Journal Entry #4

October 15, 2007

Ciao!

It has been a crazy two weeks since my last entry! I went with 6 of my friends to Germany to experience Oktoberfest. It was beyond any expectation I had about it; there were thousands of people within ONE tent, rides that were taller and faster than I had ever seen and pretzels that were larger than my head! Two of my friends and I decided to try to gain the full Oktoberfest/German experience and bought traditional German clothing. It was not at all comfortable but we had a fun time and even were mistaken for authentic Germans a few times! We also spent one of the days exploring and shopping around Munich. I was so excited to get my first Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha in two months!! We went to eat lunch at Burger King and spent most of our shopping time in H&M. It's funny how comforting it is to see these stores, yet it also made us all miss home a bit. Now that I've traveled to other cities it amazes me how Italy remains so noncommercial and un-Americanized. Part of me wishes Florence had some of the comforts of home but I'm also learning that I don't NEED a latte from Starbucks everyday and by eating take-out food or getting delivery makes you loose some appreciation for the meal your eating.

The Oil Shoppe is a sandwich shop that is directly below our apartment. It has been voted by American students to have the best panini's in Florence. If you ever come to Florence, make sure to grab a panini from there and look for our picture hanging up! It is run by a man named Alberto and his wife Margarite. We have become good friends with them because we go there so often! Alberto last week opened a restaurant next to the Oil Shoppe called La Cantina. Two of my roommates and I went for dinner and had the full Italian meal experience. It was so nice to sit down and spend time talking and getting to really know each other and enjoying the food we were eating. It was relaxing and made me realize how things at home can be so fast-paced. Everything in Italy is a bit slower and more relaxed than at home. It's hard to be patient all the time (especially when waiting on line to get my panini!) but it's a great lesson I'm learning.

I'm loving my classes here more and more each week. I can't believe that midterms are next week! My roommates and I decided that we need to take it easy this weekend so we can study, and are going on a day trip this weekend. We are going the Boccaccesce Food and Wine Festival which is about an hour away from Florence in the town of Certaldo. I'll be sure to update you on how it was!