Wait…We Actually Have to Take Classes Here?

6-12-07
Having all the free time in the world to do whatever you want, go where ever you want, and see what ever you want is truly the way to experience Florence. But once classes begin, you can kiss the majority of that free time good bye. The first class I chose to take over here is an art history class on Michelangelo and his works. I figured that learning about his master pieces and then walking down the street to see them in person would be amazing. The professor informed us that we will take class trips daily to the museums and even travel to Rome to see Michelangelo’s sculptures, painting, etc. How fun! He lectured today on different medias, techniques, styles, and did a very brief overview on how Michelangelo fits into each category, or idea as Professor Rolf described them. It was shaping up to be exactly the kind of class I was expecting. Traveling and art are a great combination. I am looking forward to learning more art history, analyzing different artworks, and visiting historical places. Then came the class syllabus. Italians obviously don’t mess around when it comes to education. 1 written essay, 1 presentation, and 4 exams with essays. He also gave us directions to all the Florence libraries…for research. The whole “not worrying about my classes or grades” plan suddenly pulled a 180 on me. This may be harder than I thought. Who wants to research on vacation (well I was calling it vacation before class started)? Class number two is my Italian language class. For two full days, I have spoken quite a bit of Italian, not well, but have managed. Our professor walks in speaking to us as though we are all smoking cigarettes and have dark hair, dark eyes, tight pants, and last names ending in “i” or “o.” I have only taken a semester of Italian and pick up on 1 of every 10 words this woman is saying. Uh oh. Did I mention this class is 4 hours long 3 times a week? 4 hours of smiling and nodding with little comprehension. The good thing is that we spend the last 2 hours of class walking the streets of Florence learning how to order from restaurants and gelaterias, which means we get to eat and roam for a grade. Chocolate and vanilla ice cream translated into Italian is gelato stracciatella. A+ for me! This class may be the most difficult to understand, but is already by far my favorite.

I found out today that you can scale the Duomo. What a very intriguing thought! I will have to look into that. I also heard about designer outlets that are fairly close to Florence. Checking into that as well. Another cool thing I learned today was that we live right above a craftsman’s workshop. The constant banging sounds are incredibly annoying in the early morning, but turn into these extravagantly built and upholstered pieces of furniture. It’s nice seeing something so amazing and beautiful in the morning before heading to the Michelangelo class from you know where…