Benvenuti in Italia

With this blog I have spent the majority of this past semester documenting the historic final four months of the 2008 Presidential election. However, I am now studying abroad in Firenze (Florence) Italy and am altering the purpose of this forum to document my travels and experiences. These posts will certainly be less formal then my previous ones on politics and race relations. Moreover, I would like to also thank American Airlines who gave me a scholarship for my round trip ticket to Florence.

After roughly 25 hours of traveling I arrived in the Hotel Mediterreano in Firezne for Syracuse University’s orientation. Instead of going to bed, however, my new friend Jesse and I explored the incredible city in search of wine and cigarettes. Unlike the States, few stores stay open past 8 o’clock and cigarettes are mostly purchased via a machine. Already though I love the fact there are no open container laws in Italy, and of course the drinking age is 16. Finally, no more fake IDs. Although I don’t speak perfect Italian, wine greatly improves my language skills. We met some Italian musicians on the street and they took us to a local pub known as Rex. Through their broken English and our broken Italian we were able to communicate pretty effectively and it was a great primo notte in Firenze.

The city is truly incredible. The Duomo is easily the most beautiful building I have ever scene. All of the structures are so old and have such history. The streets are mostly cobblestone and every corner has a café or bar. It has been a great place to get lost in these first few days.

The rest of these first few days were filled with tedious orientation tasks (setting up wireless on our laptops and scheduling classes). Fortunately, I do not need many credits here so I am taking the minimum amount possible. My schedule will be Italian language (2 hours a day Monday through Thursday), an Art History course on the Renaissance in which we are in class one day a week and the other we go to a museum, church, or various other on site visits, and then I will be interning with the ARCI, http://www.arci.it/, which is an Italian political organization.

Just yesterday I met my roommate named Devin and so far we have gotten along great. After our introduction we then sat in a room as one by one we were introduced to our host families. It was similar to what I imagine orphans or puppies feel before being chosen by their new owners. Lilly Cantanese greeted us wearing a lavish mink coat and from the moment I met my new mama (the affectionate and more informal word for mother in Italian) I knew we would get along great. On our way to her house, roughly a 20 minute walk from our school and the city center, she swore several times in Italian at other reckless drivers, unaware that her American sons already knew the word for bitch (stronzo) and dick/fuck (cazzo). She does speak some English, however requires us to only speak Italian in her home. The house we are living in is awesome. Devin and I have our own floor and the décor is very cool. Even better though is my new nonna (grandmother) who will be turning 90 this July and is easily the cutest old woman I have every met. Our first dinner was again wonderful. Endless amounts of chianti and Lily is an amazing cook. I also knew I would like her as she smokes constantly around the house and made fun of me for buying an Italian pack of cigarettes more commonly smoked by woman. I am very excited to spend these next four months with my new mama and nonna. They are avid calico (soccer) fans and have passes to the Stadio in Firenze, which we live two blocks from. Although I am not a huge soccer fan, it is completely different in Italy and is a huge part of their culture. I can’t wait to go to some games which I here are crazy and fantastico.

Classes begin on Monday and this weekend we are required to spend with our new family. Lilly is taking us to the Chianti region with some of her friends. I am really excited to drink wine and see more of this great Tuscan region. I hope to have great stories and possibly some pictures for my next post. Until then, ciao.