Final Countdown

Three months down (January, February, March); one month to go. Check it.

• Go to Croatia.   *Booked.
• Go to Germany.   *In the undetermined, post-study abroad future.
• Go to Ireland.   *Someday.
• Go to any other country I can go to.   *Greece, Spain
• Get a touristy photo of me holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
• Eat authentic Italian pasta.
• Drink authentic Italian wine.
• Take a Beatles tour of Liverpool.   *Booked.
• Get a photo of me crossing Abbey Road.   *Too expensive. We had to cut this from the England itinerary.
• Take a Harry Potter tour of England.   *Someday.
• Get a photo of me at Platform 9 3/4.   *Someday.
• Strike up a conversation with a local.
• Try to read an Italian newspaper.
• Spend a day just people watching.
• Follow a road just to see where it goes.
• Visit all of the major Italian cities.   *Not happening. There are more than I thought. But Florence, Rome, Assisi, Venice, Milan, Sienna, and Orvieto are checked off.
• Visit Dante Alighieri's house.   
• Swim in the ocean.   *I failed at this in Greece because the water was so cold. But Croatia is in three weeks, so I still have hope.
• Actually see an ocean.   
• Stay in a hostel.   *Several.
• Attend an Italian youth group with Jess and Katy.
• Go to an Easter service in a church older than the United States.   Crossed off as of TODAY!
• Appreciate the fact that I can be in anything older than the United States.
• Get lost without panicking.
• Do something 100% spur-of-the-moment.
• Grocery shop in an open-air market.
• Make one purely selfish and frivolous purchase.   
• Hang my laundry out to dry over the street.   *Not legal in my neighborhood.
• Watch the local news.
• Learn about international communications (duh).   
• Learn at least enough Italian to get by.   
• Learn about art.   
• Live out of a backpack for a weekend.   *Or for a lot of weekends. 
• Go to a pub.   *Oh boy.
• Take more photos than I know what to do with.   *I took so many I broke my camera and had to get a new one. How's that for crossing that puppy off the list?
• Blog every (?) day.   *Like I said last month, I have failed at this. But at least I keep up with this blog.
• Remember to keep my feet off the frescoes.   *I almost want to do this at this point.

Now that my next checklist post will be the final tally, I can say that I feel good about this list. Sure there are a few things that I've discovered just aren't feasible, but I've done so much that wasn't on this list, that my mind is blown by how insane these past three months have been. And I have almost another full month of it. I feel like I might be the luckiest person in the world right now.

Celebrating Easter today made me realize that there's one thing I never would have put on this list that has made all of the places I've been and experiences I've had so much more amazing than I could have hoped. And it's the simple fact that I really do have an honest-to-goodness family here.

I don't know how many of you in my study abroad family read this blog since you're living it with me, and I don't mean to get all Maria here, but I truly believe experiences are shaped almost entirely by who you share them with. It is a testament to how much I love these guys that I'm having as much fun, seeing as much, learning as much, trying as much, and doing as much as I am in Europe.

On this Resurrection Day, the first real holiday I've ever spent away from my family, it's nice to know that I'm still celebrating with loved ones.

... And that's my cheesy message for this blog. Enough of that. Goodnight, everyone. God bless, and blessed Pasqua to you and whomever you choose to share this day with.

Happy Anniversary

Today marks the one month anniversary of my leaving the United States for Italia. I can say with absolute certainty that this has been the fastest month of my entire life, and it's freaking me out. If this month went this fast - and it was so cold and snowy for most of it that we didn't get to enjoy everything we could have in nicer weather - how fast will the next three months go by? It makes me sick to even think of it.

Allora, I'm going to move on to something I have decided to do on the 8th of every month while I'm here; and that is, go through my original checklist of things to do in Europe and see how much I have accomplished this month and how much I have left to do.

I'm doing this mainly as a break from this massive Italian grammar/vocab packet I need to do for tomorrow, but it's something that should be done regardless (this applies to both subjects, so take it as you wish).

Here is the list, posted way back on December 16, but with a few accomplished items crossed off and annotation where necessary:

• Go to Croatia.   *Booking in progress.
• Go to Germany.   *Probably won't be able to afford this.
• Go to Ireland.   *In the early planning stages.
• Go to any other country I can go to.   *Greece is booked.
• Get a touristy photo of me holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
• Eat authentic Italian pasta.
• Drink authentic Italian wine.
• Take a Beatles tour of England.
• Get a photo of me crossing Abbey Road.
• Take a Harry Potter tour of England.
• Get a photo of me at Platform 9 3/4.
• Strike up a conversation with a local.
• Try to read an Italian newspaper.
• Spend a day just people watching.
• Follow a road just to see where it goes.
• Visit all of the major Italian cities. 
• Visit Dante Alighieri's house.   *This was a let-down. It's not so much a shrine to Dante as a house-turned-museum dedicated to everyday life in Italy at the time of Dante. But obviously they love Dante here, so I'm always happy to come around a corner and see a bust or sculpture of the poet looking at me or a quote from La Divina Commedia carved into a wall.
• Swim in the ocean.
• Actually see an ocean.
• Stay in a hostel.
• Attend an Italian youth group with Jess and Katy.
• Go to an Easter service in a church older than the United States.
• Appreciate the fact that I can be in anything older than the United States.
• Get lost without panicking.
• Do something 100% spur-of-the-moment.
• Grocery shop in an open-air market.
• Make one purely selfish and frivolous purchase.
• Hang my laundry out to dry over the street.   *This one I may have to axe from the list because it is illegal to do in our building. Perhaps I will get the chance somewhere else. But as you've probably seen from earlier posts, I do hang my laundry to dry over my bedroom.
• Not lose/ruin any laundry in the process.   *So far, so good. But I won't check this off until I'm safely back in the States.
• Watch the local news (I do this everywhere I go, but it will be particularly good in a foreign country).   *We interrupt this news report to bring you porn. Have a great evening.
• Learn about international communications (duh).   *If defining "media" six ways to Sunday counts, I'm golden.
• Learn at least enough Italian to get by.   *Communicating with locals is easier than I thought. Communicating with Gloria... not so much.
• Learn about art.   *This is a work in progress, but I have learned a great deal already, so I'll check it off.
• Live out of a backpack for a weekend.
• Go to a pub.   *Checked off in several cities.
• Take more photos than I know what to do with.   *Again, work in progress.
• Blog every (?) day.   *I have already failed in this, but I blog every week, so that's something.
• Remember to keep my feet off the frescoes.
• Spend Valentine's Day in Paris (I'm looking at you, Katy).   *This wasn't a very serious idea, so I'm okay with letting it slide.
• Not lose or let anything bad happen to Katy Welch because I promised Sarah.   *I tried. Sort of.

There you go. I feel semi-accomplished with this. And since this list is a lot more vague than I remembered, it shouldn't be difficult to finish. Which means I should probably start a new list...

To close, here's a picture of the most delicious strawberries I've ever eaten in my life. In the words of Jim Sturgess, "red, juicy, sexy" indeed.

Twenty-two Days

So I'm switching things up on this blog - for the next few months at least. Obviously, I haven't been keeping up with this, and I apologize. Although, this is the first time many of you are reading this blog and - if you are honest with me and with yourself - this is the first you've probably heard I had a blog.

It's quite all right though. You know now and here you are.

If you didn't know it before, I am leaving the United States in less than a month. I'm catching a plane from Pittsburgh International Airport Jan. 8 and flying to Florence, Italy, where I will live for four months. Actually, to be accurate (or as accurate as I am willing to get on the internet) I will be flying from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia to Frankfurt to Florence during that second week of January, but you get the idea.

I've always wanted to travel, so you could say I have been planning this trip since I was a child. But I began planning this particular study abroad opportunity in my first semester at Kent State and now, three semesters later, here I am. It was kind of a whim and a series of doors opening unexpectedly that got me where I am now. I went to one study abroad meeting, thought it sounded like a good idea, applied for the next open trip, got accepted, told my parents, and have been slowly preparing in a state of disbelief since then.

It's worked out wonderfully, and I pray it continues that way as our actual departure date draws nearer. ("Our" meaning myself and the fourteen other Communication and Information students participating in the Florence trip this upcoming semester.)

Now here's the part you'll care about. I'll be blogging my travels right here starting as soon as I can access the internet between the 'burgh and Firenze. Since I will be living in Italy until May, I'm hoping to be able to generate weekly, interesting content on this blog.

It will be the usual update of my life for friends and family that a lot of travelers and study abroad students do, but with my own spin, of course.

I don't know yet what to expect of what I'm beginning to think of as my European adventure. I do know that in my time abroad, I would like to accomplish the following checklist, in no particular order:

• Go to Croatia.
• Go to Germany.
• Go to Ireland.
• Go to any other country I can go to.
• Get a touristy photo of me holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
• Eat authentic Italian pasta.
• Drink authentic Italian wine.
• Take a Beatles tour of England.
• Get a photo of me crossing Abbey Road.
• Take a Harry Potter tour of England.
• Get a photo of me at Platform 9 3/4.
• Strike up a conversation with a local.
• Try to read an Italian newspaper.
• Spend a day just people watching.
• Follow a road just to see where it goes.
• Visit all of the major Italian cities. 
• Visit Dante Alighieri's house.
• Swim in the ocean.
• Actually see an ocean.
• Stay in a hostel.
• Attend an Italian youth group with Jess and Katy.
• Go to an Easter service in a church older than the United States.
• Appreciate the fact that I can be in anything older than the United States.
• Get lost without panicking.
• Do something 100% spur-of-the-moment.
• Grocery shop in an open-air market.
• Make one purely selfish and frivolous purchase.
• Hang my laundry out to dry over the street.
• Not lose/ruin any laundry in the process.
• Watch the local news (I do this everywhere I go, but it will be particularly good in a foreign country).
• Learn about international communications (duh).
• Learn at least enough Italian to get by.
• Learn about art.
• Live out of a backpack for a weekend.
• Go to a pub.
• Take more photos than I know what to do with.
• Blog every (?) day.
• Remember to keep my feet off the frescoes.
• Spend Valentine's Day in Paris (I'm looking at you, Katy).
• Not lose or let anything bad happen to Katy Welch because I promised Sarah.

And... so much more. But this is just the starter list I've been able to come up with in the past two or three minutes. I'm sure as D-Day (Departure Day) arrives, I'll think of more things. I'm also banking on the fact that most of the best adventures will come about on their own once I'm on the other side of the Atlantic.

That's all for now. I'll be blogging more and more once I actually start packing and finalizing details, and of course, shipping off to Palazzo dei Cerchi. So check back often or, better yet, subscribe for some email updates, and I will keep you posted on my life as it gets a little more interessante.