This week has been fabulous so far! I began classes on Monday. My Italian class is from 9 until 12:30 everyday with a thirty minute break at 11:30. I enjoy the class, but it doesn't seem like everyone is as interested in learning Italian as I am. Some of the students act as if they don't like school at all and would rather sleep. There are about four of us that seem to really want to learn. On Monday night at 6:30 I went to my literature course on Dante. It seems like it will be great! The class size is TINY. We have 4 students total- so everyone has to read and have lots of commentary regarding the reading to fill up the 2 hour and 30 minute class time. The course work looks very interesting and everyone seems to be interested in the material enough to prepare. My Religion course on Tuesdays from 6:00-8:30 was also interesting. The Italian professor had a bad experience with Catholicism as a child and now is "spiritual" but does not believe in God. The class is made up of 3 girls (including myself) and one boy. Everyone but me is Catholic. I've never been the only protestant in a class! This will be different - I'll hear about Christianity from a different prospective than mine.
After getting my temporary permisso di siggorno around lunchtime, I went to the San Lorenzo market for the first time. All of the outdoor (farmer's) markets close at 2, so everytime Sarah and I had gone looking for them, they were closed. Today I barely made it! The markets are said to be packed in the morning and on Saturdays with Italians, but today at 1:25, there weren't many people there, many of the fruits were gone, and people had started to pack up. It was a learning experience for me. I was told that you should haggle at these markets - and I don't have a problem with haggling, but I wanted to see how the Italian did it so that I could know what prices are reasonable. The prices listed were still alot cheaper than at Standa (a local supermarket) and Tabacchi shops. This time, I paid what they asked basically for the items, but Sarah and I will perhaps go back tomorrow morning to watch and see how everything is accomplished. We're hoping to get by on going twice a week and spending around 15 Euro each time we go. I want to bring my camera on Saturday (If we aren't at the beach) - I think the pictures could be amazing! Italians not only buy groceries at the market but also clothing, household goods, and jewlery. It is a sight not to be missed if you go to Florence.
After getting my temporary permisso di siggorno around lunchtime, I went to the San Lorenzo market for the first time. All of the outdoor (farmer's) markets close at 2, so everytime Sarah and I had gone looking for them, they were closed. Today I barely made it! The markets are said to be packed in the morning and on Saturdays with Italians, but today at 1:25, there weren't many people there, many of the fruits were gone, and people had started to pack up. It was a learning experience for me. I was told that you should haggle at these markets - and I don't have a problem with haggling, but I wanted to see how the Italian did it so that I could know what prices are reasonable. The prices listed were still alot cheaper than at Standa (a local supermarket) and Tabacchi shops. This time, I paid what they asked basically for the items, but Sarah and I will perhaps go back tomorrow morning to watch and see how everything is accomplished. We're hoping to get by on going twice a week and spending around 15 Euro each time we go. I want to bring my camera on Saturday (If we aren't at the beach) - I think the pictures could be amazing! Italians not only buy groceries at the market but also clothing, household goods, and jewlery. It is a sight not to be missed if you go to Florence.
Comments
Markets sound cool, take good pics! And find a hot italian for me!