A Sausage-faced Man and His Coalitions
More exploring. More market shopping.
Three of the other Berry students (Taylor, Melanie and Matt) arrived this week. Mary and I have enjoyed hanging out with them and sharing our favorite parts of the city with each other.
Saturday we decided to go to IKEA (a Swiss furniture warehouse-type store, found all over Europe and the US) because Mary and Taylor had never been. It was quite an adventure finding it, though. We finally go there. . .after almost 5 hours. Still, we had fun finding our way there and celebrated the small victories–such as finding the street (which turned out to be the right street…just in the wrong city). We also learned that while we call it eye-key-ah in the States, here they call it ee-kay-ah. That helped a lot once we figured it out. We also learned (as we were leaving) that there is a free IKEA bus that runs between the store and the main train station (one of the many stops on our adventure). Needless to say, it was a learning experience–and a fun one at that.
Before I left the States, my uncle Paul (the missionary) got me in contact with an English-speaking Italian at a church his mission was connected with. Mary and I went to Chiesa Cristiana Biblica (Christian Bible Church) this Sunday and absolutely fell in love with the people there. We were actually one of the first ones there (and very proud of ourselves for that, considering our previous adventures finding places), and our contact, Andrea, didn’t get there until right as the service was starting. So, we were on our own to try and communicate with everyone. One precious woman, Maria, spoke a tiny bit of English, and quite a bit of Spanish, so we were able to talk to each other. The man sitting in front of us turned around all throughout the service any time a new bible verse was mentioned to help us figure out the translation. He was wonderful and spoke enough English to have us laughing with him.
After the service, we met several other members of the church who spoke English (and many who didn’t, but were so excited to welcome us and love on us anyway). The pastor is a dual citizen of America and Italy. I didn’t have a chance to ask him how long he lived in the States, but judging by his accent when he speaks English it was obviously for a while.
It was so amazing to see how much love and compassion the church had for each other. It’s small–about 50 members, I’d say. The whole sermon was in Italian, so I didn’t understand most of it. We were able (or at least try) to sing along. I was able to understand most of the songs since they were written out (Spanish and Italian are very similar, but not in pronunciation, so it can be confusing). It was such a blessing to find other people here who love Jesus! While we do want to go to other churches for the experience, I think we’ve definitely found our home church for while we’re here. I’m so excited about next Sunday and that’s still 5 days away.
Andrea gave us a ride back to our apartment after church (which was wonderful as it saved us $3 each in bus fare), so we got to talk to him quite a bit. He is great–and so funny. The whole way home, we told us about what was going on in Italian politics right now (basically, their government collapsed), how they’ve had 62 governments in the last 63 years, about their sausage-faced ex-prime minister and his obsession with coalitions. . . It gave us real insight to how the Italians feel about politicians. It also explained a t-shirt I saw in the market that said Hell would be organized by the Italians.
Classes start Monday, so we’re hoping to get a few day trips and maybe even an over-night in. We’ll see if that happens.
Italian-word-of-the-post:
Gesù Cristo (Jesus Christ)
A Terrace with a View
Today was absolutely wonderful. Mary and I got an early(ish) start and headed to the small town of Fiesole that sits on a hill overlooking Florence. Finding the right bus stop was certainly an adventure. Which leads me to the Italian Phrase of the Day:
Dov’e autobus sette? (Where’s bus seven?)
We never did find the bus stop we were looking for and instead walked around until we found the next place the bus would stop at (only a few blocks away, so not a big deal). On the way home, we rode the same route back the other way and went all the way to the end in order to find the bus stop we’d been looking for. It’s a good thing we did, too, because we also found the train station (and realized what we’d thought was the train station really wasn’t). So, as far as the bus system went, it was a very productive day.
We finally made it up to Fiesole around noon and spent all afternoon exploring. It was absolutely beautiful. The view from the terrace in front of the Church of San Francesco was absolutely breathtaking–all of Florence. We were even able to see Florence’s Duomo, San Lorenzo, and therefore an approximate location of our apartment! My absolute favorite, though, were the trees. We found beautiful public gardens with tall, beautiful trees–my very favorite of God’s creations that don’t exist very often in the heart of Florence. They brought such peace and joy to my heart. I don’t think I realized how much I’d missed the woods until I was surrounded by trees again. I love Florence and am thrilled to spend the next 4 months here, but God didn’t make me to live in a city permanently. Luckily, Fiesole is an easy 20-minute bus-ride away, so I will definitely be back.
Frutti di Bosco
Today was a short day. I had every intention of waking up at a decent time and getting a good start on the day. However, when construction workers started jackhammering my sidewalk early this morning, those plans went out the window. It shook my entire building and was even louder than the street sounds I’ve started to become accostomed to. I ended up staying in bed extra long to make up for the missed sleep. To exit my door, I now have to walk across a plank spanning the gaping hole where my sidewalk used to be. I think they’re doing some plumbing work, but I’m really not sure. I plan on wearing earplugs to bed tonight.
Mary and I decided to visit the Duomo today. It was absolutely beautiful, especially the hand-painted inside of the dome. The floor is also very beautiful with many changing patterns. You can climb to the top of the dome, but we’re going to wait for a nicer day because it costs money. That’s one great thing about being here for 4 months instead of just a couple days–we have the luxury of choosing an activity based on the weather.
We also did a little bit of shopping and went back down to the Arno. Tomorrow, we’re planning on going to Fiesole–a small town about a 30-minute bus-ride away.
It was suggested that I provide a new Italian word/phrase with each of my posts. So, the first tidbit is “frutti di bosco,” which means “berries.” It is the (somewhat simple) name of the jam that Mary and I have already become addicted to. I’m thinking I’m probably going to need to bring some back with me, as I’m pretty sure I could get it through customs as it’s in a jar. Which reminds me, I discovered that I accidentally smuggled a banana through the Italian customs. I assure you that it was entirely a mistake, as it had been in one of my bags since. . . I honestly don’t know. At least 5 weeks. And yes, it was pretty gross.
Food Tastes Better from a Market
Biggest news of the day: we got wireless in our apartment! We found out today that it was possible and decided it would be far less stress and probably less money than using the internet cafe down the street. I’m going to do my best to limit my time on it, however. There are far more interesting things to explore around here than the web.
Biggest adventure of the day: Shopping at the San Lorenzo market. I mean, who doesn’t love a good whole chicken (including the head), octopus and some kind of animal brain? Mary and I just might be brave enough to try one of those before we leave…but maybe not. Still, it’s fun that it’s there–we definitely aren’t in the States any more. We did stock up on plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables–with a splurge on cashews. I even got some black olives–so good. Mom, you should be proud–I bought a pepper and an onion to add flavor to our meat sauce tonight. I’ll try to remember to bring my camera next time we go to the market, it’s a very fun place. I’m definitely going to have a hard time going back to Kroger.
Other grown-up things we did today include paying our first months rent.
I think I’m finally getting used to the time zone–I woke up at 8:30 am and couldn’t go back to sleep, so I’m excited about that. Mary and I are thinking we’ll stay in town a few more days and then travel some before school starts.
We’re Not Lost, We’re Just Exploring
Grocery shopping with a dictionary.
Live “statues.”
The Arno River.
Waking up in the morning to the sound of street musicians.
Picking a street and finding where it leads.
Amazing conversations with Mary.
Cooking our first meal—Farfalinne pasta with meat sauce and frozen peas.
So I’ve decided if I really want to look like a local, I need a black puffy jacket with fur trim, tight jeans, boots and a scarf. Of course, I will never pass as a local as I can just open my mouth and it’s painfully obvious where I am really from. Maybe by the end of the semester I can at least take the “painfully” out of that.
Mary and I have decided on our motto for the semester—“I’m not lost, I’m just exploring.” I saw it on a bumper sticker the week before I left the States and I think it’s perfect.
Today was another exploring day. Neither of us are completely adjusted to the time zone yet—we slept until about 1 pm—so the day time was somewhat abbreviated. It was also pretty gray with complete cloud cover. Still, we decided to go down to the Arno because that was Mary’s favorite place the last time she came to Florence. After seeing it, even on a not-so-pretty day like today, I’d have to say I agree. We crossed over one of the bridges lined with gold shops—another thing Florence is famous for—and explored the city on the other side. We found some beautiful streets and views of the city. We will definitely be going back on a prettier day to enjoy it some more.
I’ve been trying to come up with a way to describe Florence. So far, I’ve got nothing. I can say that I love it, that it’s beautiful. But I can’t really give it justice. It’s a city that must be experienced, I’ve decided. Still, I’ll do my best.
Mom asked me yesterday what the most surprising thing about Florence is. I don’t know about most surprising, but one thing that did surprise me—and continues to surprise me—is how clean the city is. There’s practically no litter anywhere. There is graffiti, but nothing like in cities in the States. It’s a really nice change.
Another thing about the city is that it’s really loud. I’ve started to get used to it, but it’s definitely a far cry from my preferred ambient sound of crickets and birdcalls. Still, it’s fun.
I have yet to encounter gypsy children, but I have seen some adults. We pretty much just give them as wide berth as possible—and hold on to anything valuable. I think the ploy that makes me laugh the most are the people approaching you to sign something—I’m sure just so that they can pick-pocket you while your hands are busy. I really hope no one is ignorant enough to fall for it, and yet somehow I think that people are because otherwise they wouldn’t try.
I really love our apartment. It’s small, but not tiny. It actually feels huge after living in a dorm, so it’s another great change. We have a nice sized living room/study area, a kitchen/dining room, a bathroom, and a loft bedroom. It’s really a perfect size for two people. I also love that it’s such a student apartment—mismatched furniture, lots of white walls, random books other tenants have left behind. It’s great. It gives it character. Strangely enough, it’s already starting to feel like home.
Ciao Bella!
3 hours in the Atlanta airport + 8 hours flying over the Atlantic to Frankfurt, Germany + 9 hours in the Frankfurt airport + 2 hours flying down to Florence + 20 minutes in a Florentine taxi + 10 minutes trying to get a hold of our landlord outside our apartment + 5 minutes to lug all our baggage up the stairs
The trip went more smoothly than I could have hoped for. We completely lucked out with 3 seats in the middle of the plane to ourselves, so Mary and I took turns sleeping. It was amazing. The layover in Frankfurt went by really fast—then again, I slept through a bunch of it. I honestly have no clue what I ate for lunch—some kind of meat that was almost like really wide bacon, yet not. The cashier only spoke German so there was no real communication going on.
20 hours after leaving the States, we finally got into our apartment, dropped our stuff off, and set out for an internet café and a grocery store. We were both exhausted though, so we came back soon to shower and sleep in a real bed for a change.
We slept in late today and then went out exploring. We wanted to find the San Lorenzo market, but definitely took wrong turns. About an hour after leaving our apartment, we decided to just do away with maps for a bit and see what we could figure out on our own. And then we stumbled right onto the piazza. We were going to go to a pizzeria our guidebook mentioned, until we saw a couple locals coming out of a tiny shop with really good looking bread in their hands. The shop was run by a very sweet older woman who taught us some Italian (we taught her some English). So, for our first real meal in Florence, we both had a huge slice of pizza. It was very good and I can guarantee we’ll be going back.
We then found the market—which would have been easier if we’d realized it was inside. We wandered around a bit, but we’d gotten there right at closing time, so we didn’t do any shopping. Heading back to our apartment, we realized that we’d passed the market—several times—and just hadn’t realized it. It’s about 2 blocks from our apartment, so that’s probably where we’ll do most of our grocery shopping.
Right across the street from our apartment is the Medici-Riccardi Palace—where the Medicis lived in 1444. Just down the street is the Church of San Lorenzo, the Duomo’s “little sister.” A long block and half away is the Duomo—Florence’s Gothic cathedral built in 1300-1435, more or less the heart of the city.
Today, we pretty much just explored. There are so many shops and stands—and tons of leather goods (which is one thing Florence is known for). Already, we’ve had many little adventures—like getting locked out of our building because for some reason my outdoor key doesn’t work. A couple of very nice policepeople helped us out, though. I had my very first gelato—mint chocolate chip—and it was pretty amazing. The city is beautiful—so many old stone buildings and so much art. We found a park today, so I’ll be able to get my tree fix. I think it’s finally beginning to sink in that I’m actually here. We’re already starting to get a basic understanding of the city around our apartment. It helps that we have 2 very large and visible landmarks (San Lorenzo and the Duomo) so close.
Right now, I am sitting in my apartment listening to someone (probably gypsies) playing music down the street. We have 2 weeks before classes start, so we’re planning on exploring the city for the next week, and then maybe getting out and seeing more of Tuscany. I’m really excited about that, but I’m also looking forward to my classes. Granted, that’s probably because only one of them is really “academic” (Beginning Italian Language, Art History, Basic Sewing Techniques, Video Production and Intro to Italian Philosophy).
