So, I quit my job…

Ciao a tutti! The last time I wrote an update was April and it’s now November, so I’m doing slightly better than the previous 9-month gap – I might even be able to reduce the time again for the next one!

Anyway, how are we all doing? Hopefully a bit better than this time last year… Fingers crossed it remains that way with all the vaccinations going ahead. As of today, 45,624,848 people have been fully vaccinated in Italy. Amazing!

I’ll give you a quick-ish update of the past few months below, and tell you why I recently decided to leave my job in marketing.

May

In May, we finally changed from zona arancione to zona gialla (orange zone to yellow zone) here in Tuscany, which meant restaurants could open their doors to people at lunch and (quick) dinner as the coprifuoco, or curfew, was still in place at 10pm. It then moved back an hour to 11pm – presumably because it was difficult for Italians to order dessert in time when going out to eat at 9pm. For me, May was a month of bureaucratic victories as my tessera sanitaria arrived as well as my carta di soggiorno, so I could finally book my vaccine. When I got the notification to pick up the carta di soggiorno, they sent me an email poignantly referring to it as the ‘Brexit card’. Upon receiving it, I saw that it does indeed refer to the UK leaving the EU smack bang on the front. Sad times. But I feel very lucky to have been in the position to move here whilst my rights under the withdrawal agreement were protected, without the need for a visa. I also completed the last piece of the puzzle – getting my hands on a carta d’identità (Italian identity card).

June

June was a month of hopeful positivity. The coprifuoco was moved back another hour to midnight and many bars and restaurants reopened after ~8 months! I had my C1 Italian exam, which I thought went terribly, but I found out the other day that I PASSED! Then, after 6 months of not seeing my family, I returned home to the North East of England in time for Father’s Day. I had to do 4 COVID tests just to get back into the country: pre-flight, day 2, day 8 and then I did day 5 to be able to get out of quarantine early as it was my grandparents’ 60th wedding anniversary and we were having a family get-together. My cousin, another EU escapee (who lives in Finland), was also thankfully able to make it so all the family was there making it extra-special. Whilst I was away, Tuscany moved from zona gialla to zona bianca (yellow zone to white zone), meaning most COVID restrictions were lifted, including the curfew.

July

I stayed in Geordieland long enough to celebrate my sister’s birthday and then returned to Italy under the new zona bianca rules. It was weird coming back and not having to wear a mask outside, but not that strange as it wasn’t a rule in the UK to do so. And we still have to wear them indoors in public spaces.
I made it back in time for Italy winning the UEFA Euros, and even though the celebrations were definitely toned-down compared to pre-COVID, it was still a joyous atmosphere. People congregated in piazzas with Italian flags flying everywhere, and drivers beeped their horns through the streets, cheering out of their car windows.
Another reason to celebrate in July was handing in my notice at work! I’ll go into a little more depth later about that.
And to finish off the month on a high, we visited an outdoor pool, Firenze Camping in Town, which was very welcome in the high 30s / early 40 degrees celsius heat! It was perfect because we could get a day pass so didn’t have to be staying at the campsite to benefit from the facilities.

August

Beach time! The city of Florence empties in August as most of the residents head to the spiaggia. Okay, not absolutely empty as August is a big month (COVID permitting) for tourism, but there are definitely far fewer fiorentini in the humid streets of Fiorenza as they’re sunning themselves along the Tuscan coast at every chance they get. We managed to go to a few spots near Calambrone, Livorno and Viareggio with friends which was fantastic compared to the 1 cloudy day that we went to the beach wearing our face masks last year.
A big milestone in August was finally getting my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine! Another was applying for school here in Italy, which was a bureaucratic nightmare as is almost anything in this country that requires document approval, soprattutto now post-Brexit. I had to get my degree authenticated by the UK government, a notary in the UK, then the Italian embassy in London, all on a tight deadline. Needless to say, it was a stressful experience and I did not get my documents on time, but the secretary let me send them a bit late as I mercifully didn’t need a visa approval what with already being a resident (the pros and cons of Italian timelines…).
The last week of August was my final week in my marketing job and other than a few nightmares waking up thinking I was late for work, I haven’t looked back!

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September

The first week of September, my boyfriend and I took a flight to Trapani in Sicily for a week’s getaway. We booked rather last-minute as it was still an uncertain time in regard to whether we would be going back into zona gialla, arancione or even rossa. Sicilia turned back into a yellow zone whilst we were there but luckily there were no added curfew restrictions, we just had to wear a mask outdoors.
On one of the days, we got up early to catch the first ferry to Favignana, an island off Sicily in the Aegadian archipelago. The colour of the water was mesmerising, the clearest hues of blue and acquamarine that I’ve ever seen in real life. We hired electric bikes and stopped off at different beaches all around the perimeter of the island to swim and cool off, then caught the last ferry back to the mainland after dark. Apart from our island adventure, we took the week as a relax and recharge holiday and stayed in Trapani, hitting the local beaches every day, before having to return to busy Florence.
Luckily, I was offered two bar jobs when we got back so I was able to start working almost immediately and didn’t have to dip into my savings after leaving my contratto indeterminato!

October

October is always a month to look forward to as it’s Mark’s birthday and then mine the week after. I hit a quarter of a century of living this year and we celebrated with an intimate meal at Cucina Torcicoda, a Michelin restaurant in Santa Croce. The food is like nothing I have tasted before, every course was exquisitely executed in both flavour and texture. My sister arrived the weekend after my compleanno to share in the festivities. We dined al fresco with some of my friends, overlooking the basilica di Santa Croce at Fermino, a cute bistrot and bar on the corner of Borgo Santa Croce. As the Jeff Koons exhibition was on at Palazzo Strozzi, we took the opportunity to go and visit his shiny creations whilst Sophs was in town. We also made time to hike up to Piazzale Michelangelo, to be rewarded with that gorgeous view that never gets old, and then gourmet pizza from HORTUS by Zibbibo (highly recommend the Parmigiana!).
Apart from being a month of fun, October was also a month of stress as I had the entrance exams for the Accademia, which thankfully I passed (yay!!!). This new chapter in my life finally started, with classes both in-person and online.

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November

Now that we are into November, the nights are drawing in and winter is definitely coming. In Florence, November is normally the rainiest month, and historically, a period in which the Arno has broken its banks more than once. The 4th of November is the anniversary of the devastating 1966 flooding, with markers around the city showing the height at which the water reached against different buildings – something to look out for when you visit.
This month, I’m trying to get used to my schedule of working/studying but I’m definitely doing more sleeping than compito which needs to change! Serial napper, guilty as charged.
Anyway, as promised, a quick spiegazione (explanation) of why I left my job and what I’m doing now…

Quarter-life crisis

I had been working in marketing for a year and realised that I wanted to be doing something a bit more on the creative side, but I had no background in art. Working in online advertising, I noticed that I quite enjoyed the part of my job where I promoted furniture brands – I could look through their products endlessly if time allowed (unfortunately it did not, working my bum off 9-6 as well as the train commute didn’t leave much spare time!). I decided to start looking at potential jobs related to that field and I came across Interior Design. The best part – I didn’t need any art qualifications for this career, which I previously always thought would be required to study any type of design.
I already have a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and Politics that took me 4 years to complete, so I was interested in finding a year-long diploma course to not ‘waste any more time’. However, they were all so expensive and after only a year of full-time work, I didn’t have that much in terms of savings. I found a course at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze, a state-run institution of fine art, which was less expensive but I needed to pass some exams to get in, and it was a 3 year diploma.
After weighing it up, I realised the only ‘waste of time’ would be staying in a job I wasn’t happy with and wondering ‘what if’ instead of trying something new. And living in Florence, studying art in the city of the Renaissance, is a wonderfully enriching experience – definitely not a ‘spreco di tempo’! I would be able to improve my Italian, as the course was not offered in English, and the longer course would allow me to work part time to cover my tuition and rent. So I decided to go for it. And I have no regrets!
I’m currently working in a bar during the evenings and attending classes in the day, it’s tough and I’m already feeling knackered and like I’m behind on everything but the challenge will be worth it in the end when I am pursuing what I’m really passionate about.

Let me know in the comments if you’ve ever quit your job to follow a dream of yours, or if you’re close to doing so. I’d love to read your stories.

Catch you next time!

Ciao, Holly x

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