Playing Catch-Up

I'm very sorry to all of my readers for not keeping up with my blogposts! I promise to try my best to update this at least once a week! hehe

So much has happened since the semester started that I don't know where to begin. We're going into our fifth week of school which means I haven't blogged for five weeks and midterms and SPRING BREAK is just around the corner! God has blessed me with so much this semester and everyday I wake up with more reasons to continue thanking Him for what he's done for me. For the first time (EVER), my close group of friends are all Christians. My roommate Madeline and I go to church and Bible study together and although at times it feels weird, I'm glad to have someone who will push me to go to Church when I have those days when I don't feel like it. Having such a close group of friends who share the same faith as me has made being abroad much more easier. My heart weeps when I meet other study abroad students who long to get "blacked out" and "shit-faced" drunk every night. There's nothing wrong with drinking but why would anyone want to wake up the next morning not remembering what they did the night before? 

Looking back at my photos, I'm coming to the realization that I've done so much within the first half of my semester! I went to Venezia for Carnevale and got to visit the islands of Murano and Burano. I visited Steph in Torino the same weekend that Mike was visiting her so I got to see another Italian city and see two great friends at the same time. I also got to revisit Pisa and take my touristy photo and see Joyce and Guido again in Montecatini. I went to Rome to have my own Lizzie McGurie adventure and I got to see Papa while I was there! But what makes me so happy about this semester is being able to fellowship with everyone from Church. Just last weekend, the weather was so beautiful and EVERYONE was able to come out to Cascine Park. It was so wonderful to be able to have a mini picnic and sing praises to Him. And the most amazing thing was being able to see how our worship to the Lord was immediately changing the atmosphere in the park. People kept looking our way to see what those "strange Americans" were doing and I know God will work wonders in all those who were there at the park that day. 

Last weekend, I had a mini breakdown. On Friday, my wallet was stolen again for the second time. This week was such a struggle to get through because I was running low on food and I had absolutely no money. Everyday was a test to my faith and trust in God. I was stripped bare of everything I had and the only thing I had left was my faith in Him. My wallet still hasn't been found but I believe that he will work another miracle for me. In the meantime, I only have more words of thanks to say to Him.

Enjoying the sun on the island of Murano with my roomie and Marie! 

Got to see these lovely peeps in Torino! 

Enjoying the night out and supporting DJ Simo!

On the Spanish Steps in Rome!

Enjoying a nice sunny day in Florence!

The Start of a New Semester

The day that I was most excited for and dreading finally arrived. Today, I got to move into my new apartment in Firenze. I was excited to finally have a place that I could call my own but I was so nervous about my new flatmates and having to go through the process of having to meet and make new friends. Last semester was a big realization to me of how introverted and shy I am. I do enjoy being sociable but I really need some time by myself to self-reflect and recharge for the next social event. Many of my friends at school only see the social side of me but that's because I could easily hide out in my room and take a day or two to refuel my energy levels. Last semester, there was no place or even any space where I could be alone. Sierra and Melody rarely ever left the apartment and there would be too many people that I would have to walk past around Florence to find a decent quiet space. I was overwhelmed and exhausted from having to force a smile on my face and make myself presentable to everyone else that I was meeting. I just could not deal with it anymore. So the very thought of having to move back into the city and start the whole process all over again, although exciting, made me very anxious and worried. Would my new roommates like me? What would they think of me? Blah blah blah.

My new roomie and I!

But God is so good. My new apartment is twice the size of my last one. We have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a loft, a couch that pulls out into a bed, a cute dining table, a cozy kitchen, and a little patio to have our dinners once the weather warms up. We also live on the other side of the river. It makes a huge difference what side of the river you live on. Last semester, as soon as I stepped out of my apartment complex, I would hear English, Chinese, Japanese, etc. but on this side of the river, I have only heard Italian being spoken. On top of that, my new roommates are the sweetest! All three are Americans. Two of them are from New York and the one I share the room with, Madeline, is from Iowa. And the best part is that Madeline is a Christian! Praise the Lord! All this time I have been praying for a friend/roommate who could go to church with me and God provided! I am actually looking forward to this semester! c: THANK YOU JESUS!

HO FINITO!

I am done with FINALS WEEK, packing, cleaning, and moving out of my apartment.

Sadly, I overslept and missed my train to the airport to begin my winter break adventures. I took the next train out, hoping that I'd still be able to make it to my flight but the heavy snow on the train tracks caused a slight delay and I missed my flight. Thank God for Michelle. She's letting me stay at her place in Milan until I flight out to Paris to begin my Winter Break adventures~! <3

This past semester has been an emotional roller-coaster ride. I've had the greatest of ups, the lowest of downs. But overall, I enjoyed every moment of it, or at least came to terms with accepting what happened. I had a rough start and ending with my roommates. The cultural differences made it really hard for me to understand them and for them to understand me but I think we ended on a positive note. I've made some amazing friends and I will never forget their friendships. I'm going to miss them so so so much! I can't imagine Florence without them... But cheers to the end of the semester and for the new adventure that lies ahead! c:

Night outing with the Roomies~!

Tonight's adventure began with the quest to find dressy clothes for our Welcome Dinner on Monday!  But since we went out at 8pm, all the shops were just closing up. ):  Luckily for us, Firenze is all about the nightlife~!

We passed by so many random street artists on our walk back home (after finding the stores closed).  My favorite was a man creating a replica of Johannes Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring on the sidewalk with pieces of chalk!  

Amazing right??

There were these two singers who serenaded us (the crowd but mainly us :P ) on the famous Ponte Vecchio bridge.  And then we ran into a small concert outside Palazzo della Signoria, right next to the Michelangelo's statue of David.  If every night is like this in Firenze, I don't think I ever want to go to sleep!

Roomies & the Apartment Life

As promised, here's a post on my new casa and my adorkable roomies!

My bedroom.  I took the side with the window c: teehee

The bathroom was surprisingly very spacious!  I still can't figure out what the toilet next to the toilet is though :/

The hallway/living room.  Very small but cute!

The kitchen!  I don't cook so hopefully I won't be setting this place on fire!

There's even a laundry room!

Finally a closet big enough to fit all of my clothes!  And with room to spare! c: hehe 

I was very surprised when I first saw the apartment.  I was comparing the place by American standards so I was expecting something more similar to an apartment-style dorm.  I didn't realize that what the Italians meant by "student housing" was that they would find an apartment somewhere in Florence for you.  Even though I love my new home, there definitely are some ups and downs.  The quality of the housing is significantly much better than a dorm but its also been very difficult to meet everyone else.  It doesn't help that our apartment is located on the opposite side of the Duomo from where all the other students are staying.

My roomies: "Sierra" (L) and "Melody" (R)

My roomies, "Sierra" and "Melody" (I'm using quotations around their names because they asked me to give them pretty American names).  Both of my roommates are from Korea and even though they both go to the same university, they never actually met until we all moved in.  I was a little worried at first on how I'd get along with them (since my Korean isn't as great as theirs and their English isn't as great as mine) but after a week, I think I'm going to enjoy what this semester has in store for all three of us! c:

It also feels great to finally be the girl with the biggest boobs in the group! (They're both sooo skinny!)