! I had originally thought I would go to Geneva, Switzerland-and was very in depth in the planning process when my host dad talked me into Como. I had expressed the fact that I wanted to hike. Seriously, I’ve been craving hiking and just being in nature which can’t happen in Florence BECAUSE THERE IS NOTHING GREEN. Errr! So, off to Switzerland I was going, when my host dad burst my bubble by saying it would be just another city, like Dublin basically was. I needed to be somewhere a little more remote. So, he immediately said to go to Como. I checked into it and still have an adrenaline rush thinking about where I am going tomorrow! Anddddddd, I’m going all by myself. I have planned this completely on my own and am going completely by myself. That means I can do what I want while there instead of compromising-not going to lie, pretty excited about that. I love the people I’ve traveled with, but most of them are not compatible travel companions with me. -weird how that works-
I’m hoping for snow in the Alps!!  The Alps! Yay!