Painting, Beaches and Vino

I’m finally getting used to being here now. I feel like I will never want to leave when its time too. Italy is beautiful but the Italians aren’t. They are very rude to us because I am obviously not an Italian with my bright red hair and pale skin. Last week I got in trouble for dumping a “bucket” of water out my window. I’m not even really sure I was the one who did it but apparently at 10:30 on Monday morning someone dumped a bucket of water out my window and it almost hit this shop owner and his customer under us. One of the coordinators for the Arcadia school sent us all an e mail saying that whoever did it needed to come forward and admit it and that she couldn’t believe we would do such a disrespectful thing. Later on we found out that it came from our apartment and only 3 of us were home at the time, Sara, another girl and me of course. Sara was in the shower at the time and the other girl was making food so I was the only one in our bedroom when the “bucket” was poured. We had been keeping out window open and I’m thinking I put someone on the window sill and it fell over but I didn’t purposely do it like the shop owner said I did. So I had to come forward and confess to something I’m not sure I did. But I figured someone had to come forward before the incident was exaggerated even more and someone else was accused or even evicted because the landlord was not happy. So I had to apologize to everyone but it ended up being not that big of deal. But things seem to be exaggerated a lot more once people find out we are American students. Which makes sense I guess since most Europeans do not like Americans, so I have started telling people I’m a Canadian when they ask!

Yesterday we went to Cinque Terre, A beach city on the west coast of Italy. It’s about 3 hours from Florence when you take 2 trains and it’s beautiful! We woke up at 5 am and walked to the train station to get on the 6 am train to La Spezia and then from there we hung out for an hour and got on another train to Cinque Terre. We all swam in the Ocean all day and then laid on the beach and watched a bunch of old people publicly change into their swim suits right on the beach. Then we went to dinner and went for a hike up the hill to take pictures before getting back on the Train home. I got into Florence at 10 pm so I was a long day, but totally worth it. Next weekend we are planning on taking the train to Pisa. We have decided that every Friday (since we don’t have class on Fridays) we will try to go somewhere or just go somewhere in Florence for the day. I also went to the Uffizi Museum and saw a bunch of famous artwork. I saw Artemisia Gentileschi’s Judith beheading Holofernes which is my favorite painting from Art History and then I saw the Laocoon, my favorite marble sculpture too. It’s so amazing to walk up and look at the REAL thing and not a slide of something. All of my classes are good so far. I have the same drawing and painting teacher and she liked to make us do a lot of work. I have to do a painting a week and then 5 drawings a week, Along with Italian, Art History, and photography homework as well. My photo class is interesting. I found out that most of the students are design students so they all use digital cameras. Which would be just fine except I have to use film since that’s what I use at Cornish and I won’t be able to get into photography 3 at home if I don’t use film. We have a dark room but I can only use it in class whenever we have free time which won’t be very often. So instead of developing and printing my own photos I have to go to this photography shop and have them do it all for me. That will be interesting when I go because I doubt they speak English. But I am open to trying it and seeing if I like having someone else develop my photos or not. At least they are professionals and there’s a less likely chance that they will mess my stuff up.

I will right again probably after Pisa! Miss you all! Bouno Sera!