Ciao from Firenze!
This city is absolutely amazing and breathtaking. We arrived to our apartment 1 PM Florence time– 7AM New York time. With the hour of sleep everyone got on the plane, it is safe to say our middle names were ‘Jet Lag.’ It didn’t take long for us to realize that it would be a little more difficult than anticipated to communicate with the locals in severely broken Italian. Upon arriving to our ‘modern’ apartment it was clear that we were in a different country– no microwaves and a stove that is easily half the size of the standard oven in the US. Which goes to show how spoiled we are back home. Not only did the kitchen give us a little bit of shock— it was cold! It is standard for Italians to wear the same apparel inside as they do outside to conserve energy. We soon ventured out for some much needed caffeine and just stumbled upon the Duomo—magical. Then it hit us– we get to spend the next semester in this gorgeous, ancient city. The culture shock within the first 24 hours was something that was impossible to be prepared for; having an open mind and going with the flow will be something one must get used to when first submersing themselves in another culture. My hope is to further experience completely new things throughout my stay in Italy. -Brynn Sussman
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