First day of School!!

So we woke up for our first day of school and were so nerdy and excited! We ate breakfast all as a group as normal and then walked to school together!! Justine is in my Italian class so we were super excited and I was able to help translate and help her through class which in turn helped me learn! Everything in our Florence Italian class will be a review for me but it will be a nice refresher for when I get to Rome and have my Italian 2 class! Most people in the program have never had Italian so when we get to Rome they will stick with Italian 1 or Basic Spoken Italian, but there are some of us who will level up! In class today I was able to understand everything our teachers said and answer all the questions so I am very excited to continue learning! Our class is set up for a three hour time period every day. The first hour and 15 minutes is grammar and vocabulary, then we have a coffee break for 30 minutes before the next hour and 15 minutes which we focus on communication. There are two different teachers - one for each section. Also, during our break, or after class, we got to sign up for different tours and excursions we can go on while we are in Florence! I signed up for one that we did today where we went up to the tallest point in the Florence area called Piazzino de Michelangelo. It is named this because the square that is on the top of the small mountain has a statue of him and is dedicated to him for the work that he did in Florence. Additionally, up the mountain farther is the Basilica de San Miniato, which is a church that is the highest part of Florence, and you can look up and see it from all over the city. It was the most spectacular view of the city. I took 200 pictures today... no shame. Before I talk about the tour, we went back to the hotel to change after class today because it got so hot and sunny! We then went to lunch at a little pizzeria that overlooked the river when you sat outside. I never wanted to leave lunch spot. We then went and got our first gelato of the day and walked around some before heading back to school to meet for the tour. We started the tour by walking past the Ponte Vecchio in an area we didn't even really knew existed. I always just assumed Florence sort of ended a few blocks after it! This side of Florence was a lot more laid back (if that is even possible) and was much less crowded, and perhaps more beautiful (if that is even possible again). We turned down a street that started us up the mountain. It took easily an hour to get all the way up there because we stopped every 10 feet to take another picture or see a street performer that was set up along the path. Also, there are amazing landmarks along the way that have been built into the mountain. For example, there was a small fountain just dug into the side of the pathway that was absolutely beautiful! Also, at one landing point from the hill and stairs, there was a man with a huge rope that was tied together in different spots. He drug it through a bucket of bubble juice and made the biggest bubbles I have ever seen. It was so cool! We stopped and watched him forever! The view was amazing because you could see the city and also the country side. Once we made it all the way up to the square, we took a ton of pictures and explored a lot! It was amazing we were not ready to leave. People brought snacks and bottles of wine and sat there to watch the sun set. We left the square and walked like 15 more minutes up to the church were we toured the inside and then sat on the steps to watch the sun set over Florence. It was honestly better than any post card of picture can ever capture. Also there was a monk that I tried to take a picture of but he saw me and it got super awkward because I was not suppose to be taking pictures... oops... After walking back down the mountain we went to the Welcome Cocktail at a super nice sit down bar with all the faculty at school. They paid for each of us to have dinner and two drinks per person. But what all of us didn't realize is that alcohol here has a stronger content AND they put more in each drink so it turned into all of us laughing and talking with each other and the teachers for hours! It was such a cool experience that one would never find back home. The teachers really do want to get to know us and our stories and become a family with our group. I am so thankful that there are only 50 of us so we can all know each other and be comfortable with anyone. My friends and I were talking today about how we honestly feel like we have known each other for years and it has not even been a week yet. But when you go through these experiences with people then bonds are created that are so intently strong. I hope these friendships last a lifetime. After our welcoming party we went and got gelato, yet again. Italians eat it once a day with absolutely no shame. This time I got brave and ordered in Italian by saying: "vollere un (flavor) in un conna" and if you want multiple flavors you have to order a bigger size! But it is incredible how cheap it is!! It is so easy to just get the

small size because it is so rich and that is usually just 1.30 Euro! After our delicious gelato we just headed back to the hotel, chatted a while as normal, then headed to bead around midnight - our earliest night so far because hey we are girls and we like to talk and giggle into all hours of the morning, especially when we are just getting to know each other!