For those of you without the infamous facebook, i have started posting photos with picasa through my google email account...
http://picasaweb.google.com/meg.sheeley
go to the link above to check out the photos i have taken of firenze so far!
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
-- ADDITION: PHOTOS FROM DAY 3
Elli has a chance to stop for 3 seconds and snap a photo!
dirty rat pigeons. But nice to photograph.
The statue reminds me of the man who has recently died in Florence because he was shat on by a pigeon and contracted an avian virus, and now his wife is trying to get an ordinance to get rid of the many many pigeons all around the city.
This is Allie, Ellie and ME above before 'wine night' described below? or above?
SACI – day 2; after politics tour- we went out for pizza and a night of wine drinking!
We are in the saci gardens here in the photo.
Back to Day four: After the market and the 99cent Euro store- where we got a couple of needed items for the apartment- aka: trashcan for bathroom and sponges, and dishsoap etc. I went back to the apartment and chilled for a while, just talking to my roommates- Khris was out and so it was just Jamie and Nikki and I, which was truly awesome- my type of galls.
When Khris returned we decided that it might be fun to head out and see the Duomo on the day of the Virgin’s Mary’s birth, however we were too late for the free admission to the towers and to the gallery’s which are never opened any other day that we are in italy. Oops. So we decided to just walk into where everyone was going- we ended up walking into the Saturday mass for the Virgin Mary’s birth. So, we stayed for most of the mass, and a nice Italian family shared their programs with us so we could follow along- even though who I was sitting with could not stop flipping the pages around so I could read the Italian. Ugh. Oh well, people are people.
When we returned to the apartment we decided to go to dinner with us and JoAnn and her roommate as well… Nikki had a place picked out she wanted to go down by the Palazzo de Republica and we had fun down there with preseco and pasta and girls. Then I was going to meet some youngins down by the river so we walked there and saw the floating lantern boats there, and then we wanted a drink, but supposedly these other people were going as well- but when we arrived at their apartment- they weren’t ready. Owen, me, Veronica, Elli and Allie all sat there with these other kids we didn’t know real well, just to find out that we were getting tired sitting there. Well- Elli and her roommates plus Owen wanted to hang up in the north- so they decided to go home, and since I knew no one and didn’t feel like hanging with freshman in college I returned to my apt, but of course I tried some gelato with the group on the walk across the city- I had mint chip again. YUM. The caramel one was super sweet and awesome as well.
SO- here’s my point in describing every moment of Saturday. A few years makes such a huge difference in how people act. The older group, ranging from 21/22 – 49 enjoyed every minute of sitting out in a palazzo and spending money on enjoying friends. We bought fresh food for the following days so that we could afford to go out and sit at a café for a couple of hours on the weekend. And then the silly people who are younger just like to hang around and never decide on the same thing- we’ll see what we are up to- whether we are too hungover from the night before, or if we get our hands on liquor etc. and have a vision of getting SMASHED, versus getting slowly buzzed and happy with friends outside enjoying company more than anything. Funny how the young version of Americans is what the city of Florence probably thinks of most of us Americans since there are more students than I’ve ever even seen in Houston ever. Just something to think about.
Elli has a chance to stop for 3 seconds and snap a photo!
dirty rat pigeons. But nice to photograph.
The statue reminds me of the man who has recently died in Florence because he was shat on by a pigeon and contracted an avian virus, and now his wife is trying to get an ordinance to get rid of the many many pigeons all around the city.
This is Allie, Ellie and ME above before 'wine night' described below? or above?
SACI – day 2; after politics tour- we went out for pizza and a night of wine drinking!
We are in the saci gardens here in the photo.
Back to Day four: After the market and the 99cent Euro store- where we got a couple of needed items for the apartment- aka: trashcan for bathroom and sponges, and dishsoap etc. I went back to the apartment and chilled for a while, just talking to my roommates- Khris was out and so it was just Jamie and Nikki and I, which was truly awesome- my type of galls.
When Khris returned we decided that it might be fun to head out and see the Duomo on the day of the Virgin’s Mary’s birth, however we were too late for the free admission to the towers and to the gallery’s which are never opened any other day that we are in italy. Oops. So we decided to just walk into where everyone was going- we ended up walking into the Saturday mass for the Virgin Mary’s birth. So, we stayed for most of the mass, and a nice Italian family shared their programs with us so we could follow along- even though who I was sitting with could not stop flipping the pages around so I could read the Italian. Ugh. Oh well, people are people.
When we returned to the apartment we decided to go to dinner with us and JoAnn and her roommate as well… Nikki had a place picked out she wanted to go down by the Palazzo de Republica and we had fun down there with preseco and pasta and girls. Then I was going to meet some youngins down by the river so we walked there and saw the floating lantern boats there, and then we wanted a drink, but supposedly these other people were going as well- but when we arrived at their apartment- they weren’t ready. Owen, me, Veronica, Elli and Allie all sat there with these other kids we didn’t know real well, just to find out that we were getting tired sitting there. Well- Elli and her roommates plus Owen wanted to hang up in the north- so they decided to go home, and since I knew no one and didn’t feel like hanging with freshman in college I returned to my apt, but of course I tried some gelato with the group on the walk across the city- I had mint chip again. YUM. The caramel one was super sweet and awesome as well.
SO- here’s my point in describing every moment of Saturday. A few years makes such a huge difference in how people act. The older group, ranging from 21/22 – 49 enjoyed every minute of sitting out in a palazzo and spending money on enjoying friends. We bought fresh food for the following days so that we could afford to go out and sit at a café for a couple of hours on the weekend. And then the silly people who are younger just like to hang around and never decide on the same thing- we’ll see what we are up to- whether we are too hungover from the night before, or if we get our hands on liquor etc. and have a vision of getting SMASHED, versus getting slowly buzzed and happy with friends outside enjoying company more than anything. Funny how the young version of Americans is what the city of Florence probably thinks of most of us Americans since there are more students than I’ve ever even seen in Houston ever. Just something to think about.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Saturday, September 8, 2007
My third full day in the country of Italia, and a splendid September day it was. But to start off lets travel from Rhode Island to Europe so I can fully talk about every aspect of my experience.
Tuesday, September 4th 2007
The plane. When mom, dad and I arrived at the airport and got my overweight bags checked through to Florence, (lucky since they were overweight and I wasn’t charged for them) I was so beyond a nervous wreck that we sat down to have a bite to eat and a drink at the place in the international terminal. The beer felt so good, calmed me, just set me in an ok mood – enough to say goodbye to my family for 3 months. It’s different than texas, at rice I have access to internet wherever I am, and always have my phone, plus I usually fly home twice during the semester… mom and dad waved to me during the security, and said goodbye. Nervousness came right back over me. But after I found my fb friend elli and hit it off with her, we had some food and another beer and finished with enough time to call our parents for one last voice chat to hear their voices.
The plane ride went fine, I didn’t sleep however, so jet lag has lasted longer than expected. Also I am nervous about ordering un café- so… that’s a problem too. One thing to note is that when the Florence airport says we lose luggage a lot, it is damn true. So many lost one or both of their suitcases and either now have them, or are still waiting for them to arrive at the school!
But once the situation about so many with no luggage was fixed, we headed out for saci to dump us in a taxi and send us off to our apartments. I got in the taxi with elli who had lost her luggage so she didn’t really need to go to her place just yet, we went to mine, FINALLY understood the European locks, and met my roommate Khris and apartment-mate Jamie both who are cool, but older- Khris 49 and Jamie 29… whatever. Then we walked to Elli’s place- and got lost, but who cares- because we found the duomo, it was like we were supposed to see one big Florentine monument before we crashed for the night! After we found her apartment, we grabbed the healthiest dinner ever, also an Italian staple- gelato chocolato. È fabuloso.
Day Two. The start of orientation, we went and found breakfast, Jamie me and Chris --- Cappuccino e Pasty. I had a chocolate croissant. Ha. More chocolate. Woops. Orientation was a blur of facts mostly repeated from the orientation papers they had given us when we had arrived, or from the handbook which I had read earlier in the summer. We then headed through to the market for a fresh lunch. I had un mele (an apple) and a piece of white veggie pizza from the paneria around the corner. After unpacking my bags, my roommate wanted to head out to find some adapters for our electronics, we found them, but Khris was utterly convinced that she knew a shortcut to get back. Note to self. Don’t believe her when she says that. A nice old lady who didn’t speak any English was trying to help us by pointing us to the Duomo, and once I figured out where we were I got us back to SACI in time for dinner there. After 3 pieces of ravioli and a small spoonful of risotto I headed to the apartment, there I met up with Jamie and Khris and decided to go out and find something to eat. We shared a pizza and each had a glass of preseco before hitting the sack. Man jet lag is a killer.
Day Three. Day two of orientation was a blur of literally running through the city of Florence. Got some jet lag? Feel a bit tired still? Can’t quite sleep normal hours yet? Too bad, lets run around and take a 3 second glimpse of every monument in the city, and at the same time expect you to still be able to figure out where you are so you can go back. So of the 18 sites we saw in and hour and forty five minutes, I could barely tell you where things were in relation to each other… a few of us skipped out of the last two monuments since we lived around them and decided to get some lunch around the center of town. We grabbed a pannini, I had tomato and mozzarella, and a diet coke – woo… caffeine that was quick and American! After that we all headed back to check our email etc. Which we did, then we crashed for an hour to nap- and then our lecture on political and cultural Italy- learning about the two miracles, of the revolution and how Italy has become one of the top economic countries in the world when only a hundred years ago when immigrants were racing out of Ireland, there were actually many Italians racing to Ireland because Italy was actually that much poorer than Ireland during their potato famine. Really fascinating information. Our tour around Florence for the post office, cinema etc. was just as fast as the morning jog, and helped burn off some of the calories that the gelato had brought us! After the tour, Elli and her two roommates, Allie and Veronica both from MICA- Maryland Institute of Creative Design, and myself went for pizza and we bought a bottle of wine and enjoyed time at a café, plus the sight of our waiter was relatively nice as well…
After that we bought some wine from the market below my apartment and went back to their apartment to chill and drink. Then we called our friend Owen to see what he was up to- and we went to meet him and two of his roommates at a paper lantern festival where kids made paper lanterns and paraded them throughout the streets later to burn them in the square by the Hospital of the Innocents- the first Renaissance building in Florence. We had a beer and chilled, later to go back to the apartment and hang out before crashing at our own pads.
Day Four- Saturday—slept in. Till 11am. Fun! Then Since another of our roommates had arrived we went to the market for some food, the abundance of meats and veggies and olives and wines and olive oils is amazing, there’s also dried fruits and the most amazing selection of cheeses I’ve ever seen ever.
My third full day in the country of Italia, and a splendid September day it was. But to start off lets travel from Rhode Island to Europe so I can fully talk about every aspect of my experience.
Tuesday, September 4th 2007
The plane. When mom, dad and I arrived at the airport and got my overweight bags checked through to Florence, (lucky since they were overweight and I wasn’t charged for them) I was so beyond a nervous wreck that we sat down to have a bite to eat and a drink at the place in the international terminal. The beer felt so good, calmed me, just set me in an ok mood – enough to say goodbye to my family for 3 months. It’s different than texas, at rice I have access to internet wherever I am, and always have my phone, plus I usually fly home twice during the semester… mom and dad waved to me during the security, and said goodbye. Nervousness came right back over me. But after I found my fb friend elli and hit it off with her, we had some food and another beer and finished with enough time to call our parents for one last voice chat to hear their voices.
The plane ride went fine, I didn’t sleep however, so jet lag has lasted longer than expected. Also I am nervous about ordering un café- so… that’s a problem too. One thing to note is that when the Florence airport says we lose luggage a lot, it is damn true. So many lost one or both of their suitcases and either now have them, or are still waiting for them to arrive at the school!
But once the situation about so many with no luggage was fixed, we headed out for saci to dump us in a taxi and send us off to our apartments. I got in the taxi with elli who had lost her luggage so she didn’t really need to go to her place just yet, we went to mine, FINALLY understood the European locks, and met my roommate Khris and apartment-mate Jamie both who are cool, but older- Khris 49 and Jamie 29… whatever. Then we walked to Elli’s place- and got lost, but who cares- because we found the duomo, it was like we were supposed to see one big Florentine monument before we crashed for the night! After we found her apartment, we grabbed the healthiest dinner ever, also an Italian staple- gelato chocolato. È fabuloso.
Day Two. The start of orientation, we went and found breakfast, Jamie me and Chris --- Cappuccino e Pasty. I had a chocolate croissant. Ha. More chocolate. Woops. Orientation was a blur of facts mostly repeated from the orientation papers they had given us when we had arrived, or from the handbook which I had read earlier in the summer. We then headed through to the market for a fresh lunch. I had un mele (an apple) and a piece of white veggie pizza from the paneria around the corner. After unpacking my bags, my roommate wanted to head out to find some adapters for our electronics, we found them, but Khris was utterly convinced that she knew a shortcut to get back. Note to self. Don’t believe her when she says that. A nice old lady who didn’t speak any English was trying to help us by pointing us to the Duomo, and once I figured out where we were I got us back to SACI in time for dinner there. After 3 pieces of ravioli and a small spoonful of risotto I headed to the apartment, there I met up with Jamie and Khris and decided to go out and find something to eat. We shared a pizza and each had a glass of preseco before hitting the sack. Man jet lag is a killer.
Day Three. Day two of orientation was a blur of literally running through the city of Florence. Got some jet lag? Feel a bit tired still? Can’t quite sleep normal hours yet? Too bad, lets run around and take a 3 second glimpse of every monument in the city, and at the same time expect you to still be able to figure out where you are so you can go back. So of the 18 sites we saw in and hour and forty five minutes, I could barely tell you where things were in relation to each other… a few of us skipped out of the last two monuments since we lived around them and decided to get some lunch around the center of town. We grabbed a pannini, I had tomato and mozzarella, and a diet coke – woo… caffeine that was quick and American! After that we all headed back to check our email etc. Which we did, then we crashed for an hour to nap- and then our lecture on political and cultural Italy- learning about the two miracles, of the revolution and how Italy has become one of the top economic countries in the world when only a hundred years ago when immigrants were racing out of Ireland, there were actually many Italians racing to Ireland because Italy was actually that much poorer than Ireland during their potato famine. Really fascinating information. Our tour around Florence for the post office, cinema etc. was just as fast as the morning jog, and helped burn off some of the calories that the gelato had brought us! After the tour, Elli and her two roommates, Allie and Veronica both from MICA- Maryland Institute of Creative Design, and myself went for pizza and we bought a bottle of wine and enjoyed time at a café, plus the sight of our waiter was relatively nice as well…
After that we bought some wine from the market below my apartment and went back to their apartment to chill and drink. Then we called our friend Owen to see what he was up to- and we went to meet him and two of his roommates at a paper lantern festival where kids made paper lanterns and paraded them throughout the streets later to burn them in the square by the Hospital of the Innocents- the first Renaissance building in Florence. We had a beer and chilled, later to go back to the apartment and hang out before crashing at our own pads.
Day Four- Saturday—slept in. Till 11am. Fun! Then Since another of our roommates had arrived we went to the market for some food, the abundance of meats and veggies and olives and wines and olive oils is amazing, there’s also dried fruits and the most amazing selection of cheeses I’ve ever seen ever.
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
so. my heart is officially racing out of control.
dad will be home in 2 hours to pick me and my bags up, and then we head to wheeler to grab mom...
depending on traffic it could take us between and hour and an hour and a half to get to the airport- which would get us there around 330- 4pm. 4 HOURS before take-off, but with checking in for charter flights that's when they want us there. fabulous. however, my fb friend elli will have already have been there for 4 hours, so i'm not the one to complain.
then.
810pm take off- Boston to Munich.
5:00am arrival in Munich,
with a 10:00am take off to Florence (probably and hour long flight)
so 11:00am Italian Time- and 5am East Coast time, i shall arrive in the city which i shall be calling home for the next few months.
I already miss my family, but am so bored of not having much to do here that i need something new... and i miss Rice people too, however i know my mother is right in saying I would be relatively bored there as well... so why not throw myself right into a new adventure, a little bit of art history- learning a new language- and a taste of what i want to do with the rest of my life (graphic design).
Of course I have to complete the graphic design applications, but in the most part, I should be focusing on the essays and the portfolio, I can fill out my SS# and school codes when I return, but if you can... those who read my blog- REMIND ME TO GET MY TWO TRANSCRIPTS BEFORE I LEAVE ITALY. Have them be sent FROM rice before i leave and have my Italy ones when I leave as well... Oh. Rubbish. That sucks, having more applications that is...
however. I would never take back the times i had at rice, or truly do them over- i am me the way i am now, and taken i have had ups and downs, and done fabulously at some things, and failed at others- i am me because of each and every up AND down.
So... send me a postcard from the US and i'll send you one too!
And for the rest of the SACI kids, travel safe and i'll see you tomorrow!
dad will be home in 2 hours to pick me and my bags up, and then we head to wheeler to grab mom...
depending on traffic it could take us between and hour and an hour and a half to get to the airport- which would get us there around 330- 4pm. 4 HOURS before take-off, but with checking in for charter flights that's when they want us there. fabulous. however, my fb friend elli will have already have been there for 4 hours, so i'm not the one to complain.
then.
810pm take off- Boston to Munich.
5:00am arrival in Munich,
with a 10:00am take off to Florence (probably and hour long flight)
so 11:00am Italian Time- and 5am East Coast time, i shall arrive in the city which i shall be calling home for the next few months.
I already miss my family, but am so bored of not having much to do here that i need something new... and i miss Rice people too, however i know my mother is right in saying I would be relatively bored there as well... so why not throw myself right into a new adventure, a little bit of art history- learning a new language- and a taste of what i want to do with the rest of my life (graphic design).
Of course I have to complete the graphic design applications, but in the most part, I should be focusing on the essays and the portfolio, I can fill out my SS# and school codes when I return, but if you can... those who read my blog- REMIND ME TO GET MY TWO TRANSCRIPTS BEFORE I LEAVE ITALY. Have them be sent FROM rice before i leave and have my Italy ones when I leave as well... Oh. Rubbish. That sucks, having more applications that is...
however. I would never take back the times i had at rice, or truly do them over- i am me the way i am now, and taken i have had ups and downs, and done fabulously at some things, and failed at others- i am me because of each and every up AND down.
So... send me a postcard from the US and i'll send you one too!
And for the rest of the SACI kids, travel safe and i'll see you tomorrow!
Friday, August 3, 2007
Saci Classes
well, after a big hem and haw with the the Italian Registrar- and some nice bills for calls to florence...
My classes are scheduled.
HART 300ish- High Renaissance/ On-Site
HART 300ish- 19th Century European Art Hist
DESG 410ish- Adv. Graphic Design
ITAL 100ish- Beginning Italian
15 Credits- 4 classes- and one well quite necessary for living in Italia.
AWESOME.
now, if i could just get some money so i could visit my friends in Houston before going to Italy...
My classes are scheduled.
HART 300ish- High Renaissance/ On-Site
HART 300ish- 19th Century European Art Hist
DESG 410ish- Adv. Graphic Design
ITAL 100ish- Beginning Italian
15 Credits- 4 classes- and one well quite necessary for living in Italia.
AWESOME.
now, if i could just get some money so i could visit my friends in Houston before going to Italy...
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