I'm leaving on a jet plane..don't know when I'll be back again.

Today is Tuesday. I leave on a Tuesday. One week from today I will be boarding a plane for Florence via Washington DC and Munich. It's been a slow, ordinary summer with a funeral and a wedding in between. And now I'm ready for fall to come and with it new experiences and new friends.

I've crossed off all of the things on my shopping list and have neatly folded all of my clothes into three vacuum-sealed bags. Now I've got extra room in my suitcase and probably more clothes than I need. But I think that one rolling-suitcase and one weekend-duffel is enough for me to live out of for four months. Although, the duffel is solely for my shoes. ;)

One an arrival note...I've found out where my apartment in Florence is! I will be living north of the famous Duomo...hardly half a mile away! And what's even better is that my apartment is even closer to my school. I will be able to roll out of bed and make my 8am Intermediate Italian class just in time! That is, if I will ever be "rolling" out of bed. I am a bit intimidated by the Italian fashionistas walking the Florentine streets..both men and women! I may just have to put myself on a schedule.

Back to the apartment...I will be living with five other girls from around the States. I have one roommate (Katherine, interestingly enough since my college roommate was also a Katharine) and four suitemates. I've been chatting with them on facebook for a little while and it looks as if we are all going to get along. I mean, what else would we need to have in common except that we are all in a fabulous city--living, traveling, learning, and creating memories!

And I'm off...
I've got my passport and visa, some Euros, my Eurail pass, the school address, my address, my Italian phone number, my luggage,

and my heart is incandescently happy.

To Do lists are endless

Leaving the country in five weeks for four months...

I sit at home most days just thinking about all of the things that I need to get done before I leave for Florence. Just thinking, 'how much do I actually need to get done today?'

I have numerous friends and family members to try and see before I no longer can (for four months at least). I have to get my hair cut (I'm sure I can get it done over there, but I'd rather have it done here, first). I have to apply for an international cell phone that the school provides, but I'm not really sure of its benefits. I'm still going to be charged and given processing fees for incoming and outgoing calls and texts, for both calls home and in Florence (I think e-mail, skype, and this blog will be my means of communicating). I need to finish my Hep A shot that I started before I left for Thailand. And I've got to send in my absentee ballot request form. (My first opportunity to vote for President and I'm not even in the States!)

On top of all of these important things to get done I'm still trying to figure out how I'm going to pack...efficiently. It's stressing me out, just a little. Italy in the fall will be quite different than Florida in the fall. I have to pack for colder weather, which means that it's going to take up more space! Scarves, boots, coats, sweaters. Plus, books, a laptop, a blanket, and my pillow? Ahh! I should just take a Steamer and travel with a trunk. But then I would need a chaperone...

Oh what wonderful joys of traveling!

Reading Reading...and more Reading

In my preparations for leaving for Italy I've been doing a massive load of reading. I've browsed books like Frommer's Florence & Tuscany Day by Day and The Antique & Flea Markets of Italy. I just finished E. M. Forster's A Room with a View. That was a good novel! It's now on my list of movies to rent before I leave. I'm also reading The House of the Medici, since Florence is the home of this very old and wealthy family. And both The Stones of Florence and The Renaissance, A Short History are on my list of summer reading. I've even pulled out my copy of 1000 Places to See before You Die and highlighted spots in Italy that I may be able to visit on weekend excursions.

I am slowly getting through the Rosetta Stone Italian program. It gets harder and harder everyday. I'm not so sure how my plan of mastering the Italian language is going to work out. It seems to me it's going to have to be a lifetime habit, if I'm ever going to be fluent..

Here's my list of movies to watch before I leave:
(you should check them out too!)

Il Postino
Pane e Tulipane
Tea with Mussolini
A Room with a View
La Vita e Bella (Life is Beautiful)
Fiorile
Under the Tuscan Sun (even though I've already seen it)
The English Patient (a hauntingly beautiful story)
Much ado about Nothing (Shakespeare in Italia!)
My House in Umbria

"My country is the whole world" Virginia Woolf

And why shouldn't it be?

I'm about six weeks away from doing something I have always wanted to do..and I feel like a conquistador. I am exploring my innermost dreams and passions. On my list of goals before I die are learning a second language and living abroad. I think those are two that I will be achieving while I'm away (speaking Italian day-to-day is a must and I'll be getting mail at my address). Therefore, I'm on the verge of completing two lifelong dreams..and I'm only 20 (soon-to-be 21).

Everyday I find that I have new questions for the program I'll be attending. Today it was, "Will there be microwaves?" and "Will my suitemates be Americans or foreigners?" The microwave answer was a maybe..I won't know until I arrive and see for myself and the rooming answer was again a maybe. I really don't have a preference for rooming. I just think it may be fun to have girls from all over the world living together..there's probably alot to learn and differences to work through, but we may be more similar than we think. Anyways, I won't know the answer to that one until I arrive.