Andiamo

"Work? No. Today's gonna be a holiday." - Joe Bradley, Roman Holiday

Here I am, sitting in Terminal 2 Gate 23 of LAX, ready to leave for Europe (for the first time!). Physically, I'm super tired but in my head, I feel like this! (See image)

It's gonna be a long day spent in transit, with layovers in Toronto then Frankfurt, but I should be in Rome by 12:30PM tomorrow. Five minutes into my drive to the airport, I realized I left my compact camera at home and had to turn around. Let's hope this isn't a forecast of things to come...

I always seem to forget that I'm studying abroad, not just traveling. Sadly, I think I've forgotten most of my Italian since I didn't take it last semester, and I'm pretty scared. I only have class for about 3 hours every morning but I'm not sure how much time I will have to spend studying each night. Luckily I decided to take the class pass/fail so I can enjoy my stay rather than stressing about a grade. I feel so unprepared! I wish I had done more research on sites I want to visit and whatnot but I suppose I can figure things out when I'm there.

Things I'm looking forward to:

• Food - Duh. Gelato, pasta, pizza, wine, etc.
  
• World Cup - Always exciting, but to be watching in the capital city of the reigning champions? And people just go crazy over soccer in Europe in general. Should be fun.
  
• History - I'm going to be living in one of the most historical cities in the world. I'm already kind of overwhelmed but amazed at the same time. The art, the ruins, the cobblestone streets...
  
• People - Looking forward to developing new relationships with the people in my program, my host family, and hopefully locals!
• Blogging - Okay, I'll admit it.. I'm terrible at keeping a consistent blog. I don't even know how to blog properly. This isn't here to be one of those cathartic blogs to write in when I'm sad. Last summer I didn't blog at all, and it's so hard to answer the question, "So how was your trip?" in a few minutes. So, I've come to realize that this can be a way for me to share my experience with friends as well, and in a timely manner.

Well, I think I'm boarding soon so until next time, ciao!