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.

Tourists

Man, I will be glad when the tourists die down a bit as the weather gets colder. It seems as though almost everywhere we go, there are groups of foreigners. They fill (and I mean FILL) the squares by the Duomo and Palazzo Vecchio, with their maps and cameras out and ready, following their tour guides who are holding up an umbrella, fake flower, or other random object to make sure they don't get lost. They come from all over too: the US, different countries in Asia, around Europe, even other parts of Italy. This makes English pretty abundant, as the souvenir, leather, and food shops meet the need of the (mostly) American tourists. Unfortunately, this means that people will frequently talk to Kristen and I in English first as they pick us out as Americans and assume we do not understand Italian. Fortunately, this gets much less common away from the center of the city and if we try speaking Italian first.