15. December 2011: Holland

Not the most exciting day because we spent so much of it on the train--through Belgium and on to Amsterdam. It was nice to be in a familiar place again where so many people speak English. We took a nap and then wandered around the city, but both of us were pretty exhausted so we didn't end up doing any extraneous sight-seeing.

Joseph in front of Amsterdam Centraal Station

a sort of soggy Occupy protest tent site

the Bijkendorf

...cows on the ceiling?

14. Dicembre 2011: Main Title- An American in Paris, 'S Wonderful, I Got Rhythm

We may have walked a hundred miles today but boy, was Paris beautiful.

The Notre Dame: "No, you're a Gothic church!"

Tour D'Eiffel (we didn't have fun all day, clearly)

Standing in triumph at the Arc de Triomphe

Lovers at the Louvre

The Mona Lisa was fairly unimpressive but the crowd surrounding it was quite a sight to see (and hardly any of them were actually looking at the painting with their own eyes...why not just google image search if you're going to look through a computer screen, eh?)

Tomorrow...Amsterdam! Au Revoir!

13. Dicembre 2011: Paris Holds The Key To Your Heart

Oh to recount the goings on of today...I feel like most of my blog posts will be narrations of whirlwinds. It is rainy here in Paris but the temperature isn't terrible. The fashion here is much more slick and chic than Italy but it's not nearly as expressive. We started our day by trying to figure out Metro tickets with a couple of British women, made it in to downtown Paris and got a bagel and cream cheese (I've missed those in Italy). Then we walked down to the Louvre to discover that it was closed for the day. Can't figure out why, though maybe it has something to do with the Pakistani president being in town. What president wouldn't want a private tour of the Louvre? Anyways, we'll return tomorrow but the architecture was still incredible to behold from the outside.

We wandered along the Seine in the Rain and stumbled upon a very frightening demonstration. There were many workers with signs and even more policemen with intimidating guns. We asked one of these policemen what was going on and he explained in broken English that they were workers striking...very informative. So we continued towards the Eiffel Tower and passed a really cool building with plants growing out of the walls.

The Eiffel Tower was surprisingly awesome to behold. There were not many tourists around (it being December) and it was quite pleasant to just sit and gaze at. From there, we walked through the Paris Modern Art Museum (accidentally) and Christmas market on the Champs D'Elysee. Behind the famous obelisk there was a celebratory ferris wheel that reminded me of the London Eye along the Thames. The sky was a beautiful purple at twilight but that was when the night took a turn for the worse.

I needed to find internet so that I could attend a design meeting for Twelfth Night (the show I am designing at Knox when I return this winter) via Skype so we visited a Starbucks. I was so engrossed in my meeting that my purse was stolen from right underneath me. Luckily, the only thing of value in my purse was my camera. Unfortunately...my camera was in my purse. Memories stay in my head forever but it would have been nice to still have some of those photographic preservations. Oh well. Tomorrow, I will get a new camera and photos will be posted. Until then, I hope you are all faring better than I am and here's to a better tomorrow. Cheers!

12. Dicembre 2011: Two Thousand Places

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A loooooooong day of travel...

We started at 8:55 on a train from Florence to Milan where we met a nice businessman from San Diego. Two hours of conversation later we arrived in Milan and caught a train to Ventimiglia. This train took us to the coast of the Mediterranean. In our compartment was a nice looking young man who was apparently as beduffled about our nationality as we were about his. Finally, Joseph and the young man asked at the same time where the other was from. His name was Christian and he is an Austrian living in Paris born in Palo Alto, California with a mother from Chicago. Crazy coincidences, eh? We spoke in English, Italian and German until we made it to Ventimiglia and he ran off to buy his ticket. We made another train switch to cross over the French border, through the tiny country of Monaco and into Nice. We finally got a breather, some food and...could you call it entertainment? I suppose I would not call a French homeless man carrying a dead pigeon around entertainment but it certainly caught our attention. We boarded our final train to Paris and slept most of the way there. Then, three different Metro trains (easily navigable, thank goodness), walking the wrong way on Rue de Crimee and a taxi ride later we finally made it to our Hotel. It being now 1:30 am I will post photos tomorrow. Bon Nuit!

11. Dicembre 2011: Pressure Zone

I am still in Florence but have been joined by the most wonderful traveling companion.
We each have Global Eurail passes which, on paper, seemed like a great idea. We both did our research with the understanding that if we made reservations, they would cost somewhere between 2 and 10 euros each--still totally worth it. However, we are being charged 300 euros to make reservations by very grumpy Italian ticket counter workers and keeping my cool is becoming harder. Joseph is the perfect balance because he is so level headed, calm, helpful and always seeing the silver living when I am about to blow up. Here's hoping that a "Eurail Aid Office" in another country is more helpful than in Italy.

Other than that, we've been running around Florence just catching up and seeing the sights. Now it's most important to organize all of our travel plans and luckily we have four more days at the end of our trip to explore Florence.

Tomorrow we will be traveling from Florence to Milan to Ventimiglia to Nice to Paris...all day. Because that only cost us 30 euros total whereas the overnight to Paris would have been 668 euros total. Yikes. I'll try to get another post in when we finally reach Paris tomorrow. If any knowledgeable Eurail travelers have any advice for us, please don't hesitate to shoot me an email or comment on this post.

Wish us luck!

9. Dicembre 2011: All We Have Is Now

Ciao Tutti!

…I’m done. Wow. I really can’t believe that I’ve lived here, studied here, grown here in Florence, Italy for the past three and a half months. Talk about surreal…

I told you about my photoshoot last weekend and I got the photos today. Here are some of them.

Like I said, Stefano Zanini is a photography genius.

But my adventure is not over yet. Today I will be packing then plan to finally venture to the top of the Duomo. Tomorrow, Joseph arrives in Florence and we will begin a December to remember. I will continue to update my blog and will at least have pictures up every day that I have internet access. We will start in Florence for two days and then move on to Paris. Then we’ll travel to Amsterdam, Berlin and spend Christmas Eve in Prague. On Christmas Day we will be travelling through Vienna and be in Florence by sundown. We plan to return to Chicago on December 29^th.

Alright, reflecting on this term I want to offer a bit of unsolicited advice to anyone considering study abroad, or even just living in a new culture. I thought that moving from Palo Alto, California to Galesburg, Illinois would be the hardest move I’d ever have to make but there are many different kinds of challenges. So here goes:

-Reflect on our own life before you decide to go abroad. What challenges have you had to overcome? What are the relationships in your life like?

-Read about the culture of the place where you will be living. Is there anything you read that puts you off? Can you prepare yourself for the hardest challenges you foresee?

-Do a beginners course on the language—Rosetta Stone or Pimsleur, just to get your footing

-Set goals for your trip and know that you won’t be able to complete all of them. Keep yourself open to possibilities and opportunities.

-Try to have as few expectations as possible. The success of any study abroad program depends on so many factors—professors, other students, classes, living situation and so many other unknowns. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst and take what comes.  

-When you’re packing, don’t forget things that will help you feel comfortable. Bring a pair of sweatpants, that stuffed animal that reminds you of your sister and always remember photos of loved ones.

-Make a budget!

-Research travelling prices ahead of time. You never know when or if you’ll get internet or research materials.

Finally…remember that you are going to grow. Open yourself up to anything. Never close yourself off from what you really want to be doing. You don’t want to give in to peer pressure when you’re on another continent. If you really want to go to the Boboli Gardens and study art history instead of club hopping, do it! Going to museums by yourself is more fun that with a group anyways.

Finally…yes. I would recommend the ACM Florence Program. The director, Jodie Mariotti is truly a saint. The classes are a lot of fun and the host families are wonderful. I’ve grown and I’ve changed and I am grateful for every second and every opportunity I’ve been given.

So as I say Buongiurno, Bonjour, Hej, Hallo and Dobrý den to Europe and Ciao for now!

7. Dicembre 2011: Che Finalone

As the program comes to a close, Italy becomes more surreal. I pass Santa Maria Novella and the Duomo and the Ponte Vecchio and cannot fully comprehend that I have been living here for the past three and half months. I have grown significantly as a person here and Florence, Italy will always hold a bit of my heart. Tonight was a last supper of sorts. It was the last official time when all of us in the ACM program would be together. First came the art show. The piece they chose to display for me was my Ecstasy of Santa Teresa. It was seen by all of our art teachers, the ACM directors, all of the host families and our Italian teachers. I finally got Stefano out from behind a camera…he was not happy about his picture being taken but he eventually managed a smile.

 We all traipsed over the Arno to the Osteria where we ate our first two meals in Florence. I ate the most delicious lasagna I’ve ever had and when the waitress asked if I want more, I nodded, making the waitress laugh in shock. Apparently she wasn’t expecting our entire table to want seconds. Throughout the night, some tears were shed, songs were sung and speeches were made. It was a very sweet last supper.

But now is no time for nostalgia! I’ve got to buckle down and study today.

Oh, and here is my final drawing (I forgot to include it in yesterday’s post). Note that she no longer looks like a zombie.