Day 5

These days have become so busy and long that it is becoming hard to remember what each day consisted of. I have started getting used to waking up and going to Italian class every morning. Today we started to learn some adjectives and nouns, I think. We go through so much information every day and it is really hard to keep up. I do like the professor though, you can tell she really wants us to learn, but this language is not easy for me to pick up. It seems that everyone else around me has many years of Spanish in the background and therefore are picking up Italian fairly easy. I guess I just have to keep working at it. After class, a large group of us went to sign up for a trip this weekend. We are going on a hiking tour and wine tasting in Chianti, it is supposed to be beautiful and I heard the food and wine is delicious. Myself and Rachel (another girl on the program) stopped at this small café to grab pizza. The pizza was cheese with tomatoes and the most thinly sliced zucchini I have ever had! I really enjoyed it. However earlier today I did hear of a place close by that was awarded the worlds best pizza a year or two back, so that is on my list. The main portion of our day was a site visit to a pediatric hospital in Florence called Meyer. I believe that this hospital is one of the best pediatric hospitals in Italy, considering that 1 in every 3 children in Italy visit this hospital when seeking medical attention. This hospital looked like nothing I have ever seen before. It was gorgeous; in a weird way it almost reminded me of a resort. The hospital had moved to this location back in 2007, so things were very new. On our tour of Meyer, it was said multiple times that when building the hospital, they stressed the importance of making sure every architectural feature was curved, so that there was not a boxy, intimidating feel to it. I was very impressed with the hospital. While we were not given a great feel for the medical attention given, I can assume by just the way the hospital is designed and organized, that a high level of care is given to patients. One thing in particular that I did notice was how great the children in the waiting rooms were dressed. I knew the European dressed well, but I never really realized how great an impact it had on their children. There were times during the tour that I tended to doze off, being that everything was said in Italian and translated, but overall I felt that it was a great opportunity to have gotten to seen the hospital. Currently, I am exhausted and am definitely ready sleep. Buona notte!

Front of Hospital Meyer