Thursday -March 29
This morning I woke up with excitement consuming me. Today was the day my family was arriving. I couldn't believe that it was already the day because I remember talking about it in January. Heck, I remember talking about them coming to visit while I'm abroad at me senior pictures. Time flies by.
I only had one class today because my Italian Art was canceled, which helped because then I wouldn't have to miss it since I was going to skip it to pick up my family at the airport.
For Italian class today, our class met at the school 45 minutes earlier at 10:00 and we walked to a bus stop. Nicoletta was taking us to an Italian high school where we were going to converse with students in Italian and then in English. She told us a few days prior for the girls to cover up a little bit because there were mostly going to be 17 and 18 year old boys.
The bus ride took about 30 or so minutes and then we walked the rest of the way to the school. It was a nice change of pace being on the outskirts of Florence. We were walking through the suburbs, and I felt like I was seeing a new side to the city. I suppose it would be like someone visiting Pittsburgh and then seeing the suburbs too. It's a completely different feel than being in the city.
We walked down a dirt path the led down to the school. It was small and looking nothing like any high school I would have pictured. My Italian class has two boys and the rest girls, so as we walked down the road all you saw were these high school boys popping their heads out the window, pointing and smiling. It was hilarious and we were all laughing. There were bars on some of the windows, just like there are around the city, and all I saw were boys trying to stick their heads out through. We were all saying, " What is Nicoletta doing to us?!"
As we walked into the school, boys kept walking by staring, and then when we walked into the classroom it was chaotic. The windows were opened and people were trying to climb in. Once the teacher got everyone settled down we were given seats. For every four Italians, there were two Americans. Lydia and I were partners and thankfully we were given three girls and one guy. They were the only girls in the class.
The first half of the hour we spoke in Italian and the second half we spoke in English. It was difficult for Lydia and I because we knew Italian, but trying to keep a conversation going for a half hour was rather difficult. The three girls and boy were all 17 and 18 years old and they liked the school they were at. This type of school was an agricultural school. They came here to learn how to be a farmer, essentially.
We asked them how many siblings they had, what type of music they liked, etc. The boy said he liked Eminem and I high fived him. They said they listen to a lot of American music.
When we switched to English the four of them got rather quiet and didn't say much. We tried conversing with them, but they didn't really try. The one girl, Claudia, was the one who tried the most. I was surprised they were so nervous to speak in English because they said they had been studying it for 6 years. Lydia and I have only been taking Italian for two semesters and we were able to speak Italian better than their English.
I also found it interesting because Claudia said she doesn't want to live in Italy because she doesn't like Italians, despite the fact she is Italian. She said she wants to live in France, which I thought was cool. Since the countries are so close, it's essentially the same as me not wanting to live in PA or OH and wanting to move south.
After the hour was up, the Italian high schoolers led us outside to their greenhouse and farming land. Claudia said they spend two hours a day in the green house and taking care of the plants. Outside, they also had apple, peach and cherry trees. She said once they grow they all get to eat them.
It was a different kind of school and one that I did not expect to see, but it was really interesting to see how Italians learn.
Afterwards, Nicoletta led us home instead of taking a bus back. We walked through this gorgeous park that I didn't even know existed. The entire place was a luscious green, with trees and benches lining the path we were walking along. We also walked along a river and past a dam that was beautiful and had some people laying out trying to catch some rays.
After a half hour of walking, we decided to take the bus the rest of the way. Once we spotted one we started running toward it because it was getting ready to leave.
We got dropped off near Bethany's apartment, which meant I was 25 minutes away from home. I was getting worried about time because I had to leave for the airport around 1:30 to get there in time for my family. I thought we were going to be getting back at 12:30 and figured I had time to go to the grocery store, clean my apartment, etc., but it was already 1:00.
We got dropped off near Bethany's apartment, which meant I was 25 minutes away from home. I was getting worried about time because I had to leave for the airport around 1:30 to get there in time for my family. I thought we were going to be getting back at 12:30 and figured I had time to go to the grocery store, clean my apartment, etc., but it was already 1:00.
So I walked back to the Duomo with my friends and then parted to go back home where I scarfed down a sandwich and called a taxi.
I waited for about a minute or two outside of my apartment for the taxi. During the drive to the airport I was filled with excitement and anxiousness. I couldn't believe that my family was already almost here.
After the 20 minute taxi ride, I paid the driver and went inside the airport to wait for my family. When I was standing by the doors they would come out of my heart jumped every time the door opened. It was 2:00 and their plane was supposed to land around then. On the arrival board it didn't say that they landed yet, so I started getting a little nervous.
A different plane had to divert to Pisa and I was a bit worried that was going to happen to their plane because I knew they wouldn't know what to do. Plus I didn't know how I was going to get in touch with them. I felt bad because another girl my age and her friend were waiting for her parents and she found out that her parents were on the plane that diverted to Pisa, so she had to go with her driver that was picking them up and drive and hour to Pisa to get them.
I stared at the board and finally around 2:15 it said their plane landed. So I knew they were somewhere close to me, but I couldn't see them. Once again every time the doors opened up I got extremely excited only to find out they weren't behind them. Time was testing my patience.
Finally around 2:30 the doors opened and I saw a ton of people walking out. Then I saw Jon walk around the corner and I became overwhelmed with excitement. I'm not going to lie...I got a little teary eyed, but I brought myself back together. Then my whole family appeared and started walking out the doors.
Ali ran up to me and hugged me and Jon and my mom followed suit. We were jumping up and down with excitement. I couldn't believe they were actually here!
We walked outside of the airport and stood there for a bit talking. I learned that my family almost missed their flight from Frankfurt to Florence. They said their plane from Philly to Frankfurt was late and they had to literally run through the airport to catch their flight. My mom said Ali ran ahead and tried to get on the plane.
They are the luckiest people because I've heard of so many bad experiences where the plane won't let you on if you miss the boarding time. They walked on the plane at 12:22 and their flight left at 12:25. My mom said she almost cried when she thought they weren't going to make it. She said she thought of my blogs and when I said I would run to catch my trains and she felt like she was me. It made me laugh, but I'm so thankful someone was kind enough to let them on. Someone was watching out for them.
We then proceeded to the line of taxis and I asked a driver where we were supposed to go to catch one and he sent me to the front of the line where a younger Italian man lifted their suitcases into his trunk, and we all piled into the car. I sat in the front and the other three sat in the back.
During the drive, I was hoping he would drive crazy and my family would be able to experience the craziness of Italian drivers, but unfortunately he was a decent driver. Jonathan didn't think so, so maybe I'm just used to the reckless driving now.
The man sang to his Italian music and it made me smile. "Welcome to Italy," I thought to myself. During the drive I — of course — had a coughing attack. I had no water and I seriously couldn't stop coughing. I always get them when I really don't want it. At least if I were to get it at home I can cough all I want, but I'm sitting next to a stranger hacking up a lung. He was kind and asked me if he could take me to a bar to get water — a bar here is a cafe— but I felt like I was getting better. Eventually the tickle in my throat went away.
When we got further into Florence I could see the busyness starting to appear in the streets. We passed Florence's Cathedral and my family was in awe by how beautiful it was. I felt like I was reliving what I saw in January because since I've been here and I pass it every day, it's just a pretty building. When I saw my mom and Ali's reaction I remembered how beautiful it really was.
We turned down a smaller street and there was a massive swarm of people standing outside of one of my favorite gelato shops — Grom. As we passed by slowly, it looked like the parting of the Red Sea. My mom was laughing and couldn't get over how a car just pushed through all of the people. "Welcome to Italy," I thought again.
We eventually pulled up to their apartment on Borgo Albizi, and I had no idea where we were in relation to my apartment, so I figured that was going to be an adventure.
The taxi driver unloaded their luggage and I paid him. A woman was standing in the door way waiting for us to come in. I had called her earlier from the airport letting her know my family was in and that we would be there shortly. I said "ciao" to her and then she gave me a lesson on how Italian only say it to people they know and if you don't know someone you say "buona sera." I was so used to saying ciao to everyone because most people say it. I laughed to myself and said "whoops."
She led us through a massive door, through a gated entrance and up spiral stairs. When I walked into the apartment and walked down the hallway I was in awe. The place was gorgeous and it was so quaint. The walls were yellow, which made the room brighter with the sun bouncing off them and the ceilings were high and wooden like my apartment. Ali and Jon's bedroom was up stone stairs and was a tiny little cubby hole, but it was so cute.
"I'm staying here a lot," I thought to myself! The woman gave my family a tour of the apartment and told them the nitty gritty details about it. When I realized there was a dishwasher I exclaimed, "They have these in Italy?!"
The woman looked at me perplexed, and said, "yes?"
I explained how my apartment didn't have one and neither did any of my friends' so it was odd to me.
After she left the apartment we hung around the apartment and they explored their living quarters for the next two weeks. Ali took a shower and my mom ran around the apartment. She was so excited and all smiles. She kept saying, "I can't believe we're here!"
After becoming aquainted with the place we ventured out into Florence for a bit. It was about 4:00 now and my family said they were just going to stay up, despite the fact they were tired. I agreed it was probably a good idea because it would probably mess up their sleep schedule even more.
As we were walking we stopped at a corner to look at Santa Croche. As we were standing their Ali made a funny noise. I looked over at her and started laughing. A pidgeon just pooped on her. I've been here for almost three months and I have yet to have that happen to me. Italians say it's good luck, but I think someone just made that up to make someone feel better about being pooped on. The funniest part was that Ali was the only one who had already showered and then she got poop in her hair.
We ventured over to the money exchange place, so my mom could get some euros for the beginning of their trip. Afterwards we walked down the street a little and sat down for them to eat something little. They loved what they were eating and were thrilled to be sitting down eating Italian food.
We walked back toward their apartment to go to the grocery store and euro store. As we were walking along their street I looked down another and saw The American Diner, which is near my apartment. I finally realized where we were at. Their street was only four streets away from me! All I had to do was walk out of my apartment, go down my street a little, hook a right and walk past four streets, and then hook another right and I was there! Can't get much better than that!
We walked down to the euro store first to get laundry detergent and paper towels because it's cheaper to get it there. Afterwards, we walked to Centro, a supermarket similar to Meta where I shop. I had never been on this side of town, despite the fact it was so close to my house, so it was nice to experience something new with them.
After we got back to the apartment we unloaded the groceries and then we went to dinner at Il Gatto. It was the restaurant I went to my second day here where Deborah and Stan treated us to. I was excited for them to try the place and for them to experience what I experienced my first few days here.
When we walked in and were led to a table we passed my friends Maria, Kelsey and Megan. They were with Maria's sister and Aunt who were visiting. It made me laugh because we all bring people who visit to this restaurant.
I explained the menu to my family and we all ordered. I was surprised because my mom let Ali and Jon try wine with dinner. I ordered quarter liter of the house wine for all of us to have. Jon was really funny because when my mom said they could try the wine, Jon said, "Can I substitute that wine for a beer?"
I laughed and Mama said no. It made sense though because they are both old enough here to drink it and when will they be back here? They should experience it while they're here. I was happy because they loved everything that they ordered to eat.
During dinner Ali started looking more and more tired. I could only imagine because they had been up for over 24 hours. I asked for the check and we headed back to their apartment. I hung out there for a little bit and then my mom and Jon walked me home.
We got to my street and I told them I could walk the rest of the way and they could go home. My mom tried persisting that they would walk me home all the way because she didn't feel comfortable having me walk home by myself. Jon said, "Mom, she's been here for three months and she's been fine."
I chuckled and told her I'd be fine and that my apartment was just around the corner. I hugged them goodnight and headed home to get a good night's sleep.
After the 20 minute taxi ride, I paid the driver and went inside the airport to wait for my family. When I was standing by the doors they would come out of my heart jumped every time the door opened. It was 2:00 and their plane was supposed to land around then. On the arrival board it didn't say that they landed yet, so I started getting a little nervous.
A different plane had to divert to Pisa and I was a bit worried that was going to happen to their plane because I knew they wouldn't know what to do. Plus I didn't know how I was going to get in touch with them. I felt bad because another girl my age and her friend were waiting for her parents and she found out that her parents were on the plane that diverted to Pisa, so she had to go with her driver that was picking them up and drive and hour to Pisa to get them.
I stared at the board and finally around 2:15 it said their plane landed. So I knew they were somewhere close to me, but I couldn't see them. Once again every time the doors opened up I got extremely excited only to find out they weren't behind them. Time was testing my patience.
Finally around 2:30 the doors opened and I saw a ton of people walking out. Then I saw Jon walk around the corner and I became overwhelmed with excitement. I'm not going to lie...I got a little teary eyed, but I brought myself back together. Then my whole family appeared and started walking out the doors.
Ali ran up to me and hugged me and Jon and my mom followed suit. We were jumping up and down with excitement. I couldn't believe they were actually here!
We walked outside of the airport and stood there for a bit talking. I learned that my family almost missed their flight from Frankfurt to Florence. They said their plane from Philly to Frankfurt was late and they had to literally run through the airport to catch their flight. My mom said Ali ran ahead and tried to get on the plane.
They are the luckiest people because I've heard of so many bad experiences where the plane won't let you on if you miss the boarding time. They walked on the plane at 12:22 and their flight left at 12:25. My mom said she almost cried when she thought they weren't going to make it. She said she thought of my blogs and when I said I would run to catch my trains and she felt like she was me. It made me laugh, but I'm so thankful someone was kind enough to let them on. Someone was watching out for them.
We then proceeded to the line of taxis and I asked a driver where we were supposed to go to catch one and he sent me to the front of the line where a younger Italian man lifted their suitcases into his trunk, and we all piled into the car. I sat in the front and the other three sat in the back.
During the drive, I was hoping he would drive crazy and my family would be able to experience the craziness of Italian drivers, but unfortunately he was a decent driver. Jonathan didn't think so, so maybe I'm just used to the reckless driving now.
The man sang to his Italian music and it made me smile. "Welcome to Italy," I thought to myself. During the drive I — of course — had a coughing attack. I had no water and I seriously couldn't stop coughing. I always get them when I really don't want it. At least if I were to get it at home I can cough all I want, but I'm sitting next to a stranger hacking up a lung. He was kind and asked me if he could take me to a bar to get water — a bar here is a cafe— but I felt like I was getting better. Eventually the tickle in my throat went away.
When we got further into Florence I could see the busyness starting to appear in the streets. We passed Florence's Cathedral and my family was in awe by how beautiful it was. I felt like I was reliving what I saw in January because since I've been here and I pass it every day, it's just a pretty building. When I saw my mom and Ali's reaction I remembered how beautiful it really was.
We turned down a smaller street and there was a massive swarm of people standing outside of one of my favorite gelato shops — Grom. As we passed by slowly, it looked like the parting of the Red Sea. My mom was laughing and couldn't get over how a car just pushed through all of the people. "Welcome to Italy," I thought again.
We eventually pulled up to their apartment on Borgo Albizi, and I had no idea where we were in relation to my apartment, so I figured that was going to be an adventure.
The taxi driver unloaded their luggage and I paid him. A woman was standing in the door way waiting for us to come in. I had called her earlier from the airport letting her know my family was in and that we would be there shortly. I said "ciao" to her and then she gave me a lesson on how Italian only say it to people they know and if you don't know someone you say "buona sera." I was so used to saying ciao to everyone because most people say it. I laughed to myself and said "whoops."
She led us through a massive door, through a gated entrance and up spiral stairs. When I walked into the apartment and walked down the hallway I was in awe. The place was gorgeous and it was so quaint. The walls were yellow, which made the room brighter with the sun bouncing off them and the ceilings were high and wooden like my apartment. Ali and Jon's bedroom was up stone stairs and was a tiny little cubby hole, but it was so cute.
"I'm staying here a lot," I thought to myself! The woman gave my family a tour of the apartment and told them the nitty gritty details about it. When I realized there was a dishwasher I exclaimed, "They have these in Italy?!"
The woman looked at me perplexed, and said, "yes?"
I explained how my apartment didn't have one and neither did any of my friends' so it was odd to me.
After she left the apartment we hung around the apartment and they explored their living quarters for the next two weeks. Ali took a shower and my mom ran around the apartment. She was so excited and all smiles. She kept saying, "I can't believe we're here!"
After becoming aquainted with the place we ventured out into Florence for a bit. It was about 4:00 now and my family said they were just going to stay up, despite the fact they were tired. I agreed it was probably a good idea because it would probably mess up their sleep schedule even more.
As we were walking we stopped at a corner to look at Santa Croche. As we were standing their Ali made a funny noise. I looked over at her and started laughing. A pidgeon just pooped on her. I've been here for almost three months and I have yet to have that happen to me. Italians say it's good luck, but I think someone just made that up to make someone feel better about being pooped on. The funniest part was that Ali was the only one who had already showered and then she got poop in her hair.
We ventured over to the money exchange place, so my mom could get some euros for the beginning of their trip. Afterwards we walked down the street a little and sat down for them to eat something little. They loved what they were eating and were thrilled to be sitting down eating Italian food.
We walked back toward their apartment to go to the grocery store and euro store. As we were walking along their street I looked down another and saw The American Diner, which is near my apartment. I finally realized where we were at. Their street was only four streets away from me! All I had to do was walk out of my apartment, go down my street a little, hook a right and walk past four streets, and then hook another right and I was there! Can't get much better than that!
We walked down to the euro store first to get laundry detergent and paper towels because it's cheaper to get it there. Afterwards, we walked to Centro, a supermarket similar to Meta where I shop. I had never been on this side of town, despite the fact it was so close to my house, so it was nice to experience something new with them.
After we got back to the apartment we unloaded the groceries and then we went to dinner at Il Gatto. It was the restaurant I went to my second day here where Deborah and Stan treated us to. I was excited for them to try the place and for them to experience what I experienced my first few days here.
When we walked in and were led to a table we passed my friends Maria, Kelsey and Megan. They were with Maria's sister and Aunt who were visiting. It made me laugh because we all bring people who visit to this restaurant.
I explained the menu to my family and we all ordered. I was surprised because my mom let Ali and Jon try wine with dinner. I ordered quarter liter of the house wine for all of us to have. Jon was really funny because when my mom said they could try the wine, Jon said, "Can I substitute that wine for a beer?"
I laughed and Mama said no. It made sense though because they are both old enough here to drink it and when will they be back here? They should experience it while they're here. I was happy because they loved everything that they ordered to eat.
During dinner Ali started looking more and more tired. I could only imagine because they had been up for over 24 hours. I asked for the check and we headed back to their apartment. I hung out there for a little bit and then my mom and Jon walked me home.
We got to my street and I told them I could walk the rest of the way and they could go home. My mom tried persisting that they would walk me home all the way because she didn't feel comfortable having me walk home by myself. Jon said, "Mom, she's been here for three months and she's been fine."
I chuckled and told her I'd be fine and that my apartment was just around the corner. I hugged them goodnight and headed home to get a good night's sleep.
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