Ciao! About a month and a half into my study-abroad journey here in Florence It has truly been amazing. Although at the beginning, there were adjustments for me to make. This is my first time traveling to Europe, and there was a period of cultural adjustment for me, I think the biggest one was not being able to speak the language. It was a new experience for me, walking into a coffee shop or a restaurant and having a blank stare because I genuinely didn’t know what anyone was saying or even what the menus were saying. However, in a short amount of time, I realized that everyone was super accommodating and willing to help me out which was super helpful. Another thing that was a huge adjustment for me was the sidewalks. All the sidewalks here are narrow and cobblestone rather than just paved concrete in America. This causes a lot of uneven terrain to walk on which put a ton of stress on my feet throughout the first couple of weeks, it didn’t help that on top of the uneven terrain I sprained my ankle which adjusted me that much harder. Luckily by now, I feel like I have gained my footing (literarily and figuratively) and cultural adjustment is mostly a thing of the past. However, there are some things I miss that there just aren’t substitutes for here in Italy such as sweet tea or being able to watch live sports since they are all on at one or two AM. 

In the classroom, we are directly in the midst of midterm season here in Florence, so the stress is ramped up a little bit, but nothing I can’t handle. I have three total midterms for my classes with one in every class besides Italian. I just took my first midterm in international finance this past week, and I think it went well. I like classes here because the exams feel less-stress here which I appreciate. After all, exam season always gets to me for some reason. Next week I have my museology midterm and my international marketing midterm on back-to-back days so I need to start preparing for those, but they shouldn’t be too bad. As for any uncertainty in the classroom, I don’t have a ton besides figuring out how the midterms are going to be formatted which Is just a natural thing for me in the classroom no matter if I am in Florence or at Pitt. My classroom experience has been very, very good here so far and it helps to keep me in a nice steady routine which I appreciate. I have found navigating Florence to be easier than I was expecting. Once I had my initial week to get acclimated, I was able to get around pretty easily with no GPS. However, my roommates and I are going to Paris this weekend and we had to take the tram to the airport. The tram ride made me realize that there is so much of Florence that I have yet to explore and there are so many more opportunities for me to see. I am a little worried I might not make it to all the places I want to see in Florence, but if I make it to most of them, I think I will be pretty happy.

Overall, it was hard for me to adjust at first for sure, but with the help of those around me, I eventually got out of the cultural adjustment period. I feel like the time is flying by here and I am just trying to soak it in and really appreciate what I have the privilege to do. With next week being spring break as well, life is pretty good here in Florence so no complaints from me. Arrivederci!