So since I've come home from college, I have been too busy working two full-time jobs, trying to save up for my trip, that I have sort of completely forgotten that this blog even exists! I guess that's okay though because I don't even have any followers! Yay for selfish writing! Anyways, Italy is so close that I can't even watch an Olive Garden commercial without getting excited. The thought of sitting on a plane for nine hours, however, makes my stomach churn into knots of some combination of excitement and nerves of a varied sort.
Like I said, I've been working as much as possible to save up money for Italy. Nevertheless, it feels as though no matter how much I make, it will never be enough. My budget always looks to low because I look at it, and it is in U.S. dollars. Then, I think about the exchange rate and how it totally gyps me of my hard-earned cash, and I just get so frustrated that I lose nearly an extra forty cents of every dollar. Get this: I went to the bank for Euros to take with me before I leave, and after $30 in fees to get it wired to the bank, and after the awful exchange rate, I paid $230 for 135 euros!! It makes my stomach ill to think about it. Yes, I am a penny-pincher.
My program in Italy has sent all of the final paperwork, and I pretty much have all of those details figured out. I'm glad that I have had so much time to plan this trip and work out the small details because it really has taken a while to get each little thing sorted out. Always, always do things little by little. I've learned that recently because I have a tendency of taking on too much, but I'm learning that if I just take tiny steps, it may take me longer to get there, but by the time that I am running, my stride is without error. Hopefully.
Anyways, what I was getting at with the paperwork is that there is a ton of it! I had to make copies of everything for myself and for my parents and my school. Most of it is just precautionary which makes me nervous like the people leading this stuff expect something bad to happen. So, just in case, I have a one-inch binder bloated with paperwork that I've collected over the past nine or so months in planning this.
The thought of leaving home both excites me and scares me. I am already exhausted from everything that it takes to get through each day of work (how will I ever survive in the working world after college?!), and I am beyond ready to get away from home for a bit. However, sometimes it hits me just how far I will be going. I've never been away from home for so long or so far away or in a place where I can't even effectively communicate in a language that I am comfortable in. What have I gotten myself into?
Everytime that my mind starts to brew on all of the warnings that my friends and family have been giving me over the past month mostly, as my trip comes closer, I simply remind myself about all of the romanticized aspects of Italy that I will, naturally, love such as the beaches, the food, the scenic views (which my new camera lens will drool over!), the sexy men, the fresh markets, the local cafes, the beautiful language (even if I have no idea what they are saying), and the aspect that time will go quicker than I will it even though the rate has never changed.
When I tell people that I will be spending a month in Italy, they tell me that I will come back a different person, that I will be changed. I'm having a hard time believing them since I seem to shift personalities from the "school me" to the "home me," so maybe the "Italy me" will only stay in Italy even after I have left. But enough of that! I haven't even gotten there yet! Right now, I'm just praying that nothing falls through, and that it will be a safe trip, and that I will have the time of my life while I am there, regardless of what happens when I return.
Blessings.
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