Real World: Firenze

I am alive! And in italy?!! It is B-E-A-UTIFUL!! It actually looks like a movie set...no lie! So from the beginning...the flight was rough but I was enroute to Italy so it was fine. Jes and I pretty much died in the Frankfurt airport but once we we're on Italian land everything was a-okay! We managed to get our first taxi (between our luggage we barely fit!) and made it to our hotel. Dropped off our stuff and went out exploring! Then Nicholas, our program advisor, took us out for our first real authentic Italian dinner. 3 full courses and delicious dessert! So good! Then it was bed time as I had only 3 hours of sleep in 32 hours. And when I say sleep..I mean 13 hours of sleep! Today our group had to meet in the afternoon for orientation which included going to our school, learning about our excursion trips, getting our cell phones (YAY! 3 days without a phone is mad weird!), applying for a permit of stay so non of us have to go to Italian jail, and then Nick took us out for pizza.obvi! and then we got gelato! I then explored the town at night and took some really cool pictures. Internet is hard to come by...at least for me. I've had trouble picking up the hotel's signal so that is annoying. And the hotel is interesting...its me, Jes, and 2 other girls and with our luggage in the room we can't walk haha. Everyone has been very friendly and nice. Tomorrow we all move into our apartments...which is every exciting! I think thats when maybe...just maybe it will stop feeling like a vacation and finally sink in that I'm living here for the next 4 months! Jes and I are together in our apartment...with 8 other girls...yes 8!! Helloo Real World! This should be interesting! Most of them seem nice though and our apt is 2 blocks from the water so thats awesome. I'm sure I'll have lots of updates about that!
I am very quickly learning so many things about the culture (and my real culture class hasn't even started yet). I know there will be a new lesson everyday...here's what I've got so far...
Lesson #1: Hot Chocolate: When you order hot chocolater as for latte...or else you get HOT CHOCOLATE...legit no milk..just pure chocolate!
Lesson #1.2: Getting something "to go" is not popular nor is it encouraged. And then "to go" cups are super small and weirdly shaped.
Lesson #2: There is NO grass in Florence. Everything is cobble stone. This makes it quiet interesting considering literally everyone has a dog!
Lesson #3: Walking around Florence is a free for all. People, tiny cars, bikes, and vespas do whatever they want. And no one seems to mind. There is no beeping or yelling/cursing like in NYC. The cars just wait for people to cross the street. A lot of people just walk in the middle of the street and no one cares.
The lack of hustle and bustle is definitely a welcomes changed. Everyone is very relaxed, never seeming to be in a rush. The people are pretty nice so far. I haven't had too much interaction with them yet but I know there is plenty to come. There is a lot of American students studying here and the few that I have been very friendly and helpful. Of course everyone from Rutgers is friendly! I am making a lot of new friends!
So far I'm really loving it! Thats al for now as I have a busy day moving into the new apt tomorrow! More updates and pictures to come!!
XOXO