Sorrento, Capri, & Pompeii

This past weekend I went to the great cities of Sorrento, Capri & Pompeii.( A beautiful picture of Capri above that I took). Our first night in Sorrento we were treated to the best pizza I have ever had. It was so delicious and so many different kinds that by the end I was so stuffed. After dinner a few of us decided to stay at the ristorante where we meet this waiter named Tony who had tattooed on his arms "Believe" and "Bros before Hoes" which we all thought was hilarious. We tried grappa which is like an Italian moonshine which was so hard to swallow then we had limoncello which Sorrento is most famous for since you can literally pick the limons off the trees on the street. After we left the ristorante, we just decided to walk around and we ran into his three woman from San Diego, California who asked us to take their picture then they took ours. Our first night was quiet an adventure especially trying to find our hotel which we had to take a taxi to since we could not find it. We relieved that night that we lived on the main road that was very dangerous and had the smallest sidewalk then no sidewalk.  Scary watching the cars, vespas and huge tour buses fly down the hill passed you but I survived. The next morning we had to wake up early to take the local bus to the port to get on the ferry to Capri. They ferry was only an hour ride but we got there in 45 mins which was nice. The first thing we did when we got there was take a trolley up the mountain which is were I took this the picture. We got to the top and then walked down the other side of the mountain literally to get to the most beautiful beach with the clearest water I have ever since. It looked like I was swimming in a pool with salt. The bad news is that my friend Katherine was stung by a jellyfish, not badly but it still hurt. After that we went on a three hour boat ride around the whole island. It was so wonderful and I got to go into the blue grotto which was extremely blue. They guys were singing to us as they took us in there. So funny. After the boat ride, we headed back to the Sorrento where we ate dinner and headed back to our hotel to sleep. The next morning  we woke up early, checked out and headed to Pompeii. Now, Pompeii was beautiful. It was amazing to be in a place that I have read so much about and seen on television so many times. Seeing the bodies encased in plaster was amazing! The most scariest fact I learned is that Mount Verivus is just sleeping that they were waiting for it to erupt which is scary. Well, I am having a great time here in Italy I'll write again soon.

Scuola...

Classes are very interesting here in Florence. The classes are taught like an American classroom except cellphone use is not permitted at all. There are signs everyone that say cellphones are not permitted. You are only allowed to absent once throughout the whole semester. A second absence puts you at risk, a third is a complete letter drop and a fourth is a complete failure. All my professors have Italians accents and all the students come to class with hangovers (which is nothing different from home sadly). I love all my classes. I'm taking Travel Writing, a Marketing Mix class, Cultural Anthropology, and Italian (of course!). The buildings for the school are all over Florence and you need a code to get into every building but its not too bad of a walk. Oh yeah! They have an Italian Family Club which I signed up for but the unfortunate part of it is that they only have twenty families and thirty people signed up. So they are doing an interview process so I hope I get it. I should find out by next week. Next weekend I go on my first school trip to Sorrento, Capri & Pompeii which I'm so excited for.Something very interesting that is happening is that more Italians are coming into the city now that tourists are slowly leaving. It's interesting to see the Italian family and the teenagers since school starts for them this week. I feel like there is so much to say but I can not make it all come out lol. I'm learning so much and seeing so much sometimes its so hard to take in. I have to say though I was homesick for the first few days but as I slowly made friends it go better plus being out and about everyday really does help. Well must head to bed I'll continue to share my adventure with you soon.

Getting Settled In...

It's been six days since I've been here and i'm pretty much settled into my apartment. I'm already missing american food. Don't get me wrong I love pasta but I miss meat lol. We did find an american diner and a sushi place, thank god. I finally ate real authentic gelato which was delicious. I have torta di nonna which is Grandma's Pie and nutella yogurt but I think Grandma's Pie is my favorite so far. I have strolled along the Palazzi il Duomo which is very active between 7:30 pm and 11pm and around midnight is when the Italian nightlife actually begins. Saturday night we saw what a lot of young Italians do. We don't know if it was a special occasion or if it was something that happens every Saturday night. People just sit on the steps of the Santa Croce (A Church!! by the way) and drink wine. It's like a nice hang out spot. People were out until 3 o'clock and beyond it was an incredible experience because everyone was just having a good time. It's something you don't see in America and it was a joy to experience. I have been over one of the oldest bridges in Florence and to one of the oldest restaurants as well. I found out there is no speed limits here as well that don't bike or drive mopeds until you know how to drive like an Italian. You don't have to tip waiters or taxi drivers, it's not expected only from Americans except you do tip if you like the restaurant a lot. I can not wait for class tomorrow!! I'm so excited and also I plan on joining this Italian family club were you get to get adopted by an Italian Family. I'm so excited!! Well, I'll write again to tell you about how classes went.

Getting Here and being here!

I'm here! I can't believe it. It's crazy! Well my first plane ride was smooth and very exciting I sat next to this very nice couple who assured me everything was normal. The problem came when I was in Paris when they would not let my toothpaste, lotion or gel get on the plane! The lady made me go check my bag which was 55 euros! So instead I ended up throwing the things away and getting back in line which caused me to almost miss my flight I never ran so fast in my life but I made it. That's when I met Charles from Nigeria which is so funny because my boyfriend's name I'd Charles and from Nigeria. He was nice but he wanted my number and my address which I kindly declined. My first Italian drive was crazy I thought the driver was crazy and I thought I was going to die but then I thought the people walking were going to die. It was hilarious! So I went through a short orientation was then transported to my apartment. I was the first one there so I got first pick of beds which was a very hard decision because the apartment is beautiful! My roommates finally came I have 6 of them and they are all nice. I found the 99 cents store my née best friend and I found the supermarket plus the bank. I had my first Italian meal which was pizza. Very delicious! Then I went to bed very early whIch was crazy for me. Now it's morning I'm going for my first brunch so I will talk to you all later. Ciao!