I have arrived!

So internet here in Florence is a bit hard to come by so it has taken me awhile to update this. The flight over on Monday was great, I felt a pang of nervousness as I walked away from my mom, dad and Brianna. As soon as I settled on the plane, took stuff out of my carry on that would not fit in the overhead bin I relaxed more. The flight from Atlanta to Georgia was nice, I even had some pretty decent food. Once I arrived in Paris and headed to Florence I was with some girls from my school. We all checked in then it was the moment of truth: our apartment we would be living in for the next four months. After lugging all of our baggage up four flights of narrow dark stairs we made it. We got very lucky with our apartment, there are nice tile floors and a little eating area with a TV and a little kitchen (no oven though). There are two rooms ours is nice and I was able to make it somewhat homey. We still have yet to meet our neighbors but we will be getting on that soon. We are still going through orientation for the program and school but everything has been really great. I am already falling in love with the pastries and cappuccino in the morning and the pasta dishes throughout the day, which could be a very bad thing. I have already done a lot of walking so I feel a little better about my diet. Beer here in most places is cheaper than pop which was pretty exciting for me to learn. We have been exploring the city and getting lost on the side streets but we always stumble upon something new and beautiful. Our apartment is close to the river which will make for a beautiful walk to school every morning. There is so much detail in all of the architecture here it amazes me. I can not help but picture the way this city was when it is was being established. Last night we had a welcome dinner for SAI and it was held in the ball room of Napolean Bonaparta's (spelling?) sister's castle! I know I have barelly dug into the history and wonderful places so I look forward to everything I will be discovering here these next few months. Last night was our first night out on the town. We first came upon a Discoteque so we went in, only to find a bunch of 12 year olds drinking, Tuesday is their college night the manager said. But we got free drinks so we danced a little then discovered a little pub where we met some men from Canada which was also fun. So far this has been a wonderful experience and I look forward to all that lies ahead. I am really looking forward to classes because I need to start learing at least a little Italian so I can at leat order right in Bars and restaurants, it is starting to get embarressing. I feel bad when everyone knows my language and I do not know theirs. Pictures are coming soon!