The real cultural experience

If I had to explain my past week, I would describe it as the real cultural experience! It was so great and I feel so blessed thinking about the amazing things I did this week.  School is interesting.  In my Modern Italy class we learned about the Mafia and how insanely crazy they are.  We watched a gruesome video with a lot of blood and guts. Whenever I heard “the mafia”, I knew it was bad, but know I feel like a have a deep understanding of how involved politically they are and how hard it is to stop them.  I am reading a book in globalization titled “ Confessions of an Economic Hit Man.”  I have never been so into a book forced to read in school and a recommend reading it, its very thought provoking and a pretty easy read.  Blah blah blah, enough with school.  Tuesday night I went to a place called Bebop!  We saw a cover band for the Beatles and it was one of the most fun nights I have had here yet!  It was underground and there was a mix of Italians and Americans and the band was sooooo good, they made me feel like I was part of the60s!  Wednesday night I went to my first Italian soccer game!  Goooooo FIRENZE!!! It was a blast. I wore a soccer jersey and everything!  The whole city was supportive of the team, there was old men there chanting songs and of course drinking their beers, and we won!  Yahoo! This weekend I stayed in Florence again and I was determined to discover the real Florence, catch up on some needed sleep, and finish one of my term papers.  All were accomplished! (Actually almost done with that paper haha)  I went to an antique market and got a couple thrifty shirts, my favorite! I also went to a vegetable, meat and cheese market that was further way from the center, which means fewer tourists, which means cheaper prices and more authentic Italians!  Later that night, my friend Tobyn and I went to an Opera!  It was in a beautiful church and we some how ended up in the second row!  It was all in Italian, but it was at the English speaking church, so in between acts a man would come out and explain each scene so we could understand what was going on.  It was 2 and a half hours, but im so glad I went! It was definitely part of what I consider the Italian cultural experience.  I also woke up early before the tourists’ head out and took some pictures of the inner city, or “the heart of Florence.”  Sunday I made a yummy breakfast, worked on homework and booking a hostel for Barcelona this weekend, and had dinner with friends.  I am getting so excited for Eric to come and so excited for everything still have left to do.  I need prayers for focus in school, I have all my mid terms and papers coming up in the next 3 weeks.  I also could use prayers for health.  The last thing I want with my busy schedule is to be sick.

 

“ The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he come to see”