Catching up

Alright I haven't blogged since Sunday so I guess I have some catching up to do. I have been very busy and in turn very exhausted, and have also been trying not to spend too much time on the computer, so I just haven't gotten around to blogging. Since I have so much to write, I am going to use bullet points to avoid driving myself and others insane.

Monday:
- Classes resumed after an awesome weekend, but we only had one actual class. Ethics 9:30 - 11. We talked about... I forget, probably Aristotle. Oh yes, Nicomachean Ethics
- Instead of our 2:00 class, our professor, Chris, took us up to Boboli Gardens, a series of gardens and scattered art pieces on the side of a large hill. We hiked up and saw a lot of interesting things and beautiful views which I have posted pictures of on facebook. We rested in the shade of some trees for a while in one of the gardens, then proceeded to the observatory at the top where there is a flower garden overlooking the entire city of Florence, and a small pottery gallery with some very unique, deceivingly modern-looking pieces.
- We had a dinner reservation at 6:00, but we had some extra time, so we laid out in the sun for a while and then Chris offered to take us to a wine bar very close by that he had been wanting to try. No one really had much interest except for me and one other person, so the three of us went and Chris treated Rachelle and I to a glass of wine (which he also picked out for us because we had essentially no idea what to get). I'm not much of a wine person but it was delicious! I would reccommend it but I have no idea what it was... something white ;)
- We then went to dinner at Golden View which is supposed to be the nicest (and most expensive) restaurant on our meal voucher list. Drinks are not included under our vouchers, so Chris paid for all the drinks and told us to get whatever we wanted. He also ordered two bottles of red wine and two bottles of white wine for the table, just house wines, which were also quite good. I have learned that the wine is much better (and cheaper!) in Italy. Probably the only thing that is cheaper here. I ordered penne with quattro formaggi which is a four cheese sauce which they added truffles to. It was delicious and it was the first dish I had tasted with truffles in it. I also tried their pizza which was pretty good, but all Florentine pizza kinda tastes the same and I am a little sick of it. Florence is definitely not known for good pizza and to be honest it's a little bland!
- After dinner I was exhausted and not feeling well. I have been gettting sinus headaches for a few days now, and no one here is very healthy (they say it's germs from the airplane!) so I'm not surprised. I was supposed to go to see the orchestra at 9:00, but as soon as I got home (around 8), I fell asleep and did not wake up until around 11. I'm a little disappointed that I missed out, but there are still many free activities available and I would not have had much fun feeling the way I did.

Tuesday:
- The next morning I still wasn't feeling well. Our alarm never went off so we woke up just a few minutes before class and my head was pounding, and my two roomates (we moved Mackenzie's bed into our room so there are 3 of us now) were both really sick so we decided to get another hour or so of sleep. We missed art history, which is an okay class but the teacher is crazy and they made us buy a book which has all of her lectures in it, so none of us were too worried about missing that class. Plus, we have it twice a week so we can catch up with her tomorrow.
- I had a doctor's appointment at 11:40 to get a shot, so I got up and showered and left my roomates to sleep a little longer since our second class is not until 2. I had never been to the doctor's office and did not know where it was, but one of the AIFS girls, Isabelle, had made the appointment for me and gave me the address, so I mapquested walking directions and set off on a solo adventure. I had to navigate streets that I had never been on (to my knowledge) and I also needed to find an ATM on the way because I wasn't sure how much the appointment would  cost. I also didn't have a watch, so I was practically running through the streets hoping to get there on time. I did eventually find an ATM, and only had to wait behind one person (short lines are very rare), and the transaction went smoothly. I then continued to run through the city to get to my appointment, having no idea what time it was.
- I found it just fine, but when I got to the address I didn't know exactly which building it was. Then my eyes fell upon a door surrounded by open shop windows with plenty of lighting and bright colors. I found the door so easily because it was the complete opposite; just a large wooden door with now windows in sight. I walked up to the door and found the buzzer that I was pretty sure had something to do with a doctor's office. I know the word for doctor is "medico" but I didn't see that at all, so I picked the one that looked like it would be a medical facility. I rang it and the door immediately opened. I walked in to a dark hall facing a large stone staircase. It seemed the only way to go was up, so I climbed the stairs. At the top, I saw a sign for the office which said that it was on the 4th floor. There were no more stairs in sight, but there was an elevator to my left so I pressed the button to call for it. The doors opened and I was horrified. The elevator was a small box that could not possibly have fit more than one or two people. It was dark and had no sort of window or anything. I reluctantly got in and pressed the button, then waited what seemed like hours for the elevator to take me to the top floor. I found the office and had to ring another buzzer. The door opened and I knew I was in the right place; doctor's offices don't look much different here than in America. The receptionist spoke very poor English, but she pointed at some forms that I needed to fill out. Unfortunately, they were all in Italian, so I had to struggle through that for a while. Finally, the doctor came out to get me, and spoke English so he helped me fill in the missing areas.
- In the office, I told the doctor that I just needed to have a shot administered and gave him the prescription. He was very nice and funny, so I felt much more comfortable than I had up until this point. He then asked me if I normally received the shot in my "arm or buttock" and I quickly answered arm, to which he launched into a long explanation as to why I should probably start getting it in my butt muscle instead of my deltoid, since it is a long lasting shot and the butt muscle is much larger. I pretended that I would take that into consideration and asked him to put the shot into my arm. He seemed to think that I was going to be in a lot of pain but it's a very easy shot and I could barely feel a thing. The tough part is the arm soreness for a few days after, which I now realize I would definitely not want to be feeling in my "buttock" at all. I paid him 20 euros, which is much cheaper than I originally thought it would be because medical care is quite expensive here, and told him I hope I don't have to see him again while I'm here (let's keep our fingers crossed for no accidents), and left.
- On my way home I got a huge 2 euro slice of pizza and came back to have some peach iced tea while I ate. It was a very satifsfying meal after everything I had been through that morning, and I even had time to take a short nap before class.
- Second class that day was Italian culture, and we convinced our teacher to take us on a little fieldtrip. Instead of talking about politics in the classroom, we hiked up to Palazzo Michelangelo, which is a large piazza-like area on top of a large hill with a view overlooking the city. I say hiked because it was seriously a strenuous walk. There is a steep staircase with very wide stairs that were killer on the calves, and it went on for what seemed like miles. We got to the top huffing and puffing, but it was worth it. We sat as a group and had our lecture out there, watching the light clouds roll in over Florence. It was much better than sitting in our stuffy little classroom and none of us had seen this part of the city at all so that was good.
- After class we walked back to the school to pick up the package my parents had sent me. It was "huge" in the words of Sophie, Isabella, and Phillippa, and they all wished me luck carrying it back to the apartment. I did get it there, and felt like a child on Christmas morning when I opened it. It contained tons of food and essentials that I had been living without. It felt really good to receive some comforts from home and life got a whole lot better and easier. Thanks family! I love you!
- After unpacking my box, I went to the Coop with my roomies to get a few things like drinks, butter, and milk (to make mac and cheese and mashed potatoes!!!!), then came home to cook some long-missed food and head to bed.

Wednesday:
- Today was a pretty routine day. We had ethics and animality. Between classes I ate a quick lunch and took a very refreshing nap. After animality I earned a bonus point on my final by going to Billa with Chris and helping him shop for things to have at his house on Friday where he is having a cookie making party (requested by us) because he has an oven in his apartment and none of us do. Gabby and Mackenzie came with us and we carried the groceries back to Chris's apartment which is about four blocks past the Duomo. I now appreciate how close our apartment is to school, because I would not be able to make the trek he makes every morning at 9 am.
- After this I was honestly exhausted and my body is sore from all the strenuous walking we have been doing. I came home and made mashed potatoes (comfort food<3) and took a shower, and have been just relaxing since.
- I am hopefully off to skype my parents and then get to bed, as I have been trying to go to bed earlier to avoid the feeling of being a zombie in our 9:30 class every morning. I don't want to hear that 9:30 isn't early! I'm in college.
- Tomorrow through Sunday there is a beerfest in Santa Croce from noon to 11 PM. They have been setting up for days and it seems like it is going to be a crazy event. So glad my weekend starts tomorrow at 4 o' clock!

Ciao!