Dolce

A couple things... All the little old Italian ladies walking down the street leave a wake of sweet perfume. It's still gray and cold and rainy. My Italian teacher fans herself like she's on fire when she wants us to repeat something to her, and my first lunch of the week was yesterday: A panini, and later a snack before painting which consisted of a caffe latte and a chocolate chip muffin. The snack was the highlight of my week because of the sheer joy it brought me. I was deliriously happy for the remainder of the day! Lastly, last night I played guitar instead of doing my homework and it put my host momma to sleep (I think this is a good thing, considering I enjoy peaceful, sleepy songs). I hope she never reads this because I'm going to tell you she was snoring, and it was the cutest thing.

So... I wrote that earlier in the day, and now its just about 6 pm. As I walked home from the metalsmithing studio I realized there were many more things I wanted to document and tell you about Florence, so you get a better picture of what its like here...

The tap water smells metallic and tastes very strange so I buy a lot of bottled water, you know, the supersize kind that stand like great towers of pure goodness on your desk. Even the showers (small tall rectangles in the corner of the bathroom) project this very hard, odd smelling water. The toilets have push buttons to flush, and they aren't filled with much water, so every bathroom is equipped with a scrub brush...yuck. On a nicer note, when I left class today I noticed that something was really different about the city, and I realized: OH MY GOD! SUN! We had a good twenty minutes of it, and it changed the feel of the place...lovely.

It is very urban. Most of the streets are one way, and cobblestone. The cars are small and there are tons of motorcycles and vespas with varying heights of windshields, either fresh or ductaped or making a complete roof over the top with open sides-very strange. Uncle Dave, if you read this, I saw a Harley Davidson store today! IN FLORENCE! No way Jose, is what I was thinking. Furthermore, most of the buildings are stone, or painted plaster over stone in a variety of muted oranges and yellows and there is almost always graffiti. All of the windows have green shutters-a kind of synthetic forrest as well as a pale olive color. Most windows are barred. The street signs are carved into stone plaques on the side, way over your head, and the air around always smells like a mixture of deisel, or vinegar for some reason. Except when the little old ladies walk by because they literally leave a trail of perfume behind them. I think they must use so much so as to be smelled and thought pleasant amidst such a thick city air. The occasional male will leave his trace in the air as well- these gentlemen often have coats more femenine than the female.

Anyway, I walk everywhere. Twenty minute walks feel short to me now because I'm so used to it, and actually I enjoy my walks because they make me feel healthy and accomplished! However, even though there is so much city noise, I'm very buried in my own thoughts and so for a while, everything seems silent. Part of me wonders if this is a good or bad thing. I'm still having some trouble adjusting, and these long walks sometimes make me feel isolated; a complete outsider to this culture and even the few americans I know. I have to keep my eyes down as well because making eye contact can induce unwanted attention. (Today I got sung to as I walked by a construction site... could have been weird but I was laughing). So in a gray city, a valley that is a rain trap between mountains, I keep my eyes down, and have little conversation. I am making closer friends though, which is nice. When I DO see them, its so nice to have people to talk to and laugh with and talk about traveling with etc. Anyway, I don't feel very much like myself at all lately, considering I have to re identify, or even redefine myself for my own purposes within this culture, and for all these new people who don't know me. Needless to say, its a little exhausting and a bit frustrating. It's still a very "lost" feeling. But thanks to my loves and great friends who keep encouraging me I have not given up hope!

Finally tomorrow is my free day, I have all day to finish errands and organize myself and I've decided to do nothing this weekend but homework, rest, and things that make me happy. For example, I haven't had gelato yet because I'm saving my experience for the next time I can make it to Vesti's- the best gelato place in the city. I'm going tomorrow I've decided. My mind is so scattered because we've really just been chucked right into things. I'm going to try and do nothing but eat gelato, and think about a boy and caffe latte. Oh goodness. Until next time.

Ciao
Emily