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:

Finals Week.

Bring it.

My first finals week in a foreign country. Its a lot different from what I'm used to. This whole having exams in addition to essays and projects (due the same week) is starting to get to me. I know I should not have procrastinated but its so difficult not to especially when you're in a foreign country. You only have so much time to enjoy it with the people that you've gotten so close to this past semester that, you know, you have to put off studying to spend a couple of hours or days hanging out with them. #yolo But the most difficult thing about Finals Week in Italy is that there's no sufficient place to study. I've never been good at being productive in my room but the library is only open until 9:30 and the public library in Firenze is closed on Sundays and has restricted hours on Mondays. Yay me! One paper and two finals for tomorrow, then one oral exam on Wednesday, and two more finals on Thursday separating me from Winter Break adventures!! :D

Volunteering at an Italian High School

With my group! 

I had the privilege to go to an Italian high school to help them improve their conversational English.  The school we visited was called Liceo Artistico Leon Battista Alberti.  The school is divided into various campuses throughout Florence, each campus focusing on a specific subject.  This school that we visited in particular was the art school.  As soon as we walked in, we saw walls lined with artwork that had been done by the students.  Seeing all of this, made me wish that my high school had emphasized the fine arts a bit more.
Talking with the students, I was very surprised to find out their ages.  They ranged from as young as 14 years old to 18 years of age.  I never realized how distinct differences in age were in your physical appearance and level of maturity!  Even though they were very young, almost all of them smoked cigarettes!  They asked me to come with them during their 15 minute break to smoke a cigarette.  I don't smoke so I just went outside with them, tried my best to not cough, and continue talking with them.  For fun, high school students in Italy go out with their friends to the bars.  Before the recent change in the law, they could buy cigarettes and alcohol at 16.  They can also ride motorcycles (vespas) as early as 14!  Their faces dropped in disbelief when I told them that in America, you had to be 21 years old to buy alcohol. :P  I asked them what kind of music they listened to and they replied back with the names of American singers and bands.  From Bob Marley to Rihanna to Beyonce.  I asked them about Italian music and they said no one their age listened to Italian music.
Its crazy how different schools in Italy are compared to America!

Some thoughts on the Korean Culture

I think I'm starting to experience a little bit of culture shock.  But its not the Italian culture that's putting me into this phase of shock and disbelief.  Its the Korean culture.  As I've mentioned before, both of my roommates are from Korea.  I guess you could say that they're your typical average Korean girls who live a very Korean lifestyle.  But even though I knew that my roommates were going to be Korean before I even came to Italy, I never expected to feel disoriented by the Korean culture.  After all, I had grown up with it.  My parents were strictly Korean in their ideologies and their way of life.  Maybe the generational factor has an influence but I am truly undergoing culture shock.

A couple days back, while have a chat with both of my roommates, we discovered that Melody had undergone plastic surgery to change her mono-lids into the infamously desired double eyelids.  The conversation swiftly switched gears to the list of things that both Melody and Sierra wanted to fix under the knife.  A nose job, double-eyelid surgery, breast implants, jaw restructuring...the list went on and on.  I was very much in shock.  Here were two already beautiful girls and they wanted to completely transform their faces to conform to the set ideals of Korean beauty.  I asked why.  Their response was simply that all of their friends were doing it and they didn't want to be "the ugly friend."  I guess my face must have clearly expressed the disturbance I was feeling at having heard this that one of them ventured on to ask me, "You're perfectly content with the way you look?"

To be honest, I know for a fact that I've never felt pretty and I would never describe myself as being pretty.  I have a very average face.  I don't think anyone has ever felt appalled by looking at my face but I know that my face is far from perfect.  I mean, who has a perfect face?  But even with all of the imperfections that I may have, I would never get plastic surgery or change my face in any way.

Lets just say that both of my roommates were clearly offset by my being fully satisfied with my looks.