Tag Archives: Italy

Florence, Italy at Your Hands!

HELLO FELLOW TIGERS!!

My name is Maria, I have started my 4th semester in FIT. However, I started classes a little far away from campus. Where? In Florence, Italy! Now you may ask “what is she doing over there?” Well let me explain….

At FIT there are many options for studying abroad, it all depends on the major you are studying. As a fashion design student one of my options was to study in the “the cradle of the renaissance”, that is Florence, Italy. And so I chose this option for my second year of AAS.

You cannot imagine how excited I was to start my journey abroad. In the month of August (2018) I had my bags all packed and ready for what was coming. I heard great stories about my classmates’ experiences abroad and was ready to start my own.

Our host in Florence is Polimoda fashion institute right in the historic center. The main campus itself is a gem, with frescoed ceilings and walls, it sure takes you back in time. The design lab in Scandicci has everything you need for the realization of projects. Since the program admits a certain number of students, professors are by your side to assist you.

In the following blogs I will be going in deeper into my experiences during the last and this upcoming semester.

Ciao, Maria

A view of Florence from Piazzale Michelangelo

Florence, Italy: A view from Piazzale Michelangelo

The Juice Shop

So I have to tell you guys about my absolute favorite new place that recently just opened near Penn station and Starbucks. It’s called the Juice Shop, the kitchen and juicery takes juicing and healthy eating to a new raw experience. They pride themselves in freshness, using unpasteurized juicing with no preservatives, that make there stuff absolutely delicious.

Yesterday I went and I got oatmeal with apples, raisins , walnuts and maple syrup . It was only 5.95 for that huge bowl. I also got the “Prim and Proper” juice which was $9 which for a college student is a tad bit expensive but honestly so worth it. It was the best juice I have ever had, I got it two days in a row. I was the person that got Starbucks every morning but now I will be the person getting juice instead. It gave me so much energy after and I felt so much more focused in class without the actual jitters that can sometimes come with coffee and the crash if your drinking double espresso.

Some of the other things on the menu are:

Served daily until 11am
Granola served with coconut or Greek yogurt
Oatmeal Served with almond, coconut, or whole milk

Apple Pie-Fuji Apples, Rasins, Cinnamon, Walnuts, Maple Syrup

Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, dried cranberries, Goji berries, mulberries, almonds, raisins, apricots, coconut milk

Bananas, raw honey, almond butter, almond milk

Over quinoa or brown rice
Add chicken or tofu $2
Add salmon $3

Beets, broccoli, carrots, edamame, hijiki seaweed, sunflower sprouts, carrot ginger miso dressing

Chopped Israeli Salad, Za’atar Feta, Tzatziki Yougurt Sauce

Chickpeas, Butternut Squash, Yellow Squash, Zucchini, Cauliflower, Dried Apricots, Parsley, Spicy Matbucha Sauce

Carrots, Broccoli, Edamame, Snow Peas, Red Cabbage, Scallions,
Spicy Almond Pad Thai Dressing

Black Beans, Fresh Corn Salad, Salsa Verde, Black Beans, Fresh Corn Salad, Chopped Israeli Salad, Zucchini, Yellow Squash

Carrots, Butternut Squash, Yellow Squash, Zucchini, Broccoli, Snow Peas, Green Coconut Curry Sauce

Korean Yams, Coconut Milk, Ginger, Agave, Himalayan Sea Salt

Butternut squash, almond milk, agave nectar, agar agar, maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, maple extract, vanilla extract, Himalayan sea salt

cacao powder, coconut milk, agave nectar, agar agar, vanilla extract

They have so much more , you can see there full menu on there website http://thejuiceshopny.com/menu/#smoothies

Hope you guys decide to visit! Tell me what you think, what is your favorite thing there?

Maybe you’ll see me there 🙂

XOXO

Kailee

Reflections on Italy

I love Italy. I love the food, I love the views, I love the art. Everything. There is one thing that I have been missing though. It is the one thing that has made me appreciate FIT immensely since I have been here, and that is our teachers.

I’ll admit that as a freshmen I really didn’t think that the teachers at FIT would be the absolute best. I mean, it’s not like we’re Harvard or Yale. But after three years I realized how wrong I was, and I didn’t comprehend how great they were until I didn’t have them anymore. This semester was the first time I have been exposed to teachers other than ours at FIT, and they were not all bad, but they just could not hold up to the quality back home.

I didn’t realize how much our FIT professors strive to make our lectures interesting and engaging, or how (relatively) easy it is to get help from them one-on-one. For example, I am currently taking a class called “History of Italian Fashion” and every time I walk into the classroom I find myself wishing that Lourdes Font was teaching the class. Professor Font is by far one of the smartest and most knowledgeable people I have ever met. She knows everything about fashion! I took her class “Costume and Fashion in Film” and despite it being a four hour long class on a Friday, it was one I constantly looked forward to attending. If you can make history of anything interesting to a twenty year old at six o’clock on a Friday, kudos.

As much as you may believe your professors are trying to drive you to the loony bin for all the work they give out (especially during finals and midterms), they are truly invested in your success. Linda Sands was my first draping professor and she scared the crap out of me for the first half of the semester. Every time she came by my table to check my work I felt like I was going to throw up. By the end of the semester I realized she was so harsh because she was pushing us to pay attention and make our garments perfect. Needless to say our whole class ended up loving her and we even threw her a surprise birthday party! I was so happy when I got her the next semester for pattern-making. She can be a little scary, but it’s just her mamma bear claws. I know that if I were to show up at her office with a project I was working on, she would stop what she was doing and help me solve my problem.

The professors at FIT are the greatest asset I didn’t realize I had until I lost them. They always say one of the most important things you should do while in college is make relationships with your professors. I always thought that sounded really intimidating. I mean, they’re adults with lives, and there are so many of us how could they possibly single each one of us out to care about? But trust me, when you find a class you love taught by a professor you really admire, you will create that relationship. Honestly, there have been so many professors at FIT who have helped me grow, academically as well as personally.

And don’t always trust ratemyprofessor.com. You’ll be surprised.

–Emily–

It’s Happening!

I have some exciting news, but first read this post from a few months ago.

Done? Okay cool. Well guess what? I did it! I’m an adult!! Not really. Actually I just got my act together and learned to cook a few meals…but whatever, same thing right? And I did it without even taking a cooking class! (Which, to be fair, is one of my biggest complaints about this study abroad experience. Most kids here only take about four classes and those will include “Italian Style Cooking” and “Pairing Food & Wine”. WHAT?! I’m taking six classes and none of them have anything to do with food. Ugh.) But like the proverbial baby turtle crawling its way back to the ocean, I persevered. Just look:

Parmesan zucchini – Healthy AND delicious

Roasted potatoes, zucchini and pasta with shaved provolone

family burrito night!

Just makin’ risotto

I am now the fried rice QUEEN

Spinach and ricotta tortellini with chicken, fresh cherry tomatoes and shaved Parmesan

the classic pesto pasta with fresh cherry tomatoes and melted mozzarella

I mean come on, that’s pretty impressive considering the first post, no? Alright fine, they’re pretty much all pasta dishes, but what can I say? I’m in Italy! (Also we thought our stove was broken for like, two months. Turns out we had one of the knobs turned wrong….oops!) Pinterest and Epicurious are two fantastic websites (who are we kidding, just download the apps) for cooking inspiration. If I can do it, you can do it! (Unless you live in CoEd or Nagler. Then you won’t have a kitchen, so you can’t do it, soz mate.)

–Emily–

Pantomimes Anonymous

Two different Italians stopped me on the street today to ask for directions. On the one hand, I was proud because these authentic Italians mistook me as one of their own. I get a strange sense of satisfaction from being able to blend in with other cultures. However, this happiness quickly became became uncomfortable and embarrassing. This is because, wait for it….I can’t speak Italian!

Yes, my name is Emily Bennett, I’ve lived in Florence for three months and I still cannot speak Italian. I am so ashamed. For most people, the biggest worry while traveling abroad is whether they will be able to understand the locals. This, of course, leads to desperate hopes that most people will know English and even conversations stating how much easier and better the world would be if everyone just spoke one language (i.e. English). But what a horrific white-washing of culture that would be! Can you imagine living in a world where no one knows the subtle romantic quality of the French language, or the explosive passion of Italian, or even the mysterious Swahili?

I get it, it’s intimidating and embarrassing to attempt to speak a language that you haven’t mastered, especially to people who have been speaking said language since they were babies. Trust me, that is what got me in this situation in the first place. When I was studying in France, it was a whole different ball game. I had been studying French for six years before I was living on my own there, so I had a sturdy background of the language and was well-informed of the culture as well. This is the first time I have ever studied Italian, and I know what you are thinking, if I live in Italy, I should be learning the language twice as fast, right? No, wrong, completely wrong. Everyone here speaks English! At least the French have the decency to refuse to speak English to you! Obviously, it would have been much harder for me to survive here if people didn’t speak English, but I think I could have done it, and forcing me to attempt even the most broken Italian in every situation would have sped up my learning immensely. However, I am a self-conscious little baby when it comes to Italian. Too quickly will I revert to English, or not say anything at all. I go to the grocery store at least once a week and I think the only things I have ever said to any of the cashiers are “si” “no” and “grazie”.

Now that my time in Italy is coming quickly to a close, I wish I had pushed myself harder to learn the language and speak it. Honestly, it is a really horrible feeling to be in a country and unable to speak the language. It is embarrassing! Not to mention completely disheartening. I don’t mean for this post to be such a downer, but if you can learn anything from my little failure, really take the time to learn the language before traveling. It will make your time there much more rewarding, and the locals will definitely like you more. Also, don’t be afraid to forget about English and instead rely on whatever of the language you do know (miming helps too). It is much more endearing to see someone struggling to speak the language than one who just starts speaking English and assumes whoever they are talking to will understand.

Buon viaggio!

–Emily–