Well, it's official! 15 days until I jet off to Italia to begin my Firenze adventures. It's still hard to believe that I'm actually going to be spending a whole semester in Europe. Now that I've been home for a little over a full week, and consequently away from my UVA family, it's starting to really set in. It's very bittersweet to think about everything I'm leaving behind for the next 4 months. I'm trading in my home cooked meals, late nights in Club Clem, 'say yes to the dress' marathons, closet raids, my best friends, family and much much more for a new, yet temporary, life in Florence. Beyond the normal anxiety that comes with any big event, I'm actually incredibly excited. Today marked the first day that I actually sat down with my mom and made a list of everything I'm going to need to bring. To say the least, the list is comprehensive (if you know my mom, this shouldn't surprise you one bit) and a bit overwhelming, but at least it will keep me busy for my last 2 weeks in the USA! Other than a quick trip up to Northern Virginia/DC to say goodbye to my close friends, I've got nothing on my agenda other than packing and shopping (the latter of which is always on my agenda). I've already purchased most of the big necessities: a hair straightener with a "C" plug (AKA specifically designed to work in Europe), a waterproof/insulated coat, a very large but lightweight suitcase (ineffably important, as I'm going to have to attempt to pack everything into 2 suitcases, gulp) and an 'Italian for Dummies' book. While studying in Italy, I'm required to take Italian as one of my courses. I haven't been too worried about the class, as I usually tend to be good with languages and I've also studied Spanish (which is fairly similar). But, after having started to read this Italian language book, I've become increasingly more concerned. Considering I've been taking Hebrew for the past 5 months, I'm sure I'll be speaking a weird combination of Spanish, Hebrew, English (and hopefully Italian!) as I try my hand at the native language. I'm sure I'll have many embarrassingly hilarious stories to share.
ANYWAYS, I told myself I wouldn't be one of those obnoxious bloggers that rambles on and on forever (although, with the 16 inches of snow trapping me in my house, I haven't got much else to do...)! I'm certain I'll update this again before I head off so until then.... Ciao!
:) Marlene
