Does this really count as school??

Well, we finally made it to Italy yesterday...we took the train from Paris to Florence and it was a 12 hour overnight trip.  On paper, that sounds pretty bad...it wasn't too bad in the end though.  There were 11 of us total so we were in two separate rooms.  We were all excited because we could laugh and talk in our own compartment until we had to welcome a strange Frenchman.  He was quiet I guess, but kinda creepy in a way.  Anyways, we all talked for a while, ate some food on the train and then started to pull out the beds so we all could get positioned.  It was amazing that we could fit all of our luggage in their, but we made it work.  I went to sleep earlier than I have since we left and had a pretty goods night's sleep before we arrived in Florence around 7:30 am.   Adam, Krystie, Matt R, Lance and I walked up to the school on the very steep hills, which have been mentioned by almost all former students as an interesting "experience".  It was pretty hard and we started to realize how much exercise our legs were going to get!  We made it to school and got all checked into our rooms.  Now, I'm good friends with one of our RC's, Lacey...we worked and carpooled together this past summer.  She got me and my room mates an awesome room that has a view of the entire valley behind the school.  We have two doors that open up to a balcony-like window and bam! there it is...A group of us got lunch at the Garden Underground.  I had my first Italian food. ..pizza with arugola and spicy pepperoni! Mmmmmm!!!  We got our very first gelato at Coco Palm.  I tried strawberry yesterday and sampled everyone elses.  I think its going to be a daily routine.  It felt good to unpack everything and finally be at a "home".  This morning, I woke up to the Italian sun beaming through my window and a beautiful view outside.  We had some orientation stuff this morning and we ate lunch.  I had spaghetti and it was deliciouso!!!  A little afternoon nap and some more gelato and then it was time for a delicious dinner of pasta, salad, chicken, potatoes and fruit!  We played Cranium tonight and it was a lot of fun.  Tomorrow is our first day of school :(  I think we're going on a walk for a majority of the day.   Well I'm so happy to be here!  The town is so small and quaint.  Its so much different than home.  The streets are all so narrow and small and you find yourself lost or going down unfamiliar streets, but you get to your destination eventually.  The stores are closed many of the afternoons and the meals are eaten a lot slower...the pace is definitely really laid back and its a nice alternative to our usual busy pace at home.  Well anyway, its getting late and I gotta shower tonight still...more to come later this week!