Back in Firenze after Fall Break!

The past few weeks have been crazy! We had midterm week which was very stressful, but not as stressful as it is back in America. The classes here don't seem as hard to me, which may just be because it is not classes for my major, but midterm week was still very stressful to get through. It is different because all of your midterms are in the same week and for many classes this is the first grade you receive. Most of my classes are only graded based on midterm, final exam, final paper, and attendance so the midterms are very important. Regardless of the stress I got through it somehow (and am now anxiously awaiting my grades). Midterm week does have its plus side though....it means that it is time for fall break! For fall break my roommates and I went to Dublin and then to Barcelona. I couldn't believe the beauty of those cities. It was truly and amazing experience. However, ten days away seemed to last forever and towards the end of the trip I could not wait to get home to Firenze. The walk back to my apartment from the train station was rewarding in itself, just because I was so happy to be home. Classes started again today and we met for the second time with Italian students we are doing a conversation exchange with. The exchange is great because it gives us an opportunity to use our Italian outside of a classroom setting, and also learn from Italian students who are out age. I really enjoy the exchange and have become friends with the student I was paired with. It is almost refreshing to be back in class again even though it means back to studying and homework. My family is coming to visit this weekend and they are staying for a week. I am so excited to show them around the city and all of the amazing museums, artwork, and architecture it has to offer.