Dear readers,
I’ve always been someone to take risks. Nothing dangerous, mind you, but I certainly like to throw myself into challenges. Leaving Ireland for Sicily four years ago, having just emerged from a gruelling few years of studies and work, I embarked on what was intended to be a brief stint teaching English, learning Italian and, most importantly, learning how to cook. What actually happened was that I fell in love both with Italy and with an Italian before I had even unpacked my suitcase. After a year speeding around Sicily on a motorbike and eating some of the best food I ever tasted, we decided to make the move to Florence and give Tuscany a go, beginning the next phase of my adventure as a mother, wife, teacher and writer.
I spent three years at The British Institute of Florence, getting to know Florence and its vast international community. I think there is a feeling of luck among us fortunate enough to live here, like we’ve been let in on something special and are bringing our own particular cultures to enrich it. I certainly feel lucky to be in Florence, doing what I love; risks are worth taking!
The Florentine has helped me navigate all of my experiences in Florence, whether work-, family- or culture-related. I even took to cutting out and scrapbooking my favourite articles; those which had made me laugh, learn and fall ever more deeply in love with my adopted city. Now, adding my own voice to these pages, I hope to impart some of the same.
Jane Farrell
