First few days (with better spelling!)

Wow - I've only been in Florence for a few days, yet I have fallen in love with the city already. Yes, it's true that I'm terrible at communicating and have already made multiple "mistakes" that true Italians find inappropriate (such as not ordering all of the courses when eating lunch at a resturant), but I am having a great time and learning quickly.

The flight over was uneventful. I was flying with three other girls from St. Norbert, and we managed to catch all of our flights and find our baggage. I only really mention the plane ride, because of the completely surreal experience that I had. I had just woken up, so I was still in that sleepy state, when I looked out the window, not really expecting to see anything because it was so cloudy. What I saw was the sun rising over enormous mountain peaks poking up through the cloud bed. We were directly over the Alps! Amazingly beautiful and something that I never thought I would see. It was so white with clouds and snow, yet slightly glowing from the rising sun, and every so often you could see lights down on the mountains from small collections of buildings and a couple that looked to me like they were bonfires. I couldn't believe it.

I got to my apartment, and met all of the other girls. We went out for dinner that night, but spent most of the time relaxing. Yesterday, we went to a couple of orientation meetings and out for lunch. We finally got the internet set up, and then went to the market next door to get food. We were going to make a pasta dinner, but couldn't get our stove working, so ended up just eating brushcetta (the oven works!) and other "snack foods". All of my roommates decided to go out that night. Hannah knew a guy also in Florence, so we met up with his roommates and another full group of girls, and then walked to the Cavalli Club. However, we got lost on the way, and ended up seeing a lot of Florence. For those of you who know me - I was in heaven, I was exploring the city at night, which I normally wouldn't have done, and saw so many amazing buildings, palazzos (palaces) and piazzas (city squares) - it was actually the highlight of the night for me! I can't wait to see them again and spend more time at some of the buildings. I did have fun dancing at the club though - a completely new and interesting experience for me.

Today, I woke up this morning and went to an optional, informal orientation session were we got some helpful tips about pickpockets, markets, restaurant etiquette, etc... So, that's pretty much everything so far!

One thing - I did forget to bring the adapter that transfers photos from my camera to the computer, so no photos yet! I'm going to look for one here, or maybe just start showing you other people's photos - not sure yet.

I can't believe that I am actually here in Italy. I know it is so far away, but right now, it just feels like a new city with a different language, and not all that different from home. Then again, I'm walking the same streets that people like Galileo, Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Caravaggio, and Dante walked - unbelievable.

Ciao!