Read what UNH’s Tuscany Campus has been up to this week in the newest installment of Postcards from Prato
It is day eight already! After having our flight out of JFK delayed for almost two hours because of all the snow, and barely having any time between flights when we landed in Germany, we arrived bright and early on Jan. 22, to start our semester in Prato!
The staff greeted us with University of New Haven signs, and we took a group photo in the Florence airport. We were all split up depending on where we were housing and got on buses to our new apartments for the next 15 weeks. It is almost impossible to even believe I am finally here after weeks of counting down the days.
The housing is beautiful, the landlord is extremely nice (well, everyone I have met so far is extremely nice) and the food thus far is beyond words. Orientation the first few days helped me get the lay of the land, but I am still extremely weary that I will be getting lost, seeing as I have no sense of direction. But they gave us half a dozen maps to help us, so I guess I will just have to look like a tourist sometimes in order to find my way around.
Students (left to right) Samantha Higgins, Ashley Wemmell and Bronte Torres Pagan
I have already taken over 100 pictures… in less than a week, but not a single one of them does any justice to what I see on a daily basis. They don’t show the age or beauty that you can see in person. Sometimes I feel like you can stand and look at the same building for hours and still be taking in all of the personality it has; all the cracks in the ceilings, the bright colors, all the amazing doors and windows, and the beautiful sculptures everywhere.
They took us on tours the first few days of orientation, gave us presentations about how everything works and showed us where some of the restaurants on the meal plan were located. The food is never ending and too delicious for words. I knew it would be good, but it seems like often I take a bite and it just hits me again how amazing it is.
We even got a tour of Florence during the first few days, and it was breathtaking. I wish I could record all the things they tell us as we walk around; the history that surrounds us is so interesting and just makes me appreciate it so much more, but I can’t remember it once we move on because there is just so much to take in. Between seeing everything and listening to them tell us what everything is I feel lost. Then add in trying to learn Italian to order food, along with finding my way around and my brain has pretty much exploded and classes haven’t even started yet!
Timing also works differently here. Dinner starts really late, shops close for lunch so the owners can spend time with their families, and restaurants are closed on Sundays; some on Mondays too it seems. Finding a place for lunch on Sunday took almost a half hour of exploring meal plan restaurants because so many were closed!
Overall I can say I am already extremely happy here. I have been pretty fortunate to avoid jetlag. I wouldn’t let myself sleep so I could just kick it right away. I am excited to embrace the culture and I am really looking forward to learning the language and being able to really adapt to my new lifestyle; knowing the times when things are open, when the market is, where things are and how life works here. My classes are all based on Italian life, their culture, and their food and art history. I feel like it will really help me dive into everything headfirst.
Until next week, Ciao!
