Hi! My name is Shelby and I am (right now) a sophomore at Illinois State! I'm studying abroad to Tuscania, Italy, and I am sooooo excited!!! I've got about three weeks before I leave and I am getting so nervous and excited at the same time. Originally, I was supposed to be going with one other girl, but she ended up withdrawing, so now I'm going by myself :/. I really need to practice my Italian before I go because I know I will have to take a placement test when I get there. My mind is racing so much!!!
I just got my visa the other day and let me tell you, I wish someone would have warned me about how stubborn Italians can be (but I should know since I am part Italian hahaha). Now all I have to do is pack. I got my suitcase out the other day but I haven't put anything in it yet. My aunt has been to Italy before, so she has been telling me what it's like to be there. She has been showing me her pictures and I've been getting more and more excited. If you ever get the chance to study abroad, don't ever be afraid to talk to people who have already been! I've met two or three people who have gone through the program that I am going through and it has really calmed my nerves (especially since I'll be by myself). I'm actually more nervous about the flight rather than being in Italy, don't ask me why (cuz obviously I have no idea). When you talk to people who have done what you are going to do, it really sets your mind to want to do it, and reality starts to sink in (although it hasn't hit me yet that I'll be going out of the country, but my checking account tells me otherwise :3).
OMG what in the world am I supposed to pack?! I keep hearing a mixture of everything from "don't wear jeans, it's looked down upon" to "it really doesn't matter what you wear because you'll be studying". Well, screw it, I'm American, I'll wear whatever the hell makes me comfortable (I should probably look halfway decent if I see a cute Italian guy right??). Hah I just noticed I really like using parentheses. But anyway, I'm thinking a few pairs of jeans, some dress pants, and a skirt or two? I'm not much of a skirt/dress person, but maybe I should give it a shot. I'm thinking two light dresses and a nice black skirt because it will match with anything and I'll be in Italy mostly during the warmer weather. OOOOoooohhh!! I almost forgot to mention this, but: SCARVES! I absolutely LOVE scarves! And guess what? So do Europeans! I will be in total scarf heaven!!!! Well, I think I got the whole packing thing down- for now.
Let's talk about travel: I am super poor (I don't even know how I was able to get the financial aid to do this!) but I would really like to travel to other countries and cities. There is a girl I know from ISU who is going to be studying in Paris and we already made plans to meet up, which it totes exciting (<<<----I only talk like that when I'm really excited haha). I know that I realllly want to visit Amsterdam and Ireland, but my issue is money. Hopefully I can make enough money (because I'm still working at this point in the summer) to travel a little bit. From what I hear, I will only be about 30 minutes away from the Mediterranean Sea, which is so awesome. Oh! Can't forget to pack my swimsuit! I just need to remember that I am in Europe and not America, so there will be a bit of a language barrier.
Language barrier? Whaaaaaaat?! I can speak a little bit of Italian (took two semesters my freshman year), so hopefully I can learn a lot more before I come back to America. Ah, America, I love thee, but thou art has to go! I can't wait to start eating non processed and fresh foods! Being able to dine on gnocchi (potato pasta dumpling things) or shrimp pasta will be so awesome. I am only 19 (right now), so hopefully I can drink over there, because the legal age is supposedly 19 in Europe. Well, obviously I'm old enough if they'll let me be in a wine tasting class. Yep, that's right, wine tasting. How badass is that?! I'm also taking a cooking class, travel writing, my language class, and cinema (which I hear this cinema class is a bitch to be in). Either way, still excited. I'm only taking this cinema class because my other English class I was supposed to be in got cancelled due to low enrollment. That's because the university (Lorenzo de'Medici) in Tuscania has only 15-30 students! NICE!
Well, I've psyched myself up for the next month straight sooooooo
ARRIVEDERCI! (until next time!)
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