Gabrielle's European Adventures: first day of classes!

Classic first day of school nerves today. It was so weird having to actually wake up at 7:45 to actually get dressed for class. At home I just throw on some sweats and a sweatshirt and I'm off. But not in Europe, I had to put a nice sweater on with some jeans and boots with a little bit of makeup. So not me but it felt good. My first class was Ancient Rome. It was very interesting and very in depth about Rome and its civilization. However, I am taking six classes because all UCONN students need to take a mandatory one credit class so they suggested to drop one and it might be that class. I just want to enjoy my time here to the fullest and take more artsy classes.

FUN FACT: ITALY HOLDS 50% OF THE WORLDS ART AND OF THAT 50% 85% OF IT IS IN FLORENCE. IT JUST AMAZES ME. EVERYTHING IS ART.

Anyway, my next class was called Villa and the Garden which is based on all the Villas and gardens (hence the title) throughout Italy. We take three day trips to see famous Villas. Our next class is a stroll around Florence to see the palaces. I'm really excited for interactive classes and not being stuck in the classroom because their all one hour and a half and at UCONN their only 50 minutes so it was hard to sit still.

After my first two classes I walked home to have some homemade tomato and cucumber salad that my dad showed me how to make. It is really going to save money if I come home and each lunch here. Then I went for another run, a little bit longer then yesterday then I strolled around the other side of Florence which I haven't seen. There is just so much. After I showered and right back off to my Italian class. I have it everyday Mon-Thurs from 4-5, which I guess is good so we can pick it up quickly. I learned a few key words such as:

- Buona Serra

- Buona Notte

- Mi Chiamo Gabrielle (My name is Gabrielle)

- Sono Americana (I am American)

There were a lot more but I need to just try and just it more frequently instead of going right back to English.

Mondays we decided were family dinners where we all contribute one thing and one person cooks it each week so we can talk about our past week and travels. The first week was me and I decided to make chicken cutlets, rice, and veggies with Italian bread of course. I choose that cause my dad recently showed me a good way to make them. Although, the bread crumbs aren't the same here they came out pretty good. Everyone said compliments to the chef :)