My Florence agenda

I had three goals when I showed up at Pitt as a first-year student — play rugby, be on the dean’s list every semester and study abroad.

The Pitt News let me achieve the first and dashed the second. I then refused to let the paper take any part in the third’s outcome. Last year, more than 1,700 Pitt students studied abroad. This year, it’s my turn.

As I look forward to a blissful four months in Florence, Italy, without any obligation to jump to my phone because of sirens, picket signs or buzzer-beaters, I have a few things I hope to accomplish in my newfound free time.

1) Learn to cook (better)

When I looked forward to studying abroad as a first-year student, I always imagined myself in London — with its gray skies, pubs and familiar language. But the one unpleasant expectation for my monolingual tongue would be the food. The British have been known for many, many things — like monarchy, empire and mop-topped musical foursomes — but not for a strong culinary tradition.

So when I learned about Pitt’s Florence program, which doesn’t require any language feats, I fell hard for a new, foreign love.

What could be better than getting an espresso and biscotti for breakfast, a fresh pizza with the finest salami for lunch and finishing my day with wine and pasta?  While my waistline may suffer, my tongue will never have a foul day.

But even more than indulging in the Italian diet, I want to learn how to prepare it myself. I already cook for fun — ask my roommates about the leaning tower of kitchen implements left in the sink. Nothing is more relaxing than a Sunday spent cooking up a big pan of food — a treat for the pot and the chef.

And knowing Florence has a year round, indoor food market makes cooking all the better. The fantasy of walking into the Mercato Centrale and buying whatever is freshest, like a real life “Chopped,” is just as intoxicating as the wine.

My hope then is that the best souvenir I’ll have for my friends when I return is not some cheap tchotchke, but the finesse to make a plated Italian masterpiece.

2) Take all the photos

This summer, I took up a new hobby that has kept me enraptured — photography. In about six months, I went from not having operated anything more complicated than a camera phone to buying my own DSLR.

That camera is accompanying me on my journey across the seas to Italy, to capture some of the beauty I’ll see.

Florence routinely appears on lists of the most beautiful cities in the world, and the journey to downtown from my apartment will reflect that — I’ll need to walk along the banks of the Arno River to the Ponte Vecchio to cross into Florence’s downtown, filled with renaissance plazas and cathedrals.

Half the fun of travel, though, is finding things off the beaten path, and that’s what I love about my camera. It can document the journey better than my memory, but it will also push me to go to different places. If I want the same old shot of Florence, I can go to the Piazzale Michelangelo — and I intend to do so.

Owning a camera feels like a call to adventure. I always have a reason to climb that extra set of stairs and wander into new places, because who knows what shot lies next?

With a terabyte external hard drive packed right next to my camera, the limiting factor on the pictures I shoot won’t be how many I can bring home, but how many I’m willing to go out and take.

3) Live in the moment

I’m a very anxious person — it seems like most people are, though. The biggest drawback of a digital age where everyone is always connected via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram is a constant comparison of yourself to your peers.

And I really hate putting this in print, because now my friends could easily hammer me for failing, but my hope for the semester is to stay the hell away from social media except for a few photo uploads.

I want to try and focus on the now. College life deprives young people of that simple pleasure. We’re always thinking about upcoming exams, essays, internships and weekends. But how can anyone properly plan for a future if you don’t even know what you want in the present?

After two and a half years in school, I still only get vague glimpses of what I want my life to be outside of this temporary existence. I’m hoping that by separating myself entirely from everything I know, maybe I’ll catch a few more glimpses.

To paraphrase that surprising source of philosophical insight, Calvin and Hobbes, the world’s a magical place, and I want to explore it.

Stephen Caruso is a ramblin’ man who occasionally writes a column for The Pitt News. If you have any travel suggestions or hints, email him at stephencaruso23@gmail.com.