Learning the Lingo

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Ciao everyone! We are now on day five of living in the beautiful city of Florence, Italy and it is still hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that I get to explore a place as rich in history as this! We have hit the ground running since we arrived and have already seen and learned so much in the short amount of time we've been here. This trip is already exceeding my expectations and I am so excited to learn more about the Italian culture and the history that lies in these very streets!

One of the coolest parts about this experience is having the privilege to learn more about this culture and the language from our awesome teachers at the Accademia Europea di Firenze. Our professor, Giusy, is the absolute best and you can tell that she truly has a passion for teaching students about her home in Firenze. After leaving the first class on Monday, I was feeling pretty overwhelmed and nervous about what the next three weeks would look like. I didn't really have any expectations for class nor was I prepared for how difficult it would be for me to understand and try to learn the Italian language. I know myself and with my previous experience trying to learn different languages, I know that it is not a strength of mine, I mean I struggle trying to speak english most of the time. But, I am okay with that and I feel like this was a humbling experience that gave me a greater appreciation for the language and how beautiful it truly is. After Tuesday's class, I left feeling a little bit more confident about trying to learn the language and even more excited to see all that I would learn by the end of the three short weeks. After just two days of class I feel more comfortable trying to communicate and am excited to transfer what I learn in class to outside around the city.

On Monday evening we got to attend an Italian cooking class and let me tell you, it was such a cool experience! I had SO much fun during the couple hours we were there and am definitely going to be trying out my pasta-making skills when I return home to Kentucky! It probably (definitely) won't go as well as it did when I was being told what to do step by step by a true Italian chef, but that's alright, we can pretend. This meal included made from scratch pasta noodles (so much better than the pre-made noodles I buy at home), tomato sauce, chicken and biscotti cookies! One of the funniest and most memorable moments about this experience was that some of my friends and I absolutely FAILED at trying to make the biscotti cookies (thanks for coming to the rescue Dr. Bush). We somehow managed to get the consistency wrong, making them a mess and more difficult to roll into to be baked. None the less they turned out just like the others and no one knew the difference! One thing I learned during this dinner is that I am not a fan of red wine. No matter how hard I try to like it and drink it with our meal, it doesn't ever get any better. Overall, it was such a neat experience to be able to learn from a true Italian chef and is probably my favorite thing we have done this far!

After class on Tuesday, we headed across the Arno river to see the Palazzo Pitti. After getting lost on our way over we eventually found our way and I was amazed from the moment I saw the building. One of the most interesting things I found while exploring through this amazing huge building was a piece of work called the "Vasco con fiori" by the artist Jan van Huysum. For one who doesn't know much of anything about art or history, the reason I found this so interesting was because it was stolen! It was taken in 1944 by the soldiers of Nazi army and is now in a private german collection. To think that they have it in there possession and refuse to give it back is crazy. Another really cool part of the Palazzo Pitti that we got to experience was the modern fashion exhibit. It was really interesting seeing the different pieces of work that were all inspired by a different type of animal. For someone who isn't super interested in fashion, I still really enjoyed seeing all the unique and interesting colors, designs and styles that each exhibit displayed. After spending a couple hours in the Palazzo Pitti, we enjoyed some delicious pizza, because are you really in Italy if you don't eat pizza at least once a day?

Ciao for now!

Madison

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