I have huge news. Like rock your world kind of revolutionary: breathing is important. Who knew?! Teachers have been giving me this advice for years, but it's really easy to forget about something so natural while I'm concentrated on remembering combinations and performing them well. It's also really hard to breathe when I'm stressed about the teacher yelling at me to breathe. I mostly ignored this advice, assuming that I must be breathing if I haven't passed out or died. Well, I can now publicly admit I was wrong. I never realized that breathing would actually help my dancing. I'll do anything if I think it's good for me. As it turns out, the teachers were telling me to relax and listen to my body. Breathing into your muscles makes stretches significantly more effective. Relaxing and breathing also allows you to find fluidity, comfort, and control. So, I am now that classmate that exhales obnoxiously loudly. And I do it proudly.

Modern class with Rita has also been a fantastic way for me to explore different qualities. We dedicated a large portion of one lesson to moving in slow motion. To put it in perspective, most combinations take half an hour to learn and 2 minutes to do, this one took about 1 minute to learn and 8 to perform. I never realized how much effort and energy goes into such little visible motion. I've also never had so much trouble moving both arms at the same time. I kept forgetting to initiate movement in one body part because I was so concentrated on a part of me that was already moving. With an emphasis on minute details, this piece kept me more mentally engaged and focused than most pieces do. It also looked stunning, as she did not set specific timing. So, while everyone approached the piece similarly, there were individual differences that kept the piece engaging.

Ladidadida dance. Oh and I finally got out of the small town of Arezzo. Only to realize how lucky I am to be here. But more on that later. Saturday morning we woke up bright and early, left the villa not so early (it is hard to get the troops mobilized), and finally got to Florence. First piece of advice, always wear pants when you know it's going to be cold and you're going to be outside a lot. Always. Second piece of advice, go to Florence.

Because you can see this lovely building. Welcome to the Duomo.

And to all of Florence.

After losing 98% of the group I started with because the silly Italian phones don't work, I literally wandered into the Uffizi by accident. Thanks to the beauty of persuasion and being in another country where they never really know what I'm talking about I got in for free under the guise of being a European student. Once inside, I accidentally went through the exhibit backwards, but that did not at all take away from the hallways of statues, the vast collection of art, and seeing the "Birth of Venus" in person. I spent hours there without even thinking to check my watch. After cultural overload, I remembered there was a chocolate festival and figured clearly, if I wanted to find people I knew, that's where they would be. And they were. Along with the most insane chocolate I have ever seen or tasted. The festival was particularly enjoyable because of my talent for finding free samples.

Just take it all in. Because that was only one of the tents. There were chocolate kebabs. And chocolate alcohol. And chocolate covered fruit (which is clearly where I hung out). Italy does food right.

After my first night in a hostel with a perfect group of people, I went to the Accademia to see Michelangelo's David. Everyone warned me about the long lines to barely see the statue, but clearly they've never been on the tourist off season. The hallway is lined with other famous statues and opens up to reveal the majesty that is David. Goodness he was distracting. I had to put blinders on to appreciate Michelangelo's unfinished series, "Prisoners." Michelangelo once said, "Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it." This series captures that sentiment perfectly. The body positions and facial expressions of the figures make them look like they are imprisoned by the marble, trying to break free.

Then comes David. Apparently his head is disproportionately larger than the rest of his body because the statue was supposed to sit atop the Duomo. It all looks perfect from where I was standing. The longer I stood staring, the more I fell in love. Everything about the statue is captivating. From the gaze in his eyes, to his perfectly sculpted body. I can't wait to go back in a few weeks to stare some more. 

After my first Italian kebabs, we came back to Arezzo, excited to be home. While Florence is perfectly fantastic, it felt like a maze of tourist traps. Everyone spoke English, from the flocks of American  students to the shop owners. We walked all over to find a good restaurant that was not over priced, and ended up with a mediocre meal with a mediocre price tag. And the gelateria would only allow one sample and one flavor per cup! Criminal I tell you. Here, in the lovely town of Arezzo, the locals want to teach us Italian (except for the kids on the bus who just laugh at us when we almost miss our stop). They want to talk to us. And they let me have as many tastes as I want. Everything feels authentic because it is. I'm really in Italy. So yes, I'll hop on a bus to Sienna, and Cortona because I love to explore, but I could not be happier to be home at the end of every weekend.