The new perspective that I got of Arezzo when I went up in the clock tower in Piazza Grande for the first time

The first few weeks of the semester have come and gone, and a lot has happened! Now all of the students have left for the week, with the semester students spending the week in Ljubljana, Slovenia and the One Year students doing a clowning intensive in Castel Fiorentino. But before they left, the villa was bustling with life. Everyone is finally settled into life at the villa, last week the physical theatre students made their leather commedia masks (in only three days!) and everyone travelled somewhere exciting for the four day weekend. For me, a lot of things this semester are going just as expected, but of course there have been little surprises here and there. One of my favorite things which has surprised me has been discovering new places in Arezzo that the students have found. Last weekend, one of them introduced me to a new crepe place, which had both delicious savory and sweet crepes. I have lived in Arezzo for nearly six months now, and I first studied here two years ago, so I feel like I know this place pretty well. But I find I’m discovering more and more about Arezzo and the Accademia itself every day, making it feel both new and exciting and more like home. Wandering around town with students who are just getting to know this city also teaches me to continuously appreciate my surroundings as I watch them get excited over views that have become all too familiar to me. Living here is special, but it’s even more special to be able to share the time I have here with such an engaged and open group of fellow young artists.

Well, I hope those young artists are having a good time in Ljubljana. I’ll be here at the villa waiting for them to return.