Heather Baysa, is a sophomore at NYU studying abroad in Florence for the semester plans to major in creative writing and comparative literature and hopes to pursue a career in journalism or publishing.
I've concluded that it's the walk. Speeding down my street each morning as if I'm 15 minutes late for something, even when I have nowhere in particular to be, I stand out among the Florentines, whose measured steps and leisurely strolls belie any stress or pressing engagements.
Let me tell you about my first day in Florence-not because I want to share the details of my trip, but to explain the overwhelming sense of cultural ambiguity that I, and a surprising number of my fellow study abroad students at NYU, have been wrestling with since we