Submitted by Marina Smolens on the 2019 winter session study abroad program in Italy sponsored by the Department of Art…
So, I am about to begin my third week of studying abroad in Florence and the first two weeks here have been nothing short of amazing.
This past week, I tried to engage in conversations with people around my age who live here to learn more about their culture and compare it with my own. Notably, the young people in Italy apparently don’t really use Snap Chat (*very important information*). Everyone also really likes to smoke cigarettes here! Whereas, smoking seems way more frowned upon in America.
I found myself getting a little homesick, but today we went out for brunch to a place that had American styled food and I felt a little more at home. I love Italian food, but it’s nice to take a break and do something that feels more familiar so as to ground myself.
Most of the time, though, we are constantly seeking out places that the locals enjoy and we have only repeated a restaurant once. More impressively, I have not even repeated a meal. I’m making sure to soak in as much of Italy (taste as much of Italy) as I can before we have to leave in a couple of weeks!
Time is flying, but I’m becoming so close with the girls from UD that I would have never had the opportunity to do so otherwise. I also am getting to know a city in a way that only happens maybe once in a lifetime. I feel fortunate that my program allows us to stay in one city, one apartment, the entire time. Every weekend, we go to different cities but during the week it’s nice to have a home base.
Florence has become a home away from home and I’m excited to enjoy it as much as a I can before we leave.
