Classes, if you can call them that

Hello everyone,

Before I start my discussion of my classes for this semester here in Florence, I'd like to report that today, whilst returning to my apartment, I passed two women is Sodexho uniforms! They're here too. It was a funny little encounter and it made me smile and think of SMC.

Anyway, the real reason I'm here is to give a brief overview of the fun classes I'm taking here in Florence at the Scuola Lorenzo de'Medici. I came over to Europe with 4 classes in my schedule and ended up adding another because I felt worthless hahaha. I now have 15 credits and feel much better about completing my credit requirement with ease.

Every student at LDM is required to take a class in Italian language, regardless of skill level. I'm taking Italian 202, which is the equivalent to 4th semester at SMC. That's super cool/nice since I've only taken 2 semesters before this and was able to skip ahead. In fact, we're still covering things I've already learned, so props to the SMC Italian department and Marisa for being a stellar professor. The only downside to this class is I have it Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (the only days I have class, hard life) at 8 AM! It's really tough to get up by Thursday morning, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. Maybe.

On Tuesdays after Italian I have Foundation Oil Painting. For 5 hours. I was really surprised about how long all the classes are here (3 of mine are 2 1/2 hours long). Anyway, we do get a half hour in the middle for lunch, during which I'm making it a habit of going to a specific sandwich place for the most delicious sandwiches around. Anyway, the class is really relaxing and nice and fun. I actually just came from working in open studio and finished my first painting! I'm sure it's not very good but it is an intro class. It's all shades of green and I feel like I'm green all over, including my clothes which I obviously can't keep clean.

Wednesday afternoons I have Food and Culture in contemporary Italy. THIS IS THE BEST CLASS EVER. For the next few weeks we're learning about regional foods in specific areas of Italy and tasting them. Yesterday I had 8 different cheeses (one was aged 5 years and was amazing), 3 different meats, 2 types of wine, 2 types of bread, and a risotto we made ourselves. We're going to be cooking at least 2 new dishes every week and eating them with wine for a delicious free lunch. There's also some sweet trips for this class that I know you'll here all about.

After that class I have Sociology and History of the Italian Mafia which is so interesting! There's a lot of information about the mafia I've learned already that I had no idea about. I know it'll be a busy course with lots of reading but it definitely promises to keep my interest and give me some insight into a cool part of Italian culture.

And finally, the class I added when I got here: Psychology of Crime. It's a pretty straightforward psych class, like we have at SMC. Lecture, notes, discussion, research paper, presentation. The subject matter is interesting, provides a nice comparison with the mafia class, is something I've never learned before, AND the class counts towards my major so that's a major plus.

And that's it for classes and such fun things as academics. Tonight we're going to the Nextech Electronic Music Festival, which promises to be a fun and interesting evening out. I'll let you know how it goes. If you don't here from me for a few days, it's because we're also spending the weekend in Pisa and the Cinque Terre, one of the most beautiful parts of Italy. Don't worry, pictures and video of both events are sure to follow!

Ciao!
-Christine