Today was our first day of classes at Florence University of the Arts (FUA)! It was a brisk and
busy morning in the city as we all made our way from our apartments, past the Duomo, to Dr. DeMaria’s class at 9am. To kick off her course we covered our schedule for the next six weeks, discussed the Italian culture we have observed and learned about the past week, and
completed a sprint writing activity where we typed a stream of consciousness for five minutes, without using the backspace button. The purpose of this activity was to practice expressing all our ideas and then editing our material.
After Dr. DeMaria’s class, we broke up into two groups. Seven students from our group are in the FUA Food, Wine, and Culture in Italy course. This class meets Monday-Thursday, right after Dr. DeMaria’s class. Today the class consisted of an introduction to the course that explained the cooking experiences, trips to fresh indoor food markets, and learning about food and wine pairings.
The eight other students in our group are taking the FUA Food, Culture, and Community course. This class meets later in the afternoons on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Today this class started with an explanation of the course material, and then there was a cooking lab. An exciting aspect of this class is that every Tuesday, the students start preparing food for the Aperitivo at Gonzo, the FUA student-run restaurant, that takes place every Wednesday. The Aperitivo is an Italian-style event with a flat rate cover charge (in this case €5) for an unlimited buffet of appetizers and one drink. The students in this class will each have the opportunity to work the Aperitivo at least once during the six weeks.
It was nice to experience how the schedule will be for the next six weeks of our adventure. Everyone is excited for their FUA courses and to start the active research process for our Women’s Reproductive and Sexual Health Research papers!
[This blog post was written by Sarah Kincade, a junior in nursing.]