Monday, August 29, 2011

Back to school....

So I haven't posted in a while and I meant to almost a week ago but the video I tried to post would not post every time I tried and it still wont so i'm in the process of posting that still ha.

Anyways...The first week of orientation last week went well and quite fast...I like the KSUF school building a lot! My roommates and I have been exploring Florence a lot and are getting really acquainted with the city. I can now go places with no map and feel a lot more comfortable with the area we live. Saturday we spent the morning at Piazza Pitti and the Bobali gardens there...it was so cool and really big. I'm excited to spent free time there. My favorite day here by far was yesterday when Monique, Brittany, and I got up at 6am and took a train to Cinque Terre to hike the 5 cities. 

The name Cinque Terre means 'five lands' and is literally made up of five small towns that hug the southern part of the Ligurian Coast. These five towns are built into the rock-ribbed section between the beach and the hills. It is one of the most amazing places I have ever been and I can't even begin to describe how beautiful it is. The weather was perfect, it was hot but not too hot and the hike at one point felt never ending and I sweated so much and was so gross but by the time we got to the last city it was so worth it when we got to swim in the blue waters that seemed straight off of a computer background. 
Here are the trails we hiked, we did a total of 5.5miles of hiking:
Riomaggiore to Manarola
'Via dell'Amore'
Manarola to Corniglia
Corniglia to Vernazza
Vernazza to Monterosso 
I posted a lot of pictures to my facebook but here are a few from the day....
On the trail there where locks everywhere and the guide said that people brings locks to leave and they lock it and throw the key in the ocean so that they never have to leave. 

We layed out on the rocks in the ocean and swam...the view around us was breathtaking and straight out of a dream
There is so much more I could say about this place but overall it was paradise and the towns where so intimate and cute and I could stay their forever! 

It was so weird to be in such a beautiful place the day before classes start but I can't think of a better way to spend a Sunday before school=]

Today I went to school for my morning class and it settled in that o crappo im back in school hah...I love learning but hate the structure of classes. I think i'll enjoy my classes here the most because of all the field trips and hands on learning experiences i'll have here. 

After class I went to the Piazza my roommates and I have gone to journal. It is a very touristy place but where I sit in the monument it is peaceful and there is normally someone playing pretty romantic music that sets the perfect mood for journaling. As I was sitting there by myself a man came and sat not too far away from me and he got my attention and started talking to me. He was Italian and spoke decent english and I was planning my way out of talking to him right as he proceeded to tell me allllll about him hometown in Italy. It was very interesting but frustrating at the same time because Im not comfortable talking to random strange men...naturally...and we are told not to....duh....so anyways he finishes his speak about his hometown and asks me questions I refuse to answer then says, "okay, I'll let you get back to writing" I should my head yes and said "Ciao" then before I knew it he grabbed my hand, kissed it and said goodbye. 

O goodness...the men here are a different breed and are very forward. This isn't the first time these kind of situations have happened to me and my roommates and for the most part it is unavoidable. Apparently us Americans are "too friendly" and the men try to take advantage of that as much as possible. Just one of the numerous things I have learned here over the last week. I have plans to blog about other differences here in the future.

Anyways...day 1 of classes is over and it is time to go to the market to get some food for the next few days...Ill continue to try to post the tour of my apartment video here and can't wait to blog some more =] I am missing my family and friends back home but am loving life here in Italia <3 buongiorno

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

1st post from Firenze!...

CIAO! 

I feel like I have so much to update on! 
So I am officially a resident of Firenze, Italy! I flew out of Detroit last Thursday and flew overnight to Paris then had a layover there until the afternoon then got on the plane to Florence around 4pm (Paris Time=]) then landed in Florence a little before 6pm (so 1pm Ohio time) on Friday. Paris airport was like a huge never ending maze...no words can even describe it, at one point we walked outside to catch a bus that took us to another area where our terminal was then to get to our plane we walked outside and onto the plane.  The flight from Paris to Florence was gorgeous...I have a few pictures of the flight in the slide-show below and more posted on facebook...my eyes where glued to the window the whole flight. 
Once we arrived in Florence, we got our luggage and our apartment info then off to get a taxi. Brittany and I had to get a separate taxi from Jen & Mo because we had too much luggage to fit in one ha, surprise. Once we got in the taxi we tried talking to the taxi driver who just responded with "I don't speak english"....He didn't like my response "you just did" and ignored us the rest of the way.
The taxi drive was the first thing I fell in love with though ...it felt like I was driving...He would speed up real fast just to break and avoid hitting someone....speed up again....turn upbruptly...almost hit a car head on...both cars swerve to the side and avoid each other....speed up...avoid stopping at all costs. While Brit held on for dear life.....I found my calling in life.

We have gone on many adventures since arriving in Florence...I'll post those later...
I'll also post the tour of my apartment soon=] CIAO!






Monday, August 15, 2011

Goooooing to the chappel...

So Saturday night at around 10:30pm my best friend from highschool calls me and I have this gut feeling that I need to pick up! She is freaking out and tells me that she is ENGAGED! ahhhhhhh! I at first thought she was joking but then realized how serious she was and I am so happy for her =] So I'm dedicating this post to Brianna Kraus...Love you & can't wait to start planning a wedding! ahh! 
just a few pics from the massive amounts we have...starting in 8th grade...
We are def weirdos...Most of our pics are quite obnoxious and not blog material haha but I fished through and found some semi normal ones =]




<3

Proverbs 17:17

Saturday, August 13, 2011

4 days..

Big news to share tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!! 

 Going away party tomorrow as well...Message me for location =]

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Co Adventures...

Hellllllooooo
Italy is only 2 (well 12 days to be exact) weeks away... AHH. Crazy! 

So, last week I visited my rooms Chelcie & her cousins in one of my favorite places.. Colorado. We had a few adventures and I checked skydiving off my bucket list =]


 We did yoga, hiked, white water rafting, camped, skydived, kayaked, went to crankworx, and visited the original chipotle (my addiction) as well as pinkberry (another addiction)
My favorite part of the trip of course (besides all the activities) was the mountain views...


I feel so alive every time I visit Co and am constantly in awe of God's creation. The mountains are so pretty and make me feel safe...some people might choose the beach as their "happy place" however I'd choose the mountains > beach any day
Even when it rains it is beautiful and the mountains are so cool
As my eyes try to adjust back to typical Ohio cloudiness weather and my body to the humidity...im trying to soak up as much as I can here until I leave.
Until next time...
when I have more time to write a longer post..
check out my fb pics including skydiving pics...if you have ever had an ounce of interest in skydiving...I highly suggest you do it ASAP, suck it up and bust it out...so worth it =]


Psalms 19:1-2