14-1-08
its funny how when my dad has something important to say, he'll spend some time beforehand wandering around my room, examining random objects, treating the place as if he were suddenly stumbling upon a museum of me he'd never been in. last night when he started asking about a picture that had been atop my desk for three years, i just said, "don't worry, i'll be careful in italy," and he decided to forgo the lengthy lecture i knew he had loosely organized in his mind. with my parents, it's incredibly challenging to cross the hurdles, but once you have, you're sailing.
15-1-08
passing through the check in procedures at villa sassetti, i had to look twice every time i passed a window because i couldn't quite believe what i was seeing. its pouring and muddy today, yet still the most beautiful place i've ever been. i feel like i'm in some crazy tripped out dream. i don't feel like i'm in italy yet, i feel like i'm in some discreet part of nyc.
16-1-08
the cars here are tiny! some comically so.
it seems all italians eat is bread, cheese, wine, and chocolate!! how they are ALL in shape, i will never know. they best be fit tho because the streets? TINY!
the old ladies here are total bullies! i'm scared of em.
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on the way back to the residence tonight, we passed through a piazza i recognized. a piazza is a square, sort of like union square in manhattan, but smaller. the italians are crazy about their piazzas! they're all over and each has its own unique personality, it's pretty cool. there's something super thrilling about seeing in person what you've only heard about - so that was fun. buttt, at the same time, i didn't research florence too much before leaving to give myself a chance to avoid preconceived notions. i'd rather learn about this city by experiencing it.
17-1-08
purchasing a cell phone led to my first extended experience with lost in translation-ness. i can't wait to learn some italian, i'm eager to at least make attempts to communicate with the locals.
18-1-08
as far as the coffee realm goes, i'm spoiled when it comes to quality - but missin that good ol' american tradition of excess. a cute little cappuccino is not going to get me through the day. espressos are strong, but even smaller.
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i've never done landscape from life, and i feel i'm in the perfect place to try. i think i want to try an unrealistic approach based on reality, but even i don't know what the hell that means. you never know what will happen when you touch brush to canvas - which directions those strokes will guide themselves or what colors you'll birth on your palette.
19-1-08
orientation ended today (meaning arrivederci free food!). food shopping in a different country is... an experience. they charge you for bags here to encourage the bringing/reuse of your own! so environmentally friendly! (yet they don't recycle..) the yogurt in europe, simple grocery store yogurt, is DELICIOUS. for shame, american yogurt, for shame. the cheese selection is also fantastic - fantastic formaggio!
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i saw the ponte vecchio for the first time today - its the bridge that crosses the arno river in the southern part of florence. ponte vecchio literally means "old bridge." aw, home. the one time i get homesick is in the shower. i'm a long hot steaming shower person. i've got to leave that all behind for lukewarm, short showers sans pressure. i'll get over it.
20-1-08
we took the double-decker red bus tour. i felt like such a tourist. i remember freshman year when the tour buses would drive by rubin and we'd wave back at the riders. "yes, we are indeed real live nyu students!"
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firenze's loveliness is enchanting and enveloping. sometimes i feel like i've meandered across the set of a period piece and someone is about to yell "cut!" and pull away the stunning surroundings any moment. but instead, i just keep walking into more awe-inspiring beauty with every turn.
21-1-08
i forgot about the study part of "study abroad." what are classes again? nyu harshly reminded me with my 9am to 7:15pm monday schedule. plus all my teachers are italiano and molto passionate. i almost understand them.
my drawing teacher is mean. he doesn't throw out vague, meaningless compliments or try to cushion your precious artistic ego. i like it.
22-1-08
i'm a criminal.
i'm now the proud owner of a small slab of broken stone glazed with a pretty black and white rose design. calm down - i saw it peaking out of a pile of junk. this old woman gave me the look of death as i reached down for it, but how could i let such a wonderful (and free!) souvenir, an actual former piece of firenze's architecture, be thrown away?!
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now that classes have started and independent schedules have emerged, i've starting walking around by myself, and in this time, i find myself syncing up with this city and easing into the ebb and flow of florentine things. even a walk to the closest grocery store or bank is filled with gorgeous landmarks =)
23-1-08
Le Mystere Picasso = a cool film.
there is a lot of attention paid to the finished artistic product, its details, composition, etc - but not enough time spent reflecting on the creative process. this movie allows the viewer to get a glimpse into Picasso's thought process as you see him make artistic decisions in real time. of course the works are inherently affected by the constraints of time, limited materials and his knowledge of being filmed, but still an engrossing performance of strokes and color.
24-1-08
if chocolate was a drug, i'd be trippin. so hard. we went to the hand made chocolate fair tonight. i think i'm having visions. cioccolato is definitely part of the daily european food pyramid, and i have happily incorporated it more frequently into my diet =)
25-1-08
i realized i love mountains. seeing the sun set into them every day is so grand.
30-1-08
galleria d'academia is a five minute stroll from my residence. this is the museum most famous for housing the david. it is so glorious, perfect from every angle, and BIG - bigger than i imagined - even entering with his dimensions in mind. to give you a little history, the room the sculpture is displayed in is the only piece of architecture designed around how to display a single piece of art, and it is definitely effective!! before you actually get to the masterpiece, you're confronted with unfinished marble blocks of michelangelo's sculptures. work in progress is so fascinating and sometimes more telling then the finished product. it's amazing how he was able to see a sculpture of perfect proportions within the blocks, wasting no material, rather than trying to force a certain image upon a certain piece of marble. i feel kinda lame raving about such a commercialized artist. like everything else we experience, art is fundamentally affected by consciousness and societal frames. it's impossible to be a blank slate.
