Yay I finally figured out the Euro symbol shortcut on my Mac!  

I haven’t been able to update in a while because I’ve been too caught up with stuff. I’ve been pretty much exploring the city, getting pizza, and buying groceries (a lot). Apparently, Billa, an Italian supermaket, is the place to be because I’m there multiple times a week, along with many other American students. Everytime I there, I always hear students speaking in English along the aisles. We even met these girls from Washington there and had a long chat with them about Florence. Random. But they introduced us to cheap clothing and shoe stores and cheap gelato. Score. I love walking around Florence because I always learn and discover something new. I had pizza with anchovies for the first time here (at il Pizzaiuolo)! Delizioso! And I’m officially in love with mozzarella di bufala (buffalo mozzarella). So much better than regular mozzarella!

This weekend, I did my laundry (on my own!) and discovered that the ‘detergent’ I bought was actually softener. Oops. Turns out “ammorbidente” doesn’t mean detergent (I told you shopping here is a challenge!) Lesson learned. I also got sick with a cold and fever this weekend. It ruined my plans to hike up Piazzale Michelangelo again :( But I’m slowly recovering… so hopefully I’ll be better by the end of this week. 

School is going ok. My professor speaks all Italian in class, so it’s hard to follow sometimes, but I get by. I actually enjoy going to class everyday (even if it’s at 8:45am!) Our class is pretty small (9), but very diverse! (2 Japanese, 1 Korean,1 El Salvadorian, 1 British, 1 German, 1 Russian, and 1 Turkish). They’re all pretty good in Italian, so Mildred & I need to step our game up! 

Today, I’m on a mission to find the bank with the best exchange rates. The places have been to so far have crappy rates and are only willing to give me as low as €44 for my $100. RIDIC. So take note: When you go to Europe, don’t bring dollars! Exchange them back home or take money out of the ATMs once you get here. You’ll get much better deals. 

K I guess I’ll update again when I actually have something interesting to say. Good day sir!