The 1st Day Continued: Hurrying off to Language School & Unexpected Events
After a sixteen hour flight to Florence and talking with the delightful apartment owner, Paola, for a long time, I had to find my way on foot to the Michelangelo Institute for Culture and Language. I knew it was about a 20 minute. Do not ask me how I kept going in the high summer temperatures of August on this day! I must have been fueled by some type of surreal Italian energy source!
I was truly excited to get walking, even though the August weather was extremely hot. At first, I felt confident with my Google Maps in hand until suddenly the app stopped working as I crossed the bridge over the Arno River. I wasn’t sure why that happened and eventually I found out that this technical issue would create quite a bit of stress during my entire trip. At this moment I was sincerely focused on finding Via Ghibellina, the main street for the language school. Thankfully the people I asked along the way were very kind in giving me directions.
Once I was inside the school, I felt relieved that it was still open! One of the employees offered me a seat in the main lounge area, which had a piano, shelves with books, and a vending machine. Unfortunately, there was no air conditioning and I could feel my jet lag begin to set in. Fatigue hit me as I sat there for over an hour waiting to take my Italian language placement exam. However, I did have a little entertainment when this pretty young student asked me if she could play the piano. That distracted me from my anxious state of mind momentarily.
When the director finally appeared with the six page entrance exam, I was able to psych myself into staying focused. I don’t know how I managed to answer every question when my body was feeling such fatigue from jetlag combined with the heat.
Completing the extensive grammar placement exam gave me an accomplished feeling! (More about my class, students, etc. will be detailed in future blog posts!) Next, I decided to find a way to purchase groceries that would last at least a couple days. I asked Elvira, the very sweet school receptionist, and she said that most markets were closed at that time. My heart sank just a smidgen. Fortunately, I thought of a Conad supermarket that could possibly be open. Conad is one of the largest retail supermarket chains in Italy. I remembered one store that was located near where I stayed two years ago. My mental determination was geared towards finding it even though it was located farther from my apartment in Santo Spirito. It seemed like a great idea at the time. However, you wouldn’t believe what I did next……
I felt very lucky after I walked God knows how many city blocks and discovered that the Conad store was still open! When I asked one of the “commessi ” (sales clerks) in part Italian, part English, if the store had reusable shopping bags with handles immediately, this very kind clerk said, “Aspetta!” (Wait!) and returned with two folded sturdy reusable bags. As I confidently made a little small talk with the commessa (These employees are always efficient and fast while ringing up customer goods…the conveyor belts are not nearly as long as one of our chain supermarkets in the USA.) during the check out process, I proceeded to diligently fill my two bags with all sorts of items, such as water bottles, oranges, milk, etc. Then my jetlagged brain thought I would have no problem walking all of this back to my apartment. What a ridiculous thought! I actually towed all of this through the streets of Florence, including the Piazza della Signoria, in front of the Palazzo Vecchio, which was filled with tourists happily taking photos and eating at local restaurants.
My hands were sore and my body full of sweat as I kept stopping along the way to put down the bags for periodic rests. (Truthfully, I felt like a gypsy as I sauntered by the tourist crowds, struggling with large multi-colored bags!) Somehow, I managed to endure the very long walk beyond the Ponte Vecchio bridge and several more bridges. Eventually, I made it back to the apartment and collapsed in the air conditioned bedroom! (It could have taken me almost an hour for all I know. I couldn’t even think of the time!) At that point, I vowed to myself to take taxis for any future hefty grocery trips….
In my next blog post, the story unfolds about my 1st evening of dining at a lively local pizzeria around the corner from my apartment on Via Lungarno Soderini!
ValVentures 