Turning into an expat, one day at a time

This week I have really been making an effort to find new and unique places in Florence. My first great discovery of the week was The British Institute of Florence. For those of you who know me well, you know pretty much my favorite things in the world are Italians and BBC mini-series. Seriously, I have equal obsessions with both. The British Institute is pretty much my nerdy idea of paradise. The library is three floors of English and Italian books, dvds, and newspapers, all housed in a beautiful palazzo on the Oltrarno side of the Arno river, with beautiful views of the city from all of its windows. I was given a lovely tour in "italish" by Lucia, one of the librarians, of the beautiful premises, as well as given at least 4 pamphlets on all the institute has to offer. Being the nerdy academic that I am, I am so excited to tend the lectures and film series that happen every Wednesday, this week's being on "Florence as a setting for fiction", as well as get more involved in the expat community here in Florence. I'm a sucker for the Brits (especially anyone that may resemble Richard Armitage, my BBC lover), so I can't wait!!!!
Next, I have finally started to find a community of people my age. I had previously met these super nice boys at my school's library named Charlie and Peter who work for this great company called "Snow or Sand" (check out their site). Charlie studied at the same school I did in Perugia, so we are able to reminisce about "the good ole' days" and how different students are in Florence from Perugia. Charlie and Peter invited me to go out for aperitivo with them, pretty much one of the best things about Italian food culture. Aperitivo is the Italian version of "happy hour". When you buy a drink at the bar though, you can partake in a buffet of delicious antipasti for free. So with my pint of beer I was able to eat a heaping plate of couscous, veggies, crostini, etc. What more could a girl on a budget ask for! The boys also invited a friend of their's named Cristina who is working for their company. She and I had all sorts of things in common, like having boyfriends named Andy, studying abroad in Italy at the same time, and both being friends with the owners of my favorite hostel in Ischia. After hanging out at Pop Cafe, which is in Santo Spirito, a piazza where Italians hang out, not drunk students, we went to this cool bar that reminded me somewhat of Fuse back in Chapel Hill, minus the annoying hipsters. I had the most delicious cocktail ever (which the waitress created especially for me) and just chilled. I loved being with people my age and definitely more my speed than my students. We all rode our bikes, so we had a lovely ride along the Arno on the way home. It was such a fun night, being with people interested in the culture and travel.
As a side note, after all of my trying to be an expat and faking that I'm Italian, I am currently in the most American place on the planet, McDonalds. Why you ask? Well, in Italy everything is closed on Sundays (and oftentimes on Monday) so Mickey D's has free wireless. You dont even have to buy anything to use it. Future tip for anyone who needs internet and has cruddy service like I do.