life in cortona

The semester is in full swing now and I’m beginning to settle into a routine with classes and homework. After a few crazy weeks of traveling the routine is welcomed. My schedule revolves around art and eating, not a bad way to live in my book. Italy is known for starting the slow food movement and that influence is apparent in our group dinners. We eat at a restaurant called Tonino’s every night and dinner is served in three courses lasting from seven-thirty to nine. I enjoy the leisurely meal and dinner conversation; it’s a pleasant way to end the day.
There is a very interesting group dynamic on this trip. The directors of the program keep referring to it as our family, which at first I thought was cliché but is proving to be true. We live in the same building, have breakfast and dinner together everyday, work in the same studio space, do our laundry together and even hang it on the same line. It’s a lot of togetherness; sometimes it’s hard to find a moment to be alone.
After a rainy weekend, the weather has cooled significantly. Everyone is wearing scarves and sweaters and they gave us extra blankets for our beds. Campus is near the top of the mountain, so to come up from town is quite a workout. The cool weather makes the trek much more pleasant. I’m starting to think I’m not prepared for the weather to get much cooler than it is now. My roommate from Minnesota brought several sweaters while I only brought one. In trying to pack light, I may have inadvertently left out a few essentials, like a coat. The clothing stores in town are great but very expensive. I walked into one to look at sweaters and the first one I picked up cost 280 euro (about 420 American dollars,) I immediately turned around and left. I need a Target. There is a thrift store in town that has clothes I can actually afford. In a few weeks I may be rocking a warm blazer straight from the eighties. I’m going and try to talk to the ladies who work here and figure out where I can find more reasonably priced clothes. Everyone can’t be wearing sweaters that cost half a grand each.
Yesterday was beautiful. It was the clearest day yet. I could see mountain ranges in the distance I didn’t know were there and the sky was an intense blue. When the sun was setting, the valley was illuminated in an almost eerie way, there were shadows that looked as though stretched for miles and every tree or house that caught the sun burned bright. It was breathtaking. I sat on the city wall for a while to absorb the view; I don’t think I’ll ever forget it.