Protests, Boboli Gardens and more..

Ciao!
 Today I felt like I was back in San Francisco.  There was a bus strike this afternoon so I got to walk home from work (and my first official Italian lesson" I can pronounce Firenze and gelato properly now - it's harder than you would think)..  Anyways, there was a big protest against or for something with lots of marchers walking down the streets..just like the countless marches in good old SF.  The unfortunate part for me was that it's been raining all day AND I got lost - so it made a 35-40 minute walk take over an hour.  Ah well..guess I don't need to go run today.  And I'll probably be walking back to the centro later to meet up with some friends for dinner.  The week has been good and gone by fast - I made it to IKEA (felt just like being home) to buy a quilt, lamp, towels, a new plant, etc.. Even though it looks like it's walking distance on google maps, after about an hour we figured out that it really wasn't and went back to the station to take the bus.  Good thing my friend Liz speaks Italian so we can ask random Italians where we are all the time..
   I got a couple new students at work and my business English class starts up next week so my days are filling up.  I've been trying to study Italian at least an hour a day and keep up with the BofM for institute (I swear the Italian version is twice as long).  But I understood almost all of class last night and that was great!!
I also thought I'd put up some pictures of the amazing Boboli Gardens I visited a couple weeks ago...

First, though, the lizard that was hanging out in our bathroom yesterday (not something I expected to see in Italy)

And my kitchen, in case you were curious - but I think it's cute!

 

The Boboli Gardens behind the old Medici Pitti Palace, with Florence in the background.  The gardens are Huge with lots of trees, fountains, and amazing sculptures.

The "grotto" - an indoor courtyard with statues carved out of the walls. It was Really cool, and I'm sure someone famous did most of the work (art history is not my forte).

If you look closely, you can see the red people coming out of the walls.  The details and intricacy are amazing.  The grotto originally housed Michelangelo's Prisoners.

Have a great weekend!  My goal is to buy some boots for my cold legs and maybe go up to Fiesole to see some Tuscan countryside.

A New Home!

So - I moved again for the third time in six weeks - so much fun!  But I think I am here to stay (until June at least).  It's a cute little apartment and I have my own room with two girls from the branch at church for roommates.  They are really nice, although my Italian is going to have to improve very quickly or there won't be a whole lot of conversing going on.  Here are a couple of pics of my new place for your enjoyment..I am on the third floor and this is the courtyard..the first floor apts have yards and trees...I bet they never move!

Also some pics from last week when Laura came to visit.  We had a great time!  We saw the Uffizi, Duomo, the David, Piazzale Michaelangelo, La Traviata and ate lots of good food and gelato.  We also went up to Cinque Terre for the day to enjoy the last sun of the year!  It's great to have friends come to visit!

Me and Laura with Florence in the background.

It was a beautiful weekend!

Manarola - where we stayed in the Cinque Terre

Another beautiful sunset!

I GOT A JOB!!!

So - I am officially employed as a TEFL teacher in Florence!! (although an illegal one but hey..they have better things to do over here than kick out English teachers - and I will still be paying taxes so it's a win-win situation really).  I'm not sure what my schedule will be like yet but I'll have a few English classes to teach and actually some math tutoring (way to use my science skills).  I'm excited!!  AND now I'll have some free time to actually see Florence and Italy!  Plus Laura is coming to visit this weekend so that should be tons of fun..
I took a few pictures today to celebrate..

Me, Marina and Shannon having drinks to celebrate our new jobs (we were all in the same CTEFL course) Don't worry - mine is only soda.

My new casa - for the next two weeks at least..



























This whole concept of free time is taking a little getting used to..

I Survived!

So - I survived my four week TEFL course.  It was crazy!  I don't think I even studied or worked that hard in college!!  But it's finally over now and I've caught up on my sleep - mostly.  I enjoyed watching conference this weekend and having a little free time.  I moved yesterday to a new place with some girls from school as well..for at least the next two weeks.  Now it's on to the job search..cross your fingers that I can find something! 
Here are some old pictures for you to peruse:

This is the tower by the Uffizi as seen from my window in my apartment.  Who does that look like climbing the tower?

Same tower - taken from the Uffizi.
Looks less like King Kong here - maybe a lion?

My TEFL class on our school balcony (though not the best picture) - they were awesome and we had a great time!  I will miss them a lot - spending 50 hours a week together in a tiny classroom helps you get to know people really well!  Good thing a few of us are sticking around..