We are not Americans

I haven't written much about my living situation yet. As I said before, I share a room with Kristen and we live with our host mother, Graziella, and her live-in partner/boyfriend, Vivaldo. They both have children who are grown up, some with kids of their own. We also have some other students living with us: 4 girls who go to James Madison University, which has their own program in Florence. So, there are 6 girls living together, and Graziella and Vivaldo cook for 8 people (8 HUNGRY people because they always give us so much food) Monday through Thursday. The other girls don't get dinner on Fridays because of the way their university does the homestay contract, but we do.

Parco delle Cascine

Today, after our Italian class we went to the Parco delle Cascine, since Italian is our only class of the day and so we get done by 9 on Tuesdays!

It was a bit of a walk to the park, but well worth it. In the center, there are almost no trees and greenery in general. So spending some time in a park was very nice. We followed the Arno a majority of the way there too, so we had a lovely stroll.

The Mediterranean Diet

Today in my cooking class, we learned about the Mediterranean Diet. However, it really shouldn't be called "Diet", but "Lifestyle". Because, although there are various foods that are common to the 16 Mediterranean countries, it also includes a general attitude towards food and life. I think that it would be good for everyone to incorporate some of these aspects for a healthier lifestyle.

Museo Galileo

Sunday, Kristen and I spent the afternoon in the Museo Galileo, a science museum. We were not allowed to take pictures, but I did buy a guide book at the gift shop with lots of images and information if you are interested in looking at it when I get back. There's also pictures on the museum's website and the virtual museum is pretty neat.

So I mentioned that parts of Galileo were buried underneath the Chiesa di Santa Croce. Well we saw some of his other parts that are kept in the museum: 2 fingers, 1 thumb and 1 tooth.