is it cliche to start out by saying italia, ti amo? probably, but i am going to go with it anyway because i have no idea how else to even begin to describe to you all, beloved family members and friends, how great of a time i am already having. to be quite honest, before i arrived i found myself seriously questioning what on earth i was doing. even getting here and walking around the stunning villa could not shake my apprehension. was i seriously about to more or less vacation for a year? what could i possibly have done to deserve this?
it was not until we sat under these trees and listened to our professors talk to us about the semester that i truly got that feeling of, alright, i know why i am here now. in fact, i am really excited about my classes. although my italian is still a bit rough as everything is just coming back to me, i have actually had some fairly decent conversations of some length with locals. the history professor is awesome, and i am really looking forward to the semester with him. fabrizio is also teaching the "city of florence" class in which we learn about the history of florence, and then go see it for ourselves. quindi, the blog title. yesterday, after a day of traipsing about churches like a flock of confused geese, we finally all made it back to the villa to watch a film version of e. m. forster's a room with a view. the movie plot deals with significant early twentieth century themes, but suffice it here to say that the emphasis is put entirely upon "the view" not only literally, but figuratively.
my view
my quick snaps of the villa cannot demonstrate to you all how beautiful the view of florence is from the villa, but i can assure you that it is. astonishingly, the very same can be said of my bedroom window. without a doubt, i am lucky to be here. that being said though, i can assure you that i will not be content to just take in the view from afar, or at some ethereal level. i want my year of studying abroad to be a room with a view into the past, present and future of europa. i give no pretense of naïveté, and am perfectly aware that this effort will by no means constitute the fulfillment of numerous goals and desires, but alas, i had best at least try, giusto?
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