The dogs, the cold, and the classes. OH MY SIBERIA!

I would like to start off this post with a disclaimer: I am a cat AND a dog person. Some people may only know me as a cat person, but I love dogs too. That being said, Florence should be known for its number of walked dogs. Everywhere I turn, an owner is walking his/her dog. I've seen sheep dogs, dogs that look like bears, dogs that should be on the runway and cute little handbag pups. I love it.

The last few days, however, I've seen the number of dogs being walked dramatically decrease. This is no coincidence. We've had snow and Siberian winds since Wednesday and no one wants to venture out (not even bed) unless he/she has to. But we started class this week; so everyday, out of bed and the apartment I went. Layer layer layer, that's the key.

Tuesday was my first day of classes! I met Rachel and Moriah at the Lion’s Fountain to walk to our class together…Italiano Uno. Our professor is so lively; I love her! We talked about a good amount in class today and I learned some new phrases and words. I have a feeling it’s going to be a great semester in this course! Wine Tasting was next. Now I know some of you may be rolling your eyes, but I need one class of culture and why not study what makes Italy so great...its wines! We tasted 4 different wines from the Piemonte Region of Italy (Northwest), known for its red wine. We learned some basic technique in describing wines and some specific qualities of the wines. The crackers were great also! The professor is kind of hard to understand, but I’ll get used to it I’m sure!

On Tuesday night, we went to the Accent-sponsored appertivo (free dinner, basically!). The point to take away from this: I got two GLORIOUS Cokes. I met a few cool people as well! After that, some of us TCU students found a little restaurant. No cover charge, free first glass of wine and the owner brought our table a free dessert! It was great to get out of the cold and enjoy some company. And it started to SNOW!!  

On Wednesday, I had International politics in the morning and War and Media in the evening. My professor is great and the class seems like it will be really interesting, though basic. I then took a nap (I've taken one everyday) and that night, Moriah and I attended our War and Media class. It is such and interesting topic and our professor is actually in the Italian Army Reserves, so he has a unique outlook on the subject. Should be awesome!

On Thursday, I started out the day again with Italian, which went really well. We talked about greetings and the alphabet. After Italian, I had the first International Conflict Resolution class. I think I’m going to like this class the most and I can incorporate my work in this class with my thesis! It was officially the weekend after this class! The group went to the Accent Center to pick up our Siena day trip packets and print off our Ryan Air boarding passes for Paris next weekend! We had lunch at Gusta Panino and then went to pick up our textbooks.

Overall, I really enjoy my classes! I'm so blessed to be able to study international politics and international peace studies in a foreign country. My next post will be about our day trip to the beautiful and snowy Siena! Ciao!