First day of class

Prosciutto and melon

"All my life I had let others provide for me, and while I loved the people who had nurtured and built me intellectually, I felt that emotionally it was time to look after myself" -The Power of One

 Today was my first day of class. Thursdays are my easiest days, I only have Italian at 3:00. I still can't get over how gorgeous the campus is! Pictures don't even do it justice. It's very distracting to look out the classroom window and see rows of olive trees, large cypress trees and villas in the distance. I took my time walking the 4.7 km to class. Unfortunately, it's all uphill. Coupled with the heat of the day, I arrived at class looking as though I had just completed a triathlon. By the time I walked back down after class the sun wasn't as high and downhill was more pleasant. Last night I went to dinner with my roommates and some of their friends from Wake Forest. We then went to a bar called the Lion's Fountain Irish Pub, which is clearly made for the 6,000 American students that flock to Florence. The ceiling was covered in T-shirts from American universities and they played a weird mix of music. For some reason they played 'Sweet Caroline' twice, odd choice.

 These pictures are from a park on my way to school. It seems incredible that it's so easy to stumble upon beautiful, historic monuments.

The Italian slow pace is going to take some getting used to. I've already been enjoying dinners that last hours, leisurely walking and the general lack of urgency that Florence provides. Even the pigeons are more relaxed!