This week marks the fifth that I have been attending classes in Florence, Italy, and the sixth that I have been living the Florentine lifestyle. From the moment I touched down, I have been simply enamored with the hub of culture and personality that comprises Florence. Even getting off the plane, we walked down a flight of stairs directly onto the tarmac — something I have only ever seen done in photos. Even though there were certainly aspects of Italian culture that took some getting used to, I found their long, drawn-out dinners with hours-long conversations, scrumptious baked goods for breakfast, and their genuine appreciation for the simple moments in life to be norms that I adjusted to immediately.

Attending classes here has also been an incredible experience in and of itself. I am currently enrolled in an internship course, an Italian language course, as well as an Italian literature class, and a Renaissance art history course. These classes often involve visiting museums with ancient works of art constructed by none other than Masaccio, Donatello, and Michelangelo, or walking through the neighborhoods of Dante and Boccaccio. At the beginning of the semester, we learned that civic pride was incredibly prevalent during the time when the Italian peninsula was comprised of communes, or city-states, and each region would create impressive feats of architecture and art to outdo their neighbors. These creations still remain throughout Florence and most of Italy today, and it is truly surreal to take in art that was crafted hundreds of years ago by some of the greatest artists in Italian history.

I feel as though I am living in some kind of dream-like alternate reality every day I wake up in Italy, and the more I learn about this country’s history, language, and culture, the more I feel connected to it. There is no shortage of activities to do each day between the countless markets, patisseries, and concerts that can be found around the city, and I am amazed at just how fast this program has gone by. I’m six weeks into my Florentine experience and never better, and I can’t wait to see what the coming months hold.