School? I Think Not.

I've decided to dedicate this post solely to my school experience thus far so that my poor mother (who I know stalks this religiously) and whichever other adults are reading this don't think that my time here has been spent entirely on boozin' and cruisin'.

School is not real. Sorry mom, dad, and anyone else who claims to be an adult, but it's not. Let's start with the basics. The school that I attend here is called Palazzo Rucellai. It's on Via de Vigna Nuova, an easy five minute walk from my apartment. Classes take place in two locations -- either in the actual SCHOOL (one floor of classrooms and like six administrative desks) or in the LIBRARY (another entrance just around the corner from the school). The building is literally a palace dating back to the 15th century when this guy named Rucellai (pronounced Roosh-eh-lAIII) accumulated a s*!t ton of money and decided to make a name for himself and his family in this sweet townhouse. Over the years the building has been passed down through the family hands and broken into pieces and inherited by different parts of the family. So when the education institute finally got their hands on it they only got two floors of it...one floor for the actual school and one floor for the library. This means that when we climb the stairs to get to school each morning, we're literally passing people's homes when we pass their floors.

What didn't hit me until the other day when my History of Food professor made us stop and look around is that we're literally sitting in a 15th century palace. Everything is original. The artwork on the encasing walls is intricate and covers from floor to ceiling. When you gaze up your eyes are met with gorgeous frescos dating back to when Rucellai commissioned them himself! Corners are filled with shields of arms representing the different families that have controlled the palace since Rucellai himself. There are warnings on all the doors to not slam them and handle them lightly since they are originals from the FIFTEENTH CENTURY and probably prone to breaking....ya think? It's truly spectacular...and something to not be taken lightly or forgotten or looked over as I'm sure so many have. 

chillin in my palace

casually engraved ceiling. nbd.

So, now that we've gotten how amazing my school is and how jealous you all are of where I get to sit every day...let's move on to actual school work. I know, I know...how long can it actually take to get to speaking about school work????? SORRAY MOM.

As you should all know if you are TRUE blog followers...I'm taking 5 classes. I added one since last time - don't be surprised. Here they are!

1. Beginner Italian 

2. History and Culture of Food

3. History of Florence

4. The Business of Art

5. Cultural Literacy of Italian Culture

I can't even tell you which is my favorite since they're all incredible. I CAN say that my favorite TEACHER is probably David [; )] He teaches my Italian class and he is absolutely precious. I love his teaching style. We only just learned the actual alphabet like yesterday but I already know so much! It's based a lot on immersion. He just speaks to us in Italian and teaches as he goes along. I know a bunch of phrases already and I feel like I'm picking it up really quickly!

The other class I had today was History and Culture of Food. It's taught by this little German man whose accent throws me right back into Andrea's house (if you're reading, ciao!) Today when we got to the classroom he had us all stand up and walk outside. We proceeded on an hour and a half tour of food markets in Florence! We stopped in at a really famous gelateria called GROM and my teacher treated all 26 of us to free gelato! Talk about a way to learn!! Things to look forward to in this class: a field trip to a chef's house who will teach us how to prepare a meal, wine tasting in class, more outdoor excursions, and lots of talking about food. YUM.

famous GROM

My third most interesting class is History of Florence taught by Simon Young. Simon is a 30/40 year old English professor learned in history and philosophy. A very bizarre yet incredibly interesting mind. The class meets for three hours on Wednesdays (thank god Christine is in class with me). Now, we're studying abroad in Italy. We want to go exploring and take advantage of every minute we have. So when we found out we'd be in class from 3-6pm every Wednesday we were pretty bummed. But after last week's class my mind has been calmed. We meet in the class room for the first hour and a half and then the second part of every class is a field trip...to somewhere outside in the city. Let us really get assimilated into Florence! Wonderful! Last week was our first trip. We took the bus (first bus ride!!) to Fiesole, a small town on the outskirts of the city, to see the Etruscan/Roman ruins. Despite the early start (the trip got moved to Friday morning at 9am) and the bitter cold and biting wind, Christine and I returned even more excited for what was to come. The ruins were amazing. Standing outside, the wind whistling around us, it was really incredible to imagine what it must have been like to be living in ancient times...walking up to this stone slab now just sitting in the middle of a grassy field, but back then used for sacrificial offerings....or taking a stroll to the social bath houses where you would meet your friends and get scrubbed down by slaves. The weather brought the trip down a considerable amount. I really can't even describe to you how cold it was. Needless to say we were both very excited to get back to our rooms and under the covers.

Christine and I at the top of Fiesole overlooking Firenze

in the amphitheater 

rUiinZ

The Business of Art seems interesting and very much unlike what I expected it to be. It's about the inner workings of the art collectors/dealers circle...how pieces of art are priced, how prices stay up (even if unwarranted), how collectors go about choosing pieces, etc. Since so much of Florence's history revolves around art I'm excited to learn more about this circle that I've never known.

The last class on the list is my cultural literacy class. I just signed up for it so I haven't attended yet. It's only a one credit class and meets once a week as well. All I know about it is that it is taught by a FABULOUS australian lady who tries to teach us how to separate ourselves from our American lens and start looking through an Italian lens. It sounds really interesting and the teacher really seems like the cutest little lady. I'm sure I'll love it. Plus it's a one credit once a week class that helps me better understand the people I'm surrounded by for the next few months...so it most definitely can't hurt.

Anyways! That's all for now. The roomiez and I are all caught up in planning spring break and weekend travels so it's a little stressed here at the apartment. Until tomorrow! Ciao!!!!!