Giornalismo

Finally getting back to reading the news, but this time it comes from The International Herald Tribune, the global edition of The New York Times. I'm trying to learn as much as I can about the Italian political / media scene while I'm here, so in that spirit, here's an article about what Italian Prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has to say about the Sopranos.

Title translation: Journalism

The R-C describes my program, so I don't have to

Here's a nice write-up of our communications program from Record-Courier columnist Margaret Garmon. Unfortunately the cutline is wrong. We're not standing in front of where our classes will be held, we're actually in front of the loggia at the Piazza della Signoria. It would be a bit cold to have classes outside among the statuary. You can see the 19th Century copy of Michelangelo's David in the background.

This is actually the second time my photo has appeared in the Record-Courier, but that's another story for another time.

UPDATE: Our Palazzo dei Cerchi is literally half a blog from the Piazza della Signoria, and one of my Italian Art classes was held outside ... I just want to cut whoever wrote that cutline some slack.

Perchè a Firenze?

One of the ways I'm going to try to motivate myself to is to ask myself questions, or prompts. Also, I will try to think of clever titles in Italian. Let's see how far I get with that.

This one can be translated as: Why in Florence?

Good question, Kiera. (That's what interview sources say when they have no idea what to say.)

Maybe a better question would be: Why do I want to travel at all?

I think it has something to do with my upbringing. Both my parents are professors, and they were both settled in their careers in separate countries when they realized they were having triplets. To make a long story short, I've moved back and forth with my family about every three years between Montreal, Quebec, and Kent, Ohio.

Even though I was never moving to a new place, arriving always felt new and different. My old friends didn't always immediately welcome me. Things had changed. We had changed. The surroundings had changed. The vegetarian restaurant had become a bar. (Kent) The bar had become a porn theater. (Montreal)

I both loved and hated moving for those reasons. Now, I crave it. I love the sense of renewal I feel when I go through my room and throw away all the clutter before packing up. I hate to admit it, but I had to leave. I love finding my way around an unfamiliar place and yes, learning to live there.

I am a product of my upbringing. I only realized that when I got here. Before I left, I felt horribly anxious. I didn't really know why I was leaving. I had just started my first relationship. I felt like I was leaving too much behind.

But, I think (and hope) everything will work out for the best. Last spring semester, I studied in D.C. I came back more focused on my goals, more self-confident. I hope this experience will have a similar effect.

I have always dreamed of traveling abroad. And now I'm realizing that dream.

Benvenuto! Send me mail!

Dear family, friends, and people who may be interested in my life. (You all have your reasons, I'm sure.) I'm starting a travel blog. All of my previous blogs have a maximum of five entries, so let's hope I can do better with this one.

In case you don't already know, I'm part of Kent State's new communication program in Florence for my last semester of college. This is my first time abroad. It's no surprise I'm a little homesick, so I'll leave some of my contact info here for you to send me e-mails, postcards, etc.

If you send me a cute postcard, I may post it here. Incentive? Maybe. In any case, I will certainly reply.

My address here (we get our mail at school):

Kiera
c/o KSU Florence Program
Palazzo dei Cerchi
Vicolo dei Cerchi 1
50122 Florence, Italy

Skype: kiera.manion.fischer

I'm usually online in your morning and your early afternoon if you're on Eastern time. I'm six hours ahead of Kent, Ohio.

E-mail: kmanion@kent.edu

Twitter: KManion

I will continue to update with my thoughts and impressions. Second half of my blog title thanks to @michellethefan