Weed lube, jumping from planes, religion, police encounters, creepy Walgreens men...
Needless to say, my first evening as an official resident of Firenze, Italia was truly one for the books, and has sparked an excitement in me as welcome as an old friend.
After four long days of bumbling about this truly beautiful city, trying our darnedest not to act more American than possible, my four roommates and I finally moved in to our new home on Tuesday. We christened it with a warm evening of laughter, stories, and Spotify's "The Perfect Italian Dinner" playlist. Natalie, the oldest of our group, graced us with a delicious dinner, topped off with a Rosé, White, and Red wine, as well as some fresh cherry tomatoes and dark chocolate (the very same chocolate that had caused such woe to me during my travels-- it was well worth the hassle).
Four hours of getting to know each other. Four hours of tale after crazy tale. Four hours of pure relief for yours truly, realizing that I had been blessed with these girls as roommates. We have walked around 15- 20,000 steps a day together (ugh), exploring the city, supporting each other's failed attempts to communicate with vendors, and going on a goose chase for ATM's. We have hunted for the best bargains on gelato and researched Italian profanity to yell at any male who might take unwanted liberty with us. For example, calling someone fava or 'broad bean' insinuates that they are so unintelligent, they could not understand the broad side of a bean. It's basically the Italian version of stupid. I flew into Florence nervous, wary, hesitant. I came out of this week with five new friends and hopefully, a temporary home.
Florence is truly a beautiful city. Sadly, this statement doesn't even begin to do it justice, but, my grasp of fancy adjectives is rudimentary at best. Florence has effortlessly managed to combine the rich culture of Italian/Roman history with the developments of modern global society. In buildings gilded with green and pink marble from the hills of ancient Macedonia can be found brands such as Gucci, Channel, and Apple. (Needless to say, my poor self will not be entering them any time soon). The people, too, live just as elegantly. From my brief observation, they take immense pride in their clothes, their food, and their family. They love food and wine almost as much as they enjoy chatting long into the night with friends and family.
I have been wondering for a few days why I felt so immediately at ease here in Florence. Was it the beauty? The art? The food? But the more I interact with Italians, the more I realize that this culture resembles to at least a faint degree the culture of my home in West Virginia. At home, the people have crafted their own delicacies (pepperoni rolls and dumplins' yyuuummmmmmm). They have forged strong bonds between each other as well, whether with friends, neighbors, or family. I know that, were I in need of help, almost any person here or at home would not hesitate to drop everything and help me. Both places also hold a fierce pride of their homeland. I am quite excited to immerse myself more fully into a culture that is more similar to my own that I had realized!!!
Attached to this blog are a few photos of my first week of adventures in Florence! I spent this past weekend traveling with my roommates to Budapest, Vienna, And Salzburg and will be posting about that experience in the next few days!
I miss you all, but am having a great time.
Ciao,
Leah
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