loving the sense of belonging

I didn't blog anything yesterday because for the first time ever I didn't really have time. Class was good, although that whole 3 hours for class thing is something to get use to. It's just SO long. I had two other 3 hour courses today and the one at 9 am is really interesting (Early Masters of Italian Renaissance Painting) but the professor only gave us a five minute break. At 9am that's a bit harsh...
Last night I sat around my computer trying to find a place to stay in Cinque Terre for the weekend of the 18th. We're all going to go but it's impossible to find a place to stay. All the cheap places are booked. So I finally got in touch with someone, not really sure who, who said that he had two apartments with space for 7 people. We have 8 but he said it's fine if we have one extra. So we're 'booked', although the only information I have is the address and that it's across/above/next to (not sure which one) a wine shop. That is all. The place only asked for my name and nothing else...so we are just hoping it exists when we get there! It's only one night so if all else fails, we have the beach to sleep on.
Today I had my first official painting class! I was definitely intimated since I've never painted before, but the professor seems great and it ended up being pretty fun. We spent the 3 hour class painting still life and it was very interesting how quickly the time went by. I worked on one painting of peppers the entire time and I still feel like I could have spent longer on it.
But the point of this blog entry, aside from mundane updates, is that everyday I spend in Florence I feel more and more like I belong here. There really is no place like Firenze. I've traveled a lot and met a lot of different people, but living here gives me a whole different feeling. I'm learning the language, befriended the people, seeing the art, learning the history (and seeing it). Everything is fascinating here and although it's only been a few weeks, I'm already starting to feel like a local. Let's just say it's going to be hard to get me back to colgate after this...