Hanging out with some friends!

The first thing I noticed when I arrived to Firenze on that Tuesday afternoon was the similarities between the outskirt of the city and Latin American cities. All of the surrounding mountains, low-rise buildings and motorcycles brought me back to what my life used to be like during my childhood. Though this was the feeling in the city outskirt, the city center was unique and completely surreal. On my first walk of Firenze, I went straight to the Duomo to see Arnolfo di Cambio, Filippo Brunelleschi and Giotto’s masterpiece. I wanted to see what my history classes kept talking about. Its grandness, precision and its intricate architectural details left me speechless. I can’t get enough of looking at the cathedral and the different buildings with over hanged ceiling crowning over the narrow streets.

First walk by the Duomo!

At this point we were trying to find way back home

Walking around the city has proven to be quite a challenge as I am so used to the Manhattan grid. My orientation of north and south has been thrown off. My only point of guidance is the Duomo as it is seen from most places and now the river. Everything is so different! Even the water has a thicker and different taste, though I mainly drink tap water back in NYC. It’s been four days and I have already tried grilled pigeon. People are not in a rush to get to places. Everything is so slow paced. It amuses me the see how narrow the streets and the sidewalks are. Since that’s the case, I have noticed the uncertainty of where the sidewalk ends and where the street begins, which is quite interesting because everywhere I have lived it is very dangerous to even jaywalking. In the few days I have been in the city, I have gotten lost many times as I am still having issues understanding the red, blue, and black numbering for the different buildings. I admit that 90 percent of the times I take a walk I get lost looking for one a building.

Kitchen: Quite antique furniture! I wonder how old they are.

When I first got the keys to my apartment, I was quite impressed to see how unique the key was. The shape and its size made me laugh a little bit and think about what kind of lock it would be. As I walked into the apartment, I was mind blown to see how antique everything looks. Everything within the apartment including the wooden dining nook, the recessed skylights and toilet on the wall that works with gravity made me feel like I was back in the 1300’s. I was like I was photoshoped into one of those old movies from the medieval times. As an architecture student, I noticed everything from the door latch to the bidet as it was the first time I saw one. Everything within the apartment creates such an environment that makes me feel part of how the standard of living in a city apartment came to be. I felt a little out of place because I have grown used to the ADA standards that are used to build everything. Even though that’s the case, I admit that I fell in love with everything that goes against that code, including the centered doorknobs.

Living room

During the four days I have been here, I have met so many people from all across the US. It has been interesting to see many different interests come together in one place looking for a similar source of inspiration or simply to experiment a different environment. My level of Italian has also been quite an experience since I don’t know the language at all. Because I know Spanish, the barrier has not been as big as when I first moved to NYC and didn’t know English as all. However, buying groceries or any kind of meals has been quite an experience as I often struggle to ask for things that need. I could not communicate with anybody and since it was my first time learning a different language, my hand gestures were very rough! I got to say that I am inexplicably excited for what this semester has to offer.

Grilled Pigeon. Interesting taste and quite hard meat!

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Nelson is a student at Parsons The New School for Design studying at Florence University of the Arts during the Spring 2014 term.