September 5th

Florence.
The city is covered in thick heat and ancient stones.  Most of the buildings are older than the United States, and all of them are covered in graffiti. The city is flat and has a poorly organized road system; it can turn into a labyrinth very quickly.  No matter where you end up however there will be some little detail in the sights which surround you which required more attention than any building that exists back in America.  The sights tend to be ever more epic as you head towards the monuments that are planted into the city, but the experience tends to be far from genuine due to the enormous level of tourism that exists here.  It is only when leaving the city's center, or the city itself, that I feel I can truly adapt into a local and not just another face in a faceless crowd.
My apartment is in the northern sector of the city, but still quite close to everything, an ancient palace that has been transformed into an apartment building.  Every flat in this 400 year old building has a generous amount of space and all of them are quite breathtaking.  As if the building's beauty wasn't enough almost every flat is filled with four to six women, who tend to be as fascinating as they are gorgeous.  My flat has three other roommates (and one un-official roomate) all with quite distinct personalities and characteristics, all of whom have a zeal to make our shared experience here as authentic as possible, I am sure that the next four months that I have with them will be tremendous.
Tomorrow my art courses begin, I have full faith that, judging by the past few days, the next months of our lives will feel like a decade of individual moments, until it is over, and then it will feel like a decade in one glorious, individual moment, filled with life and passion.