Where is my family??

City View: Highlights are the Arno River and the Duomo di Firenze- Cattedrale di S. Maria del Fiore After an arduous journey over the Atlantic, as a lot of you also endured, and a nearly 6 hour layover in Switzerland, I was ready to arrive in Florence. (At least I can say now that I’ve slept in an airport with my purse tucked under my head and my bag under my legs. Such the accomplished traveler, I am.) I couldn’t even focus on the wonder of being in Europe; all I wanted was to get my house key and find my way to a bed. Arriving just an hour after the NYU shuttle service to campus shut down started a series of unfortunate events. First of all, with thirty to forty of us trying to track down a taxi, exchanging dollars to Euros was the last thing on my mind. Something I realized was a pretty important step to take before trying to catch a taxi… which only accepted cash…Fortunately my taxi mate offered to lend me some money though now I would have to keep in mind that in my first hour in Italy, I already owed somebody money. Never a good start.

By the time we arrived on campus, right on the outskirts of central Florence, it was already night and somewhat disorientating. My only comfort was imagining a nice Italian family waiting to take me to the bed I so desperately needed. While standing in line to receive our keys and directions to our new homes for the next four months, I realized no one else was doing a home stay. I knew that most students in Florence stayed in NYU residences/apartments, but I began to realize how different of an experience I might have from the general student body. Especially as I saw students connecting almost immediately with others they found to be in the same residence. By the time I reached the front of the line, I realized there was no Italian family in sight and I would be finding their home on my own. By now, I was a seasoned traveler and was confident I’d find their place easily. Then, I look at the address. And thus proceeded the following internal dialogue: “Wait a minute, I’m pretty sure I’m supposed to have only one other roommate. But three??

Okay… study abroad’s all about new adventures, living on the edge…I can deal with this… But wait, why is this address not Via di Barbano. I’m pretty sure I’m on Via di Barbano. Is my Italian that terrible? Can’t be a good indication of the semester ahead especially if I’m with a family that speaks only Italian… Does this say apartment?? Now I know I signed up for a home stay. Should I complain? Or should I just go with it and accept this to be a new experience?” I’m making this a bit more dramatic than it really was. But I assure you, in the those moments, my world was beginning to unravel as I realized: 1. I am in Europe. 2. I have no money. 3. I don’t know any Italian. 4. I couldn’t even decipher street names. Eventually, I found out that when my roommate (just the one) arrived earlier that day, there was no one at the home stay. So without knowing where the family could possibly be, the staff dropped my roommate off at some obscure apartment and waited for me to arrive. Unfortunately by the time I arrived, they forgot about the other roommate who would need to be informed of such a change; thus, resulting in my slight moment of panic.

Still, the traveler in me kept cool and was smart enough to ask for some clarification. And off I went to the obscure apartment (which I eventually found out was near the famous Arno River). I could go on and on about how once I arrived, I had to climb nearly 9 flights of stairs with two heavy suitcases to find a non-Air Conditioned apartment and a very tired looking roommate. But I won’t bore you with such details. This story does have a happy ending. The following day we finally located the family; they had actually been traveling in New York City for most of August, their flight back had been cancelled and the host father had gotten sick. So my roommate and I finally made our way to their apartment (trekking up another 6 flights of stairs… why are there no elevators in this country?), exhausted but excited to finally start this study abroad experience. And hey, it made for a good conversation starter anytime anyone asked where I was living in Florence. (Basically, anything that has to do with where I live, I have a long story to tell you…)