A Fun Day with Nunuk and Ami

Piazza Santa Maria Novella was not so crowded that day. Days have turned a bit more chill and a little colder as it was already mid of autumn. I rode my bike as usual and was a little late, so I was in a hurry to meet her. I thought I better find her first before I park my bike. I easily spotted her sitting on one of  benches there. Her exotic look seemed even better in her greenish apparels. Her Indonesian face stood up to me among Italians who were there.  It was Nunuk, I waived at her and came closer toward her and she waived back with her beautiful big smile, a very charming lady.

The Day We Met Fabulous Fifi

How We Met Fifi

After I and my husband came back from our summer holiday this year. One of our friends back home told me that she has a cousin who has been living in Florence like ‘forever’ and she wanted to introduce me to her. And that was exactly how I finally met more Indonesians who live not only in Florence but also outside of Florence. Through my friend I was then got connected with Fifi. I was really glad to see her enthusiasm about meeting more Indonesians in Florence. She was excited about introducing me to some more Indonesians she knew in and outside of Florence. Not so long after I’ve got to know Fifi on Facebook, we decided to meet up on October  17^th, 2013 for a lunch at a restaurant near her area.

Introducing Bike Florence&Tuscany

A friend offered us to join a special bike ride from Florence through some small towns in Chianti Region all the way to Sienna. Luckily I didn't have to ride a bike, I had a privilege to be the photographer and to follow their biking trip by car. The bike ride was meant to test biking routes they were going to offer to tourists, as they planned to open a new company named 'Bike Florence & Tuscany'.

Hoping for the Community to Grow

My Hope for IWiF

I remember once Caramia told me that there are more Indonesians in Florence, she saw some of them and was being told by one of them that KBRI (Indonesian Consulate) would be opened up a new office in Florence. I was excited for a while, but then I could not get any further information on this good news. Once I was in Rome for some reasons at the Indonesian Embassy in Rome. I specially asked the officer about this matter and he said, KBRI only opened at some spots within reaching distance of the areas. Since Tuscan region located near Milan, there was no way KBRI would open an office in Florence. Indonesians who live in Florence or Tuscan can go to Milan or Rome for immigration or visa services. Nice enough, the officer also gave me two mobile numbers of Indonesians who live in Florence. 

FlashBack1 - Indonesian Women in Florence

Indonesian Women in Florence, a community.

One thing about living in Florence is that most people I knew and got connected with are mostly visitors. They are only in Florence for some certain period of times and for different purposes, some for study, for work, for certain events and mostly came as tourists.