I moved into an apartment with 5 other girls and finished my first week of classes

This is going to be a jam packed post so settle in, get comfy. I left you after I got back to my Air bnb after meeting up with a few girls from my program and a lot has happened since then.
Sunday afternoon I checked out of my wonderful Air bnb and checked into Hotel Michelangelo with AIFS. Once I checked in I met up with Erinn (one of the girls I met the previous night) so we could check in with AIFS and request to room together!! Requesting was quick and easy so we decided to walk to our school from the hotel. It was a 30 minute walk but it felt like so much less, which we both really enjoy! Our school is right out of an Italian fairy-tale! I'm very much going to enjoy going to school there.
We both were hungry as it was about 2:00pm so we looked for a place to eat and found the most Italian place around. A burrito joint. I know, all this great food around and we chose burritos and margaritas. Erinn nor I were disappointed with our chose as both were delicious! After our satisfying meal, we continued to explore around our school and the Duomo before heading back to the hotel to relax and soak our feet in the bathtub. The last of those on the group flight arrived around 6:00pm.

My hotel roommate, Olivia, arrived then and she, along with Erinn, Briana, and Gavin, went to dinner. We went to a place that serves everything, including sandwiches and pasta, in the shape of meatballs. I got a tuna and zucchini metal and it was good. Olivia and Briana went back to the hotel to go to bed while Erinn, Gavin, and I ventured on to the Duomo in search of some gelato. We found a small place around the corner from the Duomo and sat for as long as we could in the cold eating our gelato while taking in the Duomo. Cold, we ate the rest of our gelato on the way back to the hotel.
Bright and early Monday morning, Olivia and I got up and went down to breakfast so we would have time to repack our suitcases and checkout before the rush of students went down at the last minute to eat and checkout before orientation began. The orientation was almost exactly the same as the one I had the first morning in Spain except that Marta introduced myself and Megan, another person in my program who has studied abroad before with AIFS, as program vets. Orientation seemed to drag on with the excitement I felt for it to be over as I would be taken to my home for my time here in Florence when it ended. Just like in Spain, my group was the first group excused to go to our apartment and I quickly shot out of my chair and retrieved my luggage.
I expected it to be Erinn, myself, and two other girls but 5 girls besides myself stood up. There are 6 of us in my apartment and it's HUGE! Our kitchen is slightly small but we have a nice size living room. We also have 4 bedrooms and I have one room all to myself! No sharing!! Erinn and I each have our own room while Anna and Jasmine share one and Melony and Lesly share the other.

Right to left: Erinn, myself, Melony, Jasmine, and Lesly.
Our other roommate, Anna, is taking the picture.

We are across the river from the Duomo and a few minute walk from Ponte Vecchio. I couldn't have picked a more perfect spot myself. We took our time unpacking and taking in our new living space before meeting up with our group for our "get to know our neighborhood and how to get to school" tour. We were all prepared for our tour to last about an hour and it was over in 15 minutes. My roommates and I headed back home to stop at the grocery store and stock our fridge and kitchen. Since we all had basically just met we decided to stay in for the evening and have a get to know each other evening. It was a great way to start our time together as roommates.
Tuesday morning, we all had safety and travel workshops at different times during the morning before we all signed up for the subsidized activities, such as cooking classes and day-trips, offered by our school. A walking tour for our entire program was directly after the sign ups ended. We met at Santa Croce church and ended at a restaurant for welcome dinner and drinks. Feeling tired and realizing I had class at 8:30 the following morning, I headed home to almost immediately fall asleep once my head hit the pillow.
Wednesday was my first official day of school in Florence! I have both my business classes on Mondays and Wednesdays, Global Business 8:30 to 10:35 and Intro to Business 10:45 to 12:50. One of my roommates, Melony, has a class that also starts at 8:30 so we walk together. Even though its only been a few days, we have a routine. Stop at the cafe across the street, get out euro morning pastry and walk the rest of the 10 minute walk to school. I am super excited about both of my business classes. My teacher is so passionate about what she teaches that you can't help but love it. She's also integrated field trips and movies into the curriculum. How can you love field trips and movies? Especially as a college student as field trips are few and far between. After our classes we took a placement test for the optional Italian language class. The language is the only thing I have felt helpless about thus far. I knew enough Spanish before I left to get by but I came to Italy know no Italian. I want to learn as much as I can so I don't feel so helpless.
With big plans to finish my homework and write a blog post, I headed home sat down on my bed and promptly fell asleep for 5 hours. Though unexpected, the nap was wonderful. I woke up and went to the store to get food to cook dinner for myself and my roommates. I made pasta with chicken, bell peppers, and a cream sauce and a salad with a homemade dressing. If I do say so myself, it was delicious! Even with my 5 hour nap, I was still tired and went to bed forgetting about my homework.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I do not have class until 2:00pm, so this Thursday, I let myself sleep in. The time I woke up will remain nameless but it was in the double digits.... I prepared myself a late breakfast, showered, and went to school. I have my political science and Italian Life and Culture classes on these days. Political science 2:10 to 4:15 and ILC 4:25 to 6:30. After ILC, Erinn and I headed home straight away as the it struck me mid Italian Life and Culture lecture that I had not done my homework that was now due in 6 hours. I made myself dinner, took it to my room, and closed myself off in my room until my homework was done. I will not procrastinate anymore as that was to stressful for me. Stressing while living in Italy isn't going to work for me.
With the little sleep I did get, Melony and I got our pastry and walked to our 8:30 classes today. Today, although we usually do not have classes on Fridays, we are making up the day of Monday classes we missed. My business classes today were wonderful! For global business we went on a walking tour prepared by my teacher to a local market and then I watched part one of a four part documentary in my Intro to Business class. After struggling to stay awake during the documentary (because of how tired I was), Erinn, Jamie, Callie, Katie, and I went to get lunch at a local sandwich shop called Pinos. I didn't think my life could be changed by a sandwich but I was wrong. Okay, it wasn't that good but close enough! It was a great lunch but the rest of the girls had class and I needed to run a few errands before heading home. After getting more juice and a few cleaning products I got home and again accidentally fell asleep. I love napping. I'm trying to deny it but I can't for much longer.
My roommates and I made dinner together before Erinn and I went out on a search for a gelato joint recommended to me before I left. It's about 10 minutes from our apartment which is dangerous because it was sooooo good! Thank you Becca because Grom will probably become our gelato spot. Erinn and I ate our gelato on the go, but stopped along the way to listen to various street performers.

Once we crossed the Ponte Vecchio, we decided to keep walking past our apartment to explore the neighborhood a little more. We found a few new shops to explore and restaurants to try. While on our walk, I said the most amazing pun and I pulled out my phone immediately afterwards to write it down but got distracted by a dog and forgot to write it down. Now Erinn and I are sitting here, at 1:45 trying to remember it; dissecting our conversation on the walk. We can remember exactly where we were standing when I said it and what we each said and saw before and after I said the pun but not the pun itself. We are not heading to bed disappointed and determined to remember on our way to Pisa tomorrow morning.
P.S. Blog posts will be regular and shorter starting tomorrow and pictures will be added later but my wifi is being stupid.
P.S.S My friend Hendrik, who I haven't seen since high school, is arriving in Florence late tomorrow afternoon and I am beyond excited to see him and catch up!