“You will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than the ones you did” - Mark Twain. On the airplane flight over here, as I was nonchalantly offered a bottle of wine to go with my dinner, which I gladly accepted, I realized how real that rings true on this huge journey I am taking. If I didn’t do this, I would regret it more than going and experiencing, whether that experience is positive or negative or a mix of both. My first official day of being away, I arrived in London, England and was taken to the hotel with another girl on my flight, Kiley. Kiley and I had met in the airport back in Denver and we seemed to have a lot in common, as well as a lot of the same questions, but despite having someone I kind of knew there, I was still scared.
The hotel we stayed at was off of Fulham Road, near the Chelsea Soccer Club, in an outskirt of London/Westminster. After meeting my roommate for the next two days, Elizabeth from Boston, my study abroad program officially opened with all of us participants having a "drink". After a free glass of white wine, myself and a bunch of the girls I met decided that we wanted a true English meal, fish and chips, cheap and authentic, and we set out to find some. Coming upon a local place, we bonded over fried fish and runny ketchup, missing home, and what we were going to find when we left this place that had people who spoke English to one that was completely foreign: Italia.
The hotel we stayed at was off of Fulham Road, near the Chelsea Soccer Club, in an outskirt of London/Westminster. After meeting my roommate for the next two days, Elizabeth from Boston, my study abroad program officially opened with all of us participants having a "drink". After a free glass of white wine, myself and a bunch of the girls I met decided that we wanted a true English meal, fish and chips, cheap and authentic, and we set out to find some. Coming upon a local place, we bonded over fried fish and runny ketchup, missing home, and what we were going to find when we left this place that had people who spoke English to one that was completely foreign: Italia.
The next day, we began with a group bus tour of England. We passed many famous sites, stopping to photograph Big Ben and Parliament (pictures to come when I find faster internet). Our tour guide showed us many places featured in movies, such as St. Paul's (where the Mary Poppins pigeon lady "feeds the birds") and many Harry Potter movie sites such as the Gringotts bank and the journey of the Knight Bus ride. At our main stop, we got to watch the "Changing of the Guard", walking along with the soldiers and band as they headed down to Buckingham Palace. The tour ended with us being dropped in a central market area, where we had lunch and beer (tried a beer called Westons, it was great, like a light ginger ale…and no need to present I.D. at any local pub). We searched the market, then used the tube to get to Piccadilly Square to see some of the bigger shopping areas. After a short stop at the British Museum and a look at some Greek and Ancient Roman artifacts, we took the tube back to our hotel and those of us who were interested got discounted tickets to the Broadway musical Wicked, which was showing in the theater district down by Victoria Station. Karolyn and I have already seen this musical, in the same theater, in the same city, but in much need of something familiar, I was eager to go.
With hardly any sleep that night, we packed to get up by 5:45 to get on our bus that would take us to Heathrow Airport where we would jump on a short flight to Pisa. Upon arrival, we boarded another bus and drove to Florence, sleeping on the windows and on backpacks, still fighting our jet lag from two days before. When we arrived at our hotel, we received our roommates and our small but nice rooms. We immediately went out in search of pizza, finding a small shop that had individual slices and “good” water (much of Florentine water tastes like grit and chlorine) as well as gelato. After unpacking and figuring out the hotel internet, dinner was offered. The hotel restaurant served us a three course meal with salad, bread, and pasta first, then veal (which the waiter told us was chicken, which is probably why I actually ate it) and then an amazing dessert (Millefoglie cake) which was like a croissant between layers of custard, chocolate and powdered sugar. After dinner, we bought wine and walked around the city, settling on a street corner near the Ponte Vecchio (again, pictures to come), still reeling that we finally in Italy.
Our first full day in Florence, we took a “practical tour”. Our guide, one of our student directors, took us through the city, showing us the closest banks, pharmacies, and U.S. consulate buildings. We ended at the location of our language school. It sits behind a large oak door on the third floor of a gorgeous building, and looks out over the small piazza market. For lunch, we were taken to a local “trattoria”, where we were again served a three course meal of a thick bean soup, spaghetti, and a meat and potato dish as well as endless bread and olive oil. Back at the language school, we were briefed on safety as well as given our rooming and apartment locations in Rome. It is extremely warm in Florence, and after three hours of 53 of us sitting in a small room with no air conditioning, we were glad to get back to the hotel. We were served another three course dinner with another pasta and veal dish (because I knew it was veal this time, this meal was a little harder to stomach…my friends did not share my sentiment toward the dead baby cows :( ) and another great dessert of sponge cake and whipped gelato. For the night, many of the other students in the program decided to go to a Florentine club called “Space”. A few of us opted out and instead grabbed drinks from a small store and again sat on the bridges and watched the water, meeting three other American students from another program and swapping names of site that would be great to visit.
After sleeping in on Sunday, we went on an art tour led by another one of our program directors. She took us to many famous piazzas such as Piazza della Republicca and the Piazza del Duomo, telling us Florentine folklore and the importance of the Italian “crown”, which the Medici held and reigned under for many years. Again, more pictures to come when I can upload them. It was truly amazing to learn that where we stood, near the Duomo and in the “center” of Firenze (Italian for Florence), under our feet, ancient Roman streets could be excavated. The remains of ancient baths still sit under modern “ristorantes” and on the side of the Duomo, bits of a Roman sarcophagus are laid within its more “modern” updated marble finish (modern = the year 1000).
I am finishing this entry on a Monday night, after my first full day at my language school. With a small class of 15, we learn Italian for 4 hours every morning while we are here in Florence. It moves fast but I have been able to relatively understand what my “professoressa” is saying. I can tell you:
“Ciao! Mi chiamo Mallory. Sono Americana di Colorado e sono studentessa di ingles.”
Elementary, no? I am also working on my numbers and my letters and can now order pizza without any English. During our afternoon off, we roamed near the Duomo and bought our books for school, as well as drank “Sprtiz” (white wine, soda water, and orange flavoring) and rode the carousel in the city center. After another three course meal that included a “bacon burger”, which was two beef patties with some rather raw bacon on them and no bun, I have begun to study and am going to try and get more sleep than I have the last two nights.
Even with everything being new, I still end my days amazed and feeling blessed for being able to do this. With every bite of foreign food and every broken Italian conversation I have had, I have become more and more aware that I needed this. This is a lonely, scary, crazy, and unforgettable time in my life, and like my opening quote, I would be more disappointed if I just stayed home and didn’t just do it. Truly living the dream here. I will write sooner next time, Always, Mal.
