Frank

FIRENZE JUNE 2018

FRANK RUSIGNUOLO

ITALIAN EXPERIENCE

From before the time I arrived to Florence, I didn’t know what to expect. Would I enjoy my time here? What am I going to do? Will I miss home? Well, fact of the matter is...I love it here more than I can say.

You see, I was the oldest of the young people in the group—sorry Papa Pete—which led me to believe I would have nothing in common with the rest of the students, but that turned out to be completely false. My roommates Freddy and Jarred were seriously amazing people that synergized perfectly with me, and Peter (The Cherry on top :D). ß I am laughing right now because he is sitting right here next to me as I type this document up.

Continuing a bit from when I first arrived in Florence, I remember scanning the environment that dark Sunday evening during a cab ride after a long and arduous flight. I remember stepping out of the cab and smelling the strange odor coming from the nearby sewer systems. Wasn’t pleasant believe me.

With my 2 backpacks slung over my shoulders, I rang the doorbell of Via San Giuseppe 8. I was dreading the thought of having some recluse, weirdo roommates. It wasn’t until a dark bearded man opened the double doors with his softly spoken voice saying “Hey! Come on in,” that I would find out.

Entering the apartment, I am surprised to see the amount of space we had. As I recall, I started to engage in conversation with this newly found Freddie and he quickly befriended me, but was too tired to hang out. He then darted to his room and locked the door (typical Freddie). I remember thinking…weirdo :/ It wasn’t until later in the trip that I found Freddie to be an amazing, adventurous and motivated dude.

I walked over to my new bedroom to drop off my gear and spotted some blonde kid laying down in one of the beds, while occupied with his cellphone 😊. He sees me and springs to. With a big old handshake and a very wicked “uptalk”, he said “Sup, I’m Jarred. Nice to meet you”. I responded in kind and asked him if he wanted to explore the city. He agreed immediately and we began our adventure.

LOL

TRIO Courtesy of Mr. Bermudez

WHERE MEMORIES ARE MADE

From that point forward, the group of us became a powerful entity, always exploring the Florentine frontier, meeting all sorts of characters along the way.

Throughout these past 6 weeks we did so much (which is probably consistent with everyone else’s webpage). The difference between myself and the rest of the class—from what I can tell—is that I went outside of my comfort zone and explored the city unbound. This was a good thing because I took full advantage of the time we had here in Italy, and I have the pictures to prove it!

Academically, Dr. Kirkegaard opened my mind to everything Etruscan and Renaissance. I learned so much and became a better individual from this man.

Overall, this experience is like no other. I recommend to anyone who plans to come out here to use this time to be free-spirited, to explore and to make the most of the life you have been given. If you have that mindset while abroad, you will not regret anything at all.

-Firenze June 2018

EXCURSIONS THAT WERE SUPER WORTH IT

VENICE EXCURSION = BEAUTY

ROME EXCURSION = INSANITY

PANTHEON = FAVORITE STRUCTURE ON EARTH

PALAZZO VECCHIO = IMPORTANT

A PLACE CALLED HOME

BUONA FORTUNA E ARRIVE DERCI

ALSO GELATTO IS GOOD :D

Report abuse