First post!

Ciao!! I'm in a hurry to write, because it's my lunch break but I wanted to post to let everyone know how the first days are going! My flights were hell, seems like I had a problem at every airport, but I MADE IT! Without my luggage of course.. So, I got one of my suitcases today and hopefully the other one will come soon. I got to see the Eiffel Tower, the Alps, and even an Ikea from the plane!
I met a girl in Paris who is living in the same apartment as me and we were on the same flight to Florence. We took a taxi together and it hit me I was really here as we were driving through the streets, passing all of the landmarks (at break neck speeds all over the road of course!) We were some of the first to arrive so we just checked out our apartment and waited for other people to get there. The apartment is great. There is 14 of us although 2 people have not yet arrived. There's 3 boys and the rest girls. There's 4 rooms spread out, so I'm sharing with 2 people, and the rooms share a bathroom, with one extra. Then we have a kitchen and a little kitchenette, a living room, and then another room with a huge table and a couch and tv. It's really cool and beautiful! The ceilings are high and arched and I have a view of the Arno from my bedroom window!!
When everyone finally showed up we went out to dinner together. It was awesome!! We had a great meal and a few bottles of wine and then bought some more to drink at home. Everyone is getting along really well in the apartment and we're having a lot of fun together!
Today we woke up and headed to the study center for orientation. It's a long walk, about 25 minutes, but we walk past a whole bunch of museums, the Ponte Vecchio, and a whole bunch of great shopping, so I can't complain! We had orientation in the morning and got to meet all of the other students in the program. We ate lunch at the infamous Il gatto e la volpe (the cat and the fox) who all of the past students have told us about. I had a great pizza!
So, that's my trip so far. It's great and I'm so excited to spend the next 6 weeks here. I'll try to post some pics ASAP. Love you all and MISS YOU ALREADY!!!