Philosophical Thoughts

I was astounded when the end of last month was suddenly upon me. Since coming to Italy I have experienced a time warp unparalleled to anything I have experienced before; time seems to pass very quickly when I think about the fact that I have lived in Florence for an entire month, and at the same time seems to pass very slowly each day because I have devoted myself to being fully conscious of my experiences so as to take away as much as I can from my time here. I am sure the fact that Italians do not regard time in the same time-efficient frenzy as Americans also has something to do with my temporal confusion. . . Now that I actually sit down to think about my current views on time, I realize that the list of contributing reasons is much longer.

1) Since I do not have a cell phone out here and clocks are scare in the studio classrooms, I am rarely aware of the actual time

2) October out here is not the same as it is in Colorado; apparently it is snowing in Colorado, while Florence still has to contend with 80 degree afternoons

3) I have a set class schedule, but the traveling I have been doing on the weekends has messed me up enough so as to keep me from really realizing what day of the week it is

While thinking about, and writing about lofty sorts of things, I figured I would take a moment to share with you some of the thoughts that have been piling up in my mind about the International Florence.

We all know that major cities like Florence, are tourist hubs, particularly when the comment is made in reference to the historical downtown area. Translated into different lingo, this also means that Florence is a hub for internationalism. In fact, I often find myself wondering when I am going to encounter true Italian culture. With the exception of my trip to the Post Office, and a few other choice encounters, I feel like I spend most of my day dodging people (of all nationalities) who have just arrived in Florence.

After a talk with my Batik professor, I am now aware of just how much he tourism of Florence has made it an international city; just three years ago, there was only one Chinese restaurant in Florence, while you can currently encounter at least two in the stretch of four blocks. Just three years ago, there was ONE McDonalds in Florence, and now there are multiple McDonalds. Just three years ago, most of Florence was not used to the idea of eating corn as a side dish; more often they grew it just for oil purposes. Now, due to the Spanish influence, corn can be bought as a canned food! (I am not sure if frozen corn is a possibility; Italians do no seem too keen on frozen veggies.)

Therefore, I ask you what it means to be a Florentine? What has become of culture if it is so quick to absorb other cultures? Are we one large melting pot of habits that used to be specific to particular cultures? If an American eats Indian food in Italy, is she/he eating Italian food with a twist. . . or true Indian food?

Thanks for joining Brandi’s Philosophical Musings (The Light and Airy Variety). Tune in next time for more exiting thoughts. . .

Love you all and miss you,

Brandi