Failing.

Remember when I was yelling "tonto" at the waiter to get the check instead of "conto"? Tonto means stupid fool. I was literally yelling at the man waving my arm calling him a stupid fool.

Remember that one time I asked how old a banana was instead of how much it cost?

Remember that one time I bought hair conditioner thinking it was lotion and proceeded to condition my legs for 2 months?

Remember when I asked all the Italians in the afternoon if they loved having siesta the first two weeks of living in florence? [It's definitely a Spanish thing.]

Remember that one time I attempted to hail a bus from the side of a random side street because I heard that's what you do in Italy? [The hailing is to be done from a designated bus stop.]

Remember that one time I pulled the string next to the toilet to flush and set off an alarm in the entire restaurant?

Skype.

Bad hair day....

Flash Mob dance/song all of the sudden on my computer screen.

Well done Ellensburg.

No words to describe this. Hahaha.

High Fives. Skype Style :)

Thank you Tristan...

Twin Backgrounds :)

Itty Bitty Caroline :)

Remember that one time the camera awkwardly zoomed in on different people?

Me too. 

haha :)

#surprise

Every angle from the boy who can't sit still....haha

That escalated quickly

Thank you everyone who kept in touch!

I love you!!! :)

TTFN.

It's funny how, in this journey of life, even though we may begin at different times and places, our paths cross with others so that we may share our love, compassion, observations, and hope. If someone comes into your life and becomes a part of you, but for some reason they couldn't stay, don't cry too much...just be glad that your paths crossed and somehow they made you happy even for a while. This is a design of God that I appreciate and cherish. 

-Steve Maraboli

We dressed up nice,
went out to dinner,
reminisced of the good times,
wept in front of Santa Croce,
gathered ourselves together
and went to the secret bakery.
We laughed.
We cried.
We danced.
And had a really really really good time.

I cherish all of the people I met this semester and am so glad I have excuses to travel America to go visit them now. Cheers to that :)

Family Club.

I want to talk about my time with Rosanna and Silvia.
I feel so blessed to have them in my life.
They are the Italian family I was paired with this semester.
We could not have been a better match.
Every time my friends ask me how dinner was with them,
I tell them I got a fantastic ab workout from laughing, as always.
We have the same sense of humor, 
so that helps balance any frustration from the language barrier.
This is a post to summarize some of our time together this semester.

Welcome Dinner:  Meeting Rosanna and hearing her passion for art was incredible. She is studying to become a tour guide of the city. I immediately knew she was layed back, and and just overall a very unique and cool person who appreciates life. The language barrier was larger than I expected. I learned quickly to not use phrases such as "double check" because it would only lead to ten minutes of playing charades trying to define it. She drew me a detailed map of how to get to her house the next week. That's going in the scrapbook :)

Tortellini Soup: When I described to Rosanna what to bring for making tortellini soup she was perplexed. I had all the spices and the chicken broth, so I told her to buy zucchini and tortellini. "That's all? What a strange soup." From then on she referred to my soup as "Laurel's strange soup" haha. Luckily they loved the "strange soup". We had the typical fruit after our meal. No wonder I rarely see overweight Italians. They eat bananas for desert haha. Meeting Silvia this time was exciting. She reminds me of my sister so much. She is 15. She is an Italian version of my sister, so it is refreshing to be around her when I get slightly homesick. I love watching the mother/daughter relationship with these two. They love each other very much. Rosanna told me about good bakeries and places to eat near my apartment. I helped them with their english, and they were so patient in reminding me a thousand times how to say the words "fast" and "near" in Italian. For some reason I kept finding myself needing to use those words and could not remember what they were. They taught me how to properly do the kissing on the cheek greeting/farewell. I straight up asked because I am an awkward human and don't know what to do with my hands during these greetings. Rosanna drove me home and made sound effects as we turned corners. Yes. In that moment I knew we were the perfect match :)

Women's Day: I already made a blog post about his day. Check it out here: http://laurelinflorence.blogspot.it/2013/03/treating-her-like-lady.html

Practicing Numbers: Rosanna took me out to a local pizzeria that was phenomenal. I had the Fiorentina pizza and it was delicious. Afterwards we sat on her couch for an hour or so. Just relaxing and kicking back. We watched my spring break video and she loved the song "Ho Hey" by the Lumineers. I told her that I had just learned numbers in Italian class that day so we went through all of our family members saying the years when they were born to practice. She got a kick out of how young I am compared to her. She told me when she was born and erupted into laughter. This woman's sense of humor. I can't get enough of it. 

How to Hold a Fork: Tonight Rosanna cooked some beef and pasta for us for dinner. Her meals are very simple, but so delicious. While I was cutting my meat, Rosanna asked if how I was holding my fork was how people hold their forks in America. I looked down at my hand and realized I was holding my fork like a 2 year old holds a crayon. All my fingers wrapped around it like a fist. I thought for a second, and said "Actually, I don't think so. I think only I do this haha." We got a huge laugh out of that, and from now on I have held my fork in a more proper and civilized manner to cut my meat. Never thought that would be something I would learn from my Italian family :) I left the apartment  with a pie and a guitar in hand. Silvia doesn't use the guitar so she has let me borrow it for a few weeks. I couldn't be happier!

Ten Terrible Minutes: Tonight was one of my favorite nights. We always laugh a lot when we are all together, but tonight was taken to an entire different level. We cannot remember what was said to set off this erruption of laughter, but it resulted in Rosanna spewing orange fanta across the table. We laughed for a solid ten minutes. Rosanna apologized, but I kept telling her that this was normal at the dinner table with my family. I felt at home. Come le pazzi. That is what we kept saying all night. We are crazy :)

Studying English: Tonight I helped Silvia study her english. It was interesting to see how a book taught english. I've never actually seen one before. Trying to help her was actually a bit difficult. Only because english is a slightly ridiculous language with so many exceptions and phrases that don't really make all that much sense. She kept looking at me saying,"What?!" Then I would think about it and she was right. The phrases really made no sense. I'm so glad english is my first language haha. Tonight Rosanna prepared a simple Sicilian pasta dish for us. Silvia says it's her favorite, but her mom never makes it. Rosanna winked at me and said, "Only when Laurel comes" jokingly. We reminisced about the fun times we've had over the semester. We laughed, as always. We were laughing really hard about how one time while Silvia was saying how much she loved Coca Cola and Rosanna was distracted and only poured her 1/8th of a glass as she was declaring her love for the soda. The phone rang and Rosanna answered it but had to take a few minutes to get herself together haha. I brought them flowers as a goodbye present, and they gave me a bag with a darling purple bow and said it is a gift for Spain. It is a beautiful blue floral scarf. They said every time I wear it I can think of them. I love them so much. Hopefully this isn't the final goodbye. Whether I get to see them when I come back with my family, or whether I come back to Italy in the future, I know I will see them again. They are a huge blessing in my life. They brought me so much joy, brought me into Italian culture, and have become my dear friends. 
I am so thankful for family club, and that FUA provides this for students. It has been an incredible way to be connected to italians and really experience what italian life is like. It also was a great way to improve my italian language and learn things that are specific to Florence verses other cities in Italy.

A Pinterest Environment.

Brac Cafe - Florence

Dolce Lab - Florence

Skirt from the market - 4 euro

Finally snapped a picture of the neighbor dog, Cilo, 

getting a ride on the moped!

Being Caught in the Rain.

Today I spent a little more time than usual in front of the mirror getting ready to go to class.

I walk outside and the sun is shining.

Ten steps later it has started to sprinkle rain.

Five more and I have an absolute downpour on my hands.

Or rather, on my entire body.

God has a sense of humor.

There is no denying that.

He's revealed it to me way too many times.

Laurel, do not waste time in front of the mirror.

Why are you trying to win the approval of human beings?

Message received.

I walked down the streets of Florence on my way to my final today with the biggest smile, loving every drop of rain, and not caring how homely I looked.

It felt like freedom.

God knows what's best :)

A Tangled Vision.

[I forgot my camera tonight]

In a world that is falling apart I have found my hope

He's the Power that brightens the stars and brought life to my soul

Now I'm calling from the rooftops shouting from the mountain peaks

You're everything to me

...

Locals were letting off lanterns at the top of Piazza Michelangelo tonight.

Think Tangled. The movie.

It was absolutely magical.

Moments like this I never want to forget. 

Waiting for the Fat Lady to Sing.

We couldn't wait.

Two naps into the opera, with finals looming over us,

we decided to quietly exit at half time.

Intermission?

It was fun to dress up,

the music was absolutely beautiful,

and I'm glad I had the opportunity to experience 

an Italian opera with one of my favorites :)

Receiving Blessings.

2 Corinthians 9:8 
And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

I had two beds open this weekend.

Even though I was missing my roommates,

this meant two of my best friends in Florence could come have a sleepover.

Meeting Cara and Kate at the beginning of this semester has been the answer to many prayers before I came abroad.
I wasn't expecting to find community comparable to what I have back home,
I was praying that I could be content and grow closer to the Lord if christian community wasn't part of the plan here in Florence.
God blew my mind by providing me with these two women.
The moment Cara mentioned to someone that 
she used to be in a worship band, 
I was determined to sit next to her at lunch and find out her story.
The moment Kate posted on my wall that she 
"noticed I liked Redeeming Love and that she was currently reading it", 
I immediately asked her to coffee to find out her story.
Turns out they both have incredible stories that have led them to where they are now, loving Christ and devoting their lives entirely to him.
They love life, and having them as company made my experience abroad absolutely perfect :)

God never ceases to amaze me with his provisions for me.
Even when the provisions come in a different way than I ever expected,
it's always a better way than I ever expected.

The Prancing Ponies.

So there's a plus to having a friend come in town who loves cars as much

or even more than I do.

Trip to Modena to the Ferrari Museum?

Yes Please.

Modena itself is an incredibly beautiful city.

We walked along the streets a ways and ran into an Italian who told us to wait around so we could watch the ferrari drive through the town.

Apparently it was part of the 50th anniversary celebrations!

That was one great sounding car.

The moment passed too fast, I wanted him to just run laps around us haha.

Next off to the museum!

Our shuttle driver showed up at the train station wearing a ferrari fire suit.

Our excitement began to escalate.

I feel like whenever I see ferraris it is from afar,

and they are typically driving by very fast. Naturally.

The best part of the museum was being able to look at all the detail of the cars and truly being able to appreciate the designs and concepts.

All while trying to keep from drooling all over the place.

Marian and I were in car heaven.

The merchandise was a little too expensive for us,

but we got some awesome and realistic pictures to remember 

our wonderful experience by.