Orientation in Pescia

   Ciao!  My name is Charlotte, usually, and I'm living in Florence, Italy for the 2012-13 school year.  Since arriving in Italy, I've been introducing myself as "Carlotta" because I'm not very fond of the Italian pronunciation of my name: CHAR (like charcoal) - LOT - A.  Funnily enough, my new friends on the Sarah Lawrence College Florence Program have taken a liking to this version of my name and have affectionately started calling me this.  To me it sounds like a new coffee drink I would order at Starbucks, "Excuse me, can I get a venti soy char-latte?"  Ah well, I suppose I can just add it to the list of new things to get used to this year.

   As a part of the Sarah Lawrence College Florence Program (or SLC Florence for short), they introduce the students (there are only 23 of us) to Italian culture slowly with an orientation in Pescia, a small town about an hour outside of Firenze.  The general idea is that this mini-vacation helps us adjust to the Italian lifestyle before we start living with our host family and begin classes.  Here's the general gist of what this first week was like...

1.     We all stayed in small groups on a large property outside of Pescia, most groups getting a small living room, dining room, kitchen, bedrooms, and a bathroom.  My "apartamento" was practically next to the pool, um what?

2.    There were four student-age Italians interning/working for the program who were very helpful in answering our questions and making us feel welcome to our new surroundings.

3.    3 hour long Italian language classes began in Pescia.  The majority of people had never taken Italian, which is another great part of program because it allows more people the chance to go on the program.

4.    We visited several small towns, some of which we walked (more like hiked) to from Pescia.  

• Thursday, September 6th - We walked to Collodi, running into an Ostrich and a donkey on the way.  No, really.  We visited (a) Pinocchio Park and (b) Giardino Garzoni.

The map of Pinocchio Park

 (a) This would be a fantastic place to bring children, but it was also pretty fun for us 20-somethings.  It's a very interactive place, with a lot of fun activities,

but it's also quite beautiful.

Inside the mouth of the whale from Pinocchio

(b) Il Giardino Garzoni is one of the most beautiful gardens I've seen.  Try to go when you're not exhausted from, say, taking a hike earlier in the day, because it takes a lot of stamina to walk the steps to the top.  But making the effort is definitely worth it because the view is gorgeous.

Giardino Garzoni

View of Giardino Garzoni from half way up

View from the very top

• Friday, September 7th - We had a bus excursion/tour of the area known as "Svizzera Pesciatina," stopping for lunch at "Carla al Laghetto" in Castelvecchio (by far the best lunch during orientation), and then stopping in Stiappa and Pontito.



View of Pontito in the distance


• I highly recommend visiting this region!!  The views from each hilltop are something out of a dream, and the people, if you happen to see any as most of these towns have a very very small population now, are super friendly.  The common "Buon giorno" as well as "Obama!!" were some frequently heard phrases in these quaint towns. 

A beautiful street in Pontito

• Saturday, September 8th - We were taken by bus to Montecarlo (no, not that Montecarlo), and experienced the annual celebration of the Madonna del Soccorso.  Dinner at Trattoria “Montecarlo.”

View of the square in Montecarlo before the festival


• If you manage to be in Montecarlo for this festival it is quite entertaining, but overall I recommend trying to go to a big town event, market, festival, etc. because there's usually something for everyone (food, wine, games, shopping, music) and it gives you the chance to better experience the Italian community.

View of the vendors and ancient Montecarlo

Ok, so, this was a very long first post, but in the future, I hope to post more frequently with a less overwhelming amount of content.  Ok?  Ok.  A presto! 

                                                       - CAB