Various Observations

1) Italians Don't Clean Up After Their Dogs
It's something that takes a bit of getting used to, having to constantly watch the sidewalk to make sure you don't step in a fresh pile of dog shit. And since it rains like, all the time here, that pile of dog shit is always wet. Which makes it even more unpleasant to step in. I'm not sure if there just aren't laws here requiring people to clean up after their pets, or if people here just don't care, but either way it's annoying. Especially since everything you see here is so beautiful, it's really terrible to have to miss it because you're staring at the ground, avoiding the obstacle course.

2) The Only Place in which I Have Experienced Serious Culture Shock is the Grocery Store
First off, everything is in Italian. Yeah, I know, obvi. But it is seriously hard to figure out if you're buying rice milk or soy milk when you don't know the word for "soy" or "rice." And there's no oatmeal. I actually considered buying this rice gruel baby food a few days ago, but it was mad expensive and it came in tiny portions. But on the bright side, everything tastes better here. The peppers were bright and sweet and happy tasting and there's barely any part of the artichokes that you can't eat and their salad mixes are so ridiculously good that I have to force myself to not eat an entire bag a day.

3) Everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) Wears Black.
I rebel by wearing bright yellow tights with a green shirt and my red coat. Yes, back in New York I would hate myself. But I feel like I have to bring some color into this city. People need to have fun with their clothes, not constantly look like they're in mourning.

4) Italians Really Like Their Political Graffiti
Back in New York, you really never see obvious political graffiti. Yes, every once in a while someone will scrawl "Fuck Bush" on the wall of the subway car or something, but most of the graffiti is just the names of the artist or crew. It's totally different here. Apparently there's a big anti-Fascist movement in Florence, and you can tell by the phrases people spray paint on the walls and buildings. My favorite is halfway up the hill on the way to campus, where someone wrote "Tu Votto Non Conto" (Your Vote Doesn't Count), mostly because it's one of the only ones I totally understand. They also like to spray paint love notes on the street and walls in front of their significant others' homes. It's kind of cute. It's even better when they combine love notes and political messages, like the one I saw that roughly translated to "My Dear Little Radical." Adorable. Someday someone will say that about me. (Or perhaps not, since I'm not at all a radical. I'm actually becoming increasingly bourgeois, but that's a story for another day.)

5) The Old Women Here Are Really Really Elegant
They make me want to buy a fur coat.