Today I was up at a normal time, put in a wash and put in on the drying racks before heading off to school. The school does occasional tours after class, and today was to be the Opera del Duomo Museum, the Duomo and the crypt below. The Opera del Firenze (hence the name) was located on this spot behind the nave of the cathedral and it was turned into a museum in 1891 and renovated and modernized in 2015. There were around 10 of us, and our leader, who I think is head of school, brought us to the museum only to find it was closed today. He had us buy tickets in any case as they were good for 3 days and had us skip all the lines. We did go through the Duomo and crypt and will go to the museum tomorrow after class. BTW, he does 98% of his commentary in Italian and I’m probably understanding about 60% and deducing the rest.
The classes are challenging also, as our teacher also does 98% of her communication in Italian. Much of our sessions are working with a partner on filling in solutions on papers handed out and then having a ton of explanations about what was right or wrong, how else it could be said, etc. We had some new people today and the standard beginning is for everyone to introduce themselves, say why they are in Firenze, where they are form, and how old they are. I get a kick out of saying “72” when everyone else is in their 20s. Today instead of saying the number I said “Sono antico” – I am ancient.
While writing this we had a very noticeable earthquake at 5:50pm – things were shaking in the apartment. Who would have expected that I would come from Sonoma to have a quake in Firenze?
I wanted to get into more of the feelings about my adventure rather than this only be a travelogue. I’m finding it more comfortable than I had imagined to be living by myself and doing everything for myself. Sandy has been such a rock in my life by doing so many things for us, and while I often thank her for keeping the house together, cooking, etc. it’s quite another thing to do it yourself in another country. But that comfort comes at a cost. Going to the supermarket requires going through every aisle at least twice and still having to ask staff where something is – and the same with the dollar and hardware stores – but everyone is quite nice and accommodating. The continuing challenge is that as soon as I ask any question I’m answered in English, because they want to practice. At some point I’ll have to say, “In Italiano per favore.”
I’m getting much more used to this very walkable city, with most things on this side of the Arno within a 15-minute walk. My trip to the Italian school is near the church of Santa Croce and is about 11 minutes, the Duomo about the same. I have been relying extensively on Google Maps for navigating because there is no grid in the much of the city, but yesterday and today I was getting places from memory. Even to the point of going to a laundry I had passed and asking them how long it will take to do my shirts. I’m also meeting people, so my concerns about not having anyone to share things with, or talk with, is also working better than expected.
It’s all good!
Photos from today: https://photos.app.goo.gl/TLJaqCBLuUjQ8Bq58
The classes are challenging also, as our teacher also does 98% of her communication in Italian. Much of our sessions are working with a partner on filling in solutions on papers handed out and then having a ton of explanations about what was right or wrong, how else it could be said, etc. We had some new people today and the standard beginning is for everyone to introduce themselves, say why they are in Firenze, where they are form, and how old they are. I get a kick out of saying “72” when everyone else is in their 20s. Today instead of saying the number I said “Sono antico” – I am ancient.
While writing this we had a very noticeable earthquake at 5:50pm – things were shaking in the apartment. Who would have expected that I would come from Sonoma to have a quake in Firenze?
I wanted to get into more of the feelings about my adventure rather than this only be a travelogue. I’m finding it more comfortable than I had imagined to be living by myself and doing everything for myself. Sandy has been such a rock in my life by doing so many things for us, and while I often thank her for keeping the house together, cooking, etc. it’s quite another thing to do it yourself in another country. But that comfort comes at a cost. Going to the supermarket requires going through every aisle at least twice and still having to ask staff where something is – and the same with the dollar and hardware stores – but everyone is quite nice and accommodating. The continuing challenge is that as soon as I ask any question I’m answered in English, because they want to practice. At some point I’ll have to say, “In Italiano per favore.”
I’m getting much more used to this very walkable city, with most things on this side of the Arno within a 15-minute walk. My trip to the Italian school is near the church of Santa Croce and is about 11 minutes, the Duomo about the same. I have been relying extensively on Google Maps for navigating because there is no grid in the much of the city, but yesterday and today I was getting places from memory. Even to the point of going to a laundry I had passed and asking them how long it will take to do my shirts. I’m also meeting people, so my concerns about not having anyone to share things with, or talk with, is also working better than expected.
It’s all good!
Photos from today: https://photos.app.goo.gl/TLJaqCBLuUjQ8Bq58