Joanna Mason
Overseas Columnist
Fifty-five students and chemistry professor Dr. Douglas Mulford
arrived at Residenza Tagliaferri in Florence, Italy on Wednesday, Sept. 8. Our first night we settled into our rooms, became acquainted with new faces and old
friends, and rode in a double-decker bus on a tour of the city with
Elizabeth Whatley, the Florence Program director, as our guide.
Besides missing clean clothes (35 bags of our luggage did not make it to the Florence airport), we still had a lot of adjustments to make: the unique arrangements of our bathrooms that include a shower, bidet, toilet, and sink in three-square feet of space; and, of course, an entirely new language. On Saturday, Elizabeth and the staff in the villa organized an orientation meeting, group activities and trips to neighboring cities. This gave us time to adjust to Florence and to each
other, and to get over our jet lag before we began two weeks of
Intensive Italian.
On our first day in Florence, we met for an
orientation meeting that featured an Italian policeman who advised us on appropriate skirt lengths and lessons on how to avoid being
pick-pocketed; the introduction of our school psychologist Mary-Ann
Bellini; meeting our Italian professors and the staff of the Florence
house; and meeting the missionaries from the Avanti Italia Program as wellas the young Italian students who will spend time with us throughout the year. However, it was only after our first taste of MaurizioÕs (the Florence house chef) famous food that we really began to feel at home.
Two days after our arrival, we took the placement exams that
determined the Intensive Italian class to which each person should be assigned. That afternoon, we were given another bus tour of Florence and headed to the small city of Fiesole outside Florence. In Fiesole we admired the ancient ruins of Roman baths and temples, the medieval dormitories of monks in a monastery upon a hill, and a church decorated with white cloth and roses where a bride and groom were just married.
Saturday morning we boarded the double-decker bus for our day trip to Siena and San Gimignano. In Siena, we wandered through the different contrade (neighborhoods), enjoyed lunch in the area surrounding Piazza del Campo where the traditional Sienese Palio (horse race) takes place, and posed for a picture in front of SienaÕs Duomo (cathedral). Next we explored San Gimignano, also known as ÒThe City of Beautiful Towers.Ó Here Dr. Douglas Mulford and Elizabeth accompanied groups of students to various palazzos, fresco-covered medieval churches, and to the top of the Torre Grossa.
Our introductory weekend to Florence was wonderful; however, the
best experience so far has been traveling around Florence between our Intensive Italian classes. In Florence, we get to practice Italian in everyday settings, such as at the travel agency while reserving tickets for a trip to Cinque Terre, five small beach towns nestled along the coast. With our great Italian guides, who are students like us, we have
learned Italian chants and cheers at the football game, how to speak
with a Florentine accent, and also made lifelong friendships.
On our first weekend free, some ventured to Pisa to photograph the
Leaning tower, others stayed in Florence to shop or tour the city more closely, and still others experienced what a leisurely Italian weekend along the coast is like, spending the day with a native Florentine as host. Already it seems there will never be enough time to see all of the sights or to take enough pictures to truly capture our experience here.
Our experience in Florence is not limited to traveling and sightseeing,
however. Already we, as a group, have bonded: in discos; sharing
delicious Italian gelato; wearing matching purple jerseys to a
Florentine football game; seeing Matthia and Lamberto, our new Florence friends, play with their
band at the community center; and attending regular worship
services on Sundays and Wednesdays.
We are so blessed to have this year to grow, learn and invest so much
into each other and the Italian culture. It is my prayer that we might
continue to enjoy Italy, its food, nightlife and its people; appreciate
our friends and remember our families; and devote ourselves to
uncovering where GodÕs glory lies in this country. As classes begin,
Eurail passes are enacted, and cold weather approaches, in this new
and foreign environment, may our focus remain the same: ÒLord, show us the Father. That is all we needÓ (John 14:8).
09-30-2004
