Firenze

Yesterday, Monday, was my first Florence specific orientation.  I cannot put into words how excited I am!  We talked a little about Italian culture, the staff we will be working with, our academic schedule, and the official documents we will need to obtain.

Here is what I learned about Italian culture:

• Sales are exclusively in January and July.  Basically, I'll need to start shopping immediately!
• Dinner is held starting around 7pm and usually don't end until around 11pm if you're at a sit down restaurant. 
• Not getting a receipt is against the law, and we have to ask for them often.  Lots of shops don't report their sales to their equivalent of the IRS, but if they have a receipt it is a record, so they have to report their sales.
• People don't smile at you, and they often stare.
• There is no tipping in Italy.

I was a little surprised with some of the information I learned.  If you know me, you know I smile a lot.  I was raised to be polite, smile at everyone, and never stare.  The Italian culture is going completely against what I was taught.  This is probably going to be a shock for me once I get on the ground.  I want people to be friendly as I am, but that's not going to happen.

The official dates of my trip are January 8 - April 12, 2013.  I have to leave the United States on January 7th and arrive in Florence on January 8th.  I am so nervous to get on a plane by myself flying to a foreign country.  I am hoping to find some friends to travel with!

Anyone have some recommendations for flights?  I have never flown out of the US, so any advice is welcome, even if you haven't been to Italy!