About to indulge in some more cauliflower and pasta! My second veggie meal here! I usually don't eat a meal unless it has meat, but this dish is so good!

I'm having my bf bring me Lawry's seasoning salt...and a copy of Takers on dvd...I'm all about embracing the culture, but a girl still has needs.

I would say the mosquitoes love us more than the Italian men.

First Week of School-Friday

So today after a long night of wine drinking and card playing, we went to one of the trips included in our program, Medici Villa of Petraia. It was absolutely amazing. We met at the bus station at 9:30am, the time we were supposed to leave. Of course we didn’t, because Italians never leave on time. At about 10am, the entire group piled on the bus, stamping our little tickets in the machine. The bus ride was about twenty minutes, so I decided to take a little nap. I woke up to pictures Katie took of me with my mouth open, and a group of other students staring at me. It was an awkward moment, but hey it’s Italy. You get over things quickly. Once we exited the bus, we walked through several back alleys. We passed several homes which let us know we were out of the main city, which is made up of mostly apartments. We walked up a hill, that was not as steep as I had expected, and went through a tall steel fence. It was absolutely beautiful. It was the first Villa I had been to, and it was covered with gorgeous roses in every color. The grass was perfectly cut, and the trees were perfectly trimmed. There were three fountains, all spread out in various parts of the villa. I couldn’t help but imagine what it must have been like as a Medici growing up with this as your front yard. It got even better when we went inside the home that they once lived in. When we first walked through the door, we were in the main ballroom. It was of course covered in fresca’s, a word I heard Ianne use to describe the paintings on the walls. It also had multiple deer heads hanging up, one in which you could still see the mark of where it’s throat was slit. I tried to imagine the eighteenth century, when everyone wore huge ballroom dresses and danced under the chandelier. We went upstairs and visited several rooms that were also covered in “frescas”. The guide, that only spoke Italian, and had to be translated by one of our directors, explained that they hadn’t changed any of the stuff since the eighteenth century. It amazed me that these were the exact rooms, this wealthy family used to sleep in. I began to create several stories in my head. What was most interesting was when we were shown the room of the King’s mistress. Yes! I know! The king’s mistress lived in the same house as he and the family! I would also say that she had the best room in the house! Her name was Rosanni, and she had a Baby blue room. The pictures she had on her dresser of herself were still there. At first I thought it may not have been so bad to be a mistress in those days, but then I imagined how unfulfilled she might have been, just as his wife was. Glad I’m a woman in these days not those. There was also a room with an alter that sat in front of a gold Jesus piece hanging on a cross. I can’t help but love how religious this place is. Although, I’m not Catholic, they still have many of the same beliefs that I do. So I see this as my own spiritual journey. After leaving the magnificent home of the Medici’s, well one of them, we headed back on the bus towards home. When we got off, we decided to get McDonalds. I know this is shameful, since we’re in one of the best food places in the world, BUT after eating pizza almost everyday for almost two weeks, you kind of miss that old processed American food. I will say that afterwards I regretted it. Not only was it worst than the McDonalds in the states, but it was more expensive! There was no euro menu, and I paid 4 euro for a small happy meal. I can’t complain though, dinner will be wonderful. My roommates Ianne and Katie had planned to go hiking at fisole?? And I wanted to try it, but I just couldn’t. I’m a city girl, and all this walking is getting the best of me. I decided to come back to my apartment and write for a while. As I headed back, I passed so many tourists of course. And all I could think was this place looks straight out of a movie. The best fashion stores lining the streets, wealthy tourists everywhere eating gelato, or chowing down on pizza. Scarves, bracelets, and art being sold on the corners. A man sketching a painting in the middle of the street with a hat out that’s being filled with one euro cent. I have to remind myself that this is not a movie. It’s Italy. It’s Florence. It’s…my home. A YEAR AGO...I HAD NO IDEA I WOULD BE IN ITALY...SO WHO KNOWS WHERE GOD WILL TAKE ME...A YEAR FROM NOW.

I miss my love.

So It's been two weeks exactly since I've been here....and I realllly miss my boyfriend. He'll be heading to London Tuesday, and hopefully coming here soon after :/. I thought I would take this moment and be reallly corny/mushy. So it hit me the other day that I WON'T be able to go up the street to his house whenever I want, and he won't be able to do the same for me....EVER AGAIN. :( I met this boy my freshman year, and we've kind of been attached ever since. Yes I said boy, because that's what he was when I met him, but I've watched him grow and mature into a man. My man, I should add. We did have a few rocky situations occur between us, but their was something that would always pull us right back together. He used to always say, "What other college students live right by each other, and still spend hours on the phone?". Bestfriends, I would say. We've grown together in so many ways over the years, and he really has been a major support system for me...always encouraging me to write, to intern, to better my craft, to get off twitter and do something valuable. He's always there when I need something...whether it was much needed groceries as a starving college student, a car battery that "he installed" when my car messed up, lets not forget my actual car, that he took me everywhere to find even when we weren't on the best terms, many rides BEFORE I had a car, alll my fundraisers to go to Italy...anytime I have a problem, no matter how small it is, he is who I call...the list can go on and on. I really feel blessed to have had him in my life, and although many may throw in their negative commentary, doubts/ judgements, and try their best to point out his flaws...I still give him the utmost respect...because I know what an incredible guy he is...and I knoow I'm not the easiest girl to deal with...but I'm worth it :) Many people may have tried their best to end our love, but what we have is to strong to be stopped by outsiders looking in. I treasure the relationship that we have, and I'm happy to say that we will be spending our one year anniversary (since we've been committed) in Europe! What other couples can say they do that?? Beyonce and Jay, we're coming for you! I love you Mr. Davis...you make me HAPPY...and at the end of the day, that's all that matters. Can't wait until you get here! There's no such thing as a perfect guy, or perfect girl...just perfect for each other.

I must admit....the cheese here is amazing...but...I miss cheddar.

First Week of School-Thursday

So Thursday is the day that I have two of my major classes. Magazine Writing and Social Media. Since I’ve already met the teacher for my Social Media class…did I mention she’s the coolest? I was really excited to meet my teacher for Magazine Writing. I get up and put on the new purple dress I got at H&M for ONLY ten euros, and my new leather boots that I bought at a store on one of the backstreets for cheaper than they would be in a tourist area. I talked the guy down to 27 euro, I tried to get them for 25, but they were originally 29. It was funny, because he was an Asian guy, and it reminded me to much of the stores at home, except for the fact that he spoke Italian. A bit confusing, but the point is, they have stores everywhere. So back to class. Me and Katie get there, excited for the first day, and the teacher is ten minutes late. She then comes in, looks at us, and says in an Italian accent, “Where are your computers?” Confused, all ten of us responded, “Computers? We were never told to bring computers.” “Well I was supposed to have a class with computers. I can’t teach without them.” Okayyy, I’m sure we all thought. She then left the room, came back and told us class was canceled. “We will have class one day next week, when we can get a room with computers.” A few of us questioned her changing the schedule, because we all have others classes at different times. “I will work something out, don’t worry”. This is an example of the Italian way of thinking. They are so carefree, and do things on their own time. As we walked down the street towards home to get back in bed, she walked behind us. I honestly think she just didn’t feel like teaching today. Later on I headed to my social media class with the wonderful Christi. This class will be awesome since majority of the time we’ll be tweeting and blogging which I LOVE to do. After class we head to the grocery store, and the American in me is kicking in. Did I mention the grocery store is right by my house, right near the beautiful river? Just thought I’d remind you. Anyways, I’m ashamed to say, but I begin to buy hamburger patties, fried chicken sticks, fried fish, and steaks. I’m getting just a tinyyy bit tired of pasta and pizza multiple times a day. Plus steak was only 3.50 euro, and it ended up tasting delicious. It also ended up being pork steak, but it worked. We spent the rest of the evening eating that, playing cards, and drinking wine. I would say this is the life. What about you?? This is what they mean when they talk about THE LIFE.