I started my classes this week! Yesterday was Flamenco. I have a pair of flamenco shoes now - they look like black pumps with nails in the toe and heel to make a click sound when I stomp my foot! I spent the better part of today running around town in search of a flamenco dance skirt; I came home emptyhanded, but saw most of florence in the process.

My Renaissance Civilization and culture class is amazing. The professor, Marchello (NOT pronoucned marshmellow, or he gets really offended), is a native florentine, and makes learning history like listening to a story! We will be visiting several places in florence (namely museums!) as part of the class.

My Italian class is quite enjoyable, also taught by a male professor. He spent the first class teaching us to say "I don't understand", "how do you say _____ in italian" and "what does ________ mean". He seems convinced that we won't need to say "le parle inglese" anymore (translation: do you speak english?). =] I'm hoping I'll pick it up fast!

I have been enjoying runs along the Arno river, which is just gorgeous! The air is a balmy 0 degrees celcius when I run, but I just bundle up.

I'm starting to learn my way around the city and fit in. Today I walked to class without looking at a map and sucessfully found my way home! hurray!