Hello Everyone,

After a month living in Florence, I can truly say that I have developed a routine of confronting daily life in Italy.

I live in the Santa Maria Novella neighborhood of Florence. It is largely defined by The Basilica of the Santa Maria Novella located in the middle of the neighborhood. Around the church and within the neighborhood there are many shops, restaurants, and coffee bars. I live on Via Benedetta, which is located just a few minutes from the Basilica, and also a few minutes away from the Arno river. The daily commute to CAPA takes about 20 minutes, but I enjoy the sights along the way.

I live in an apartment with 5 roommates, all other Pitt students. We live on the third floor of the building, so the walk up can be brutal at times. Most Italians in the city live in apartment style housing, with there being very few buildings being occupied by an entire family. However, it is not uncommon for multiple family members to live in different apartment units within the same building.

The apartment itself is very wide. We have a family room with several couches and a small TV that is never used. We have four bedrooms, two singles and two doubles. We also have two bathrooms and a small balcony, and a full kitchen. It has been somewhat difficult getting used to not having several of the amenities we typically have at home. For example, most Italian apartments don’t have drying machines. That being said, laundry is laid out to dry on drying racks, and may have to be done up to two days in advance. Another common utility missing is a dishwasher. As we have come to find out that doing the dishes is a rather laborious chore, we now pay a cleaning woman $20 a week to clean the apartment for us.

I will say, the apartment definitely gives us the true feel of what it is like for Italians living in Italy. Now, I have become acclimated to what it is like to live in Italy, something for which I am very grateful. It has certainly given me the ability to better appreciate all of the things back home that we take for granted. There are aspects of life back home that you truly don’t realize their importance and convenience until you no longer have them. I’ve realized that life in Italy is not necessarily the “Vita Bella” that is portrayed in films and media, but actually one filled with daily challenges that are difficult for foreigners to adapt to at first. It is this sort of adaptation that has led to personal growth, however, that has given me a new perspective when I consider what life is like for those who live outside of the United States, and makes me realize how different life back home can be.

A dopo,

Peter