Sadie

My study abroad experience!

Florence! The place I got to call home for 6 weeks...

It has been an amazing six weeks here in Florence. One of the best things Florence has to offer is their gelato! There's so much to do especially at night since the city seems to be more alive at night than midday. One of the best parts of studying abroad is getting to fully emerge in what we learn. Whether it's the day trips or the museums it all goes back to what we have learned in class. I got a whole new appreciation for museums that I did not have before coming to Florence. I have learned to question things and really think about the art on the walls.

Week 1:

Archaeological Museum: One of the first stops on our 6 week adventure was the archaeological museum. It was cool to learn about the Etruscans in class and the next day be right up close to the pictures you saw in the textbook. We got to see some of their sarcophagi and we even got to see real Egyptian wig hair which was really weird but cool.

San Marco Visit: It was nice to be able to compare the Etruscans with the renaissance. We got to see incredible biblical paintings and the rooms where the monks would sleep.

Trip to Fiesole: The most amazing Gelato I have ever had!

Day trip to Siena and San Gimignano: It was nice to come face to face to a relic for the first time. The Church had the head and finger of this woman which was kinda weird but an interesting thing to look at.

Week 2:

Santa Croce Visit: It was nice to be able to go to see the tombs of these amazing human beings like Michelangelo and Galileo. To learn about them in class and about how much of an impact they have in Florence and go visit them was incredible.

Palazzo Vecchio: It was amazing! seeing how much money the Medici had and the incredible works of art they collected really amazed me.

Chiusi: seeing the tombs of the Etruscan was nice it was so cold in the tombs and it was nice to see that they have paintings in their tombs. It really makes you appreciate things more when seeing it in person than in the books.

Duomo tour: The view was amazing!!

week 3:

Palazzo Medici: It makes you wonder how the Medici lived. You get to visit their palazzos but it is hard to imagine someone could live in such lavish place. We have learned about them in class about their power and influence but it is not until you actually visit their home where you truly see how rich these people are. All the gold and decorative paintings make you want to take pictures but the pictures do not do the palazzo justice.

Uffizi Tour: Wow! There is so much art everywhere. Everywhere you turn there is a painting. My favorite painting was the birth of venus. Especially when our tour guide Suzy pointed things out. She looks so perfect and beautiful but it is not until you truly take a look at her and you see all her imperfections. The funniest thing is her body was painted looking at a man's body. The god of beauty has a man body which I find very funny.

week 4:

Pitti Palace: Once again the Medici do it best. If you go to Palazzo Vecchio you see all the work of art but if you think that is all the art one place can have think again. The Pitti Palace has many more museums. My favorite one was the clothes museum. You got to see the clothes the Medici got buried in. You also got to see how they slept. It is nice seeing these museums but sometimes I wish they remained untouched so you can truly see how they lived and not just see it as a museum.

Academia Tour: Wow Michelangelo really did something incredible. My favorite part of the David was his veins. His veins pop out at you as if he was an actual real human. I think this is the only statue that I have seen here in Florence that actually has veins like an actual person. The fact that Michelangelo did not fear to take on the job of the David was astonishing. Many feared and did not wish to work on him which makes Michelangelo more amazing.

Uffizi: Get ready to see many baby J.C according to our tour guide Suzy. It is incredible how much work of art a place can have. Being able to compare the baby J.C is funny because some are skinny others are fat and some just look like little old men in a baby's body. Having to write a paper on one of the paintings was challenging. Due to the fact that the professor wanted our interpretation. I'm so used to just writing down facts and citing sources really challenged me. It was nice because it teaches us how to do this on our own. Which make visits to the museums much more interesting.

Week 5:

Da Vinci Museum: This was one of my top favorite museums. I like the fact that you can actually get to play around with the objects. It amazes me how someone can think of so many inventions. I wish I could see what was going on in Da Vinci's mind.

Opera at St. Mark’s Church: It was nice to go to my first opera. I could not understand what they were saying but you understood what was going on in the tone of their voices.

Orvieto Day trip: Let me tell you it was an adventure! We walked everywhere to try to find the tombs of the Etruscans. It was hot and sticky everyone was getting tired. At the end of the day, we found them! It was nice to be able to see middle upper class tombs. We actually got to see some of the tombs with inscriptions.

Week 6:

We did not do much this week because we had exams and homework. So week six is a goodbye and a look back to some of the weekend trips I took with my roommate. The best part of the program was creating new friendships. My weekend trip taught me so much. They made me aware of some of the social issue that Italy has and I got to see how people interact with one another. It wasn't so much learning on textbook material but it was more on opening my eyes to how people in different places interact.

P.S yes! I got Megan to take selfies with me:)

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