L'inizio

My roommate and I went out for the first time last night, and we managed to find the bar that every other American was at. Not what we were looking for, but we were okay with it since it was a little more comforting!

After the bar, we walked across the river to a look out with the the most beautiful views of Florence!

Tara and I with a background of the city -
it's too bad you can't see the view so well from the picture,
but it was amazing!

This morning we had orientation for SRISA. Presentations started at 9, we left at 8:30 knowing it was only a 10-15 minute walk, and thirty minutes later we were completely lost. We didn't end up getting to the school until 9:40, but the professors understood and everything was fine!

We haven't really met any other students yet. We're the only two that came on our own. Everyone else is there through their school so they know each other. But it was fine, and they seem nice. At 7 we're meeting everyone back at the school (hopefully we can find our way) and going out to dinner. I think we'll actually be able to meet some of the students that way.

Starting on Monday I will have class Monday through Thursday with two classes a week. I have Italian Renaissance Art History from 1-3 and Batik from 3-7. I start the History of Florence and Italian in July. I'm excited!

Tara and I also finally got a good shot of the Jersey Shore crew today! We happened to be walking by the street their pizzeria is on and Vinny was standing out front. So playing it cool, we walked by and he said "Buon giorno" and we said buon giorno back. And then later while we were sitting on the steps of a church Deena came out offering pizza slices to people passing by... So you should definitely look for me in the background when it airs (I'm wearing a white dress, brown sandals and a floral scarf)!

Vinny's in the white hat- we didn't want to
walk by and take a picture, so it's from a distance.
He's in the white hat!

It's been a pretty busy and exciting day... and it's only 5! I'm definitely going to be investing in some nice Italian leather sandals soon, one pair of mine broke! My feet look like they've been through Hell and back, and they feel that way, too!

The picture doesn't do their pain justice.

Lastly- while we were out last night we ended up meeting a few locals, one of which could hardly speak English. I tried talking in Italian to him and it actually worked really well! I was very proud of myself :)

Ciao!