first week of class conquered

Just finished the first week of official class! There actually isn't a single class that I'm not excited about which is a great feeling. Today we went to the Academia and saw Michelangelo's David which was absolutely amazing. Looking at slides or images in books definitely does not do it justice at all. I wish I could describe what it was like to be in front of it. Awe is the most fitting word I can come up with. We made gesture drawings of sculptures for a while there and then went to check out the British Institute Library and the two librarians that talked to us may be the two cutest people I have ever seen. We have unlimited access to the library and the aura of the place makes you feel smarter instantaneously. And they have awesome sliding ladders to use for the bookshelves. What more do you need, really? 


Last week we finished our personal sketchbooks that we learned how to bind/make ourselves, so all of our sketches/art history notes will be in there! 

my sketchbook

Earlier this week a few of us went to the massive park by the home-stay to play soccer/frisbee for a while because it was a beautiful day out, and there were about 8 or so men playing pick-up soccer and they asked us to join, so Steph and I played with the locals! It was really fun and surprisingly not embarrassing. Although we couldn't really understand anything they were saying, except for the reoccurring mispronounced english profanity which was pretty amusing. They said that they play there every day, but since we have class I think we are going to try to go at least once a week during the weekends! 

Last weekend all of the students went on a hike in Fiesole which is nearby– it was beautifullllll. I think these pictures will speak for themselves. 

Also I officially experienced my first discoteca haha it was.... interesting to say the least. Didn't stay too long but it was entertaining I suppose, but next time I think we are going to go to one that isn't free to enter... Perhaps sketchy is what you get when it does not have a cover charge. But more successful was swing dancing last night! Although I cannot swing dance... Collette completely dominated though, I was slightly envious of her dancing abilities (And by slightly, I mean very much so).But it was really fun and I learned a few steps, although I'm sure I was doing them pretty terribly. They have swing dancing every Wednesday night at this cute small cafe that is also a library/bookstore and it is quite trendy. Hip is the best way to describe it haha. So I think we are going to make it a weekly thing, so who knows, perhaps I will come back being a swing dancing pro? 

Another shot of the river coming back from class. Too beautiful to resist.

Getting Settled

After getting in to Florence this past Thursday, time has already been going by quickly! It still feels so surreal that I will be in this beautiful city for the next four months. I am currently in my bed in the home-stay which is really cozy after stuffing myself with a home-made Italian meal from my home-stay grandmother. We get home-cooked dinners Monday through Friday which is definitely an amazing thing to look forward to after getting out of school. The food in general has been delicious as expected–especially the gelato of course :D I ate gelato every day for the first 3 days, and am a little embarrassed to say that I have been slacking the past few days. Although pastries are always a great substitute. So far, everything is going really well! I finally met Lapo (the 3 year old grandson of the house) yesterday and he is ridiculously cute but pretty shy. Him and his mother live attached to our home but usually don't really come out of their section of the house so I haven't talked to them much/ haven't even met the mother yet. But the grandmother is the one who cooks for us and eats dinner with us every night and she is really nice, and we have broken conversations in Italian, occasionally resorting to the handy dandy Oxford Italian-English dictionary. Orientation started this week which consists of random lectures/typical orientation stuff and intensive Italian every day for about 3.5 hours... which sounds pretty terrible in terms of the Italian part but it isn't so bad yet at least. And we are currently making our own sketchbooks to use over the semester which I am really excited about! Bookbinding has always seemed awesome but I have never done it so it is really neat to learn the process. Plus, it is just cool in general to be able to create your own sketchbook with your own hands. Well, it is really hard to summarize everything I have done in the past four days because the first weekend in particular we walked ALL over the place, but here is a list of some highlights with pictures !

first gelato- coffee flavored, of course

overlooking the heart of the city

shot of the river on the way back from school

Ponte Vecchio (super old and awesome bridge)

the Duomo!

There are way more pictures on facebook but here are some of my favorites so far! And hopefully I will be able to write more consistently now so I don't have to attempt to recap multiple days in a row! 

And I know that some of you in particular have been asking me about my address here for mailing, so here it is...

Raina Koller

c/o Washington University/SRISA

Via San Gallo, 53R

50129 Firenze, Italy