A Little Wrap Up Before Bed

After an interesting weekend shall we say, I figured a bulleted blog post would do the job. It's been four days and let me tell you I have learned a heck of a lot. Hmmm so where do i begin...

Alright

• Drivers in Italy are CRAZY. New York City taxi drivers don't hold a candle to them actually.
• The streets are one giant game of Frogger. We are the frogs.
• Appreciate hot water and microwaves and well light for that matter.
• Comfy shoes are your best friend, heels are not.
• They absolutely love Nesquik and The Simpsons here...err maybe too much?

• There will never be a shortage of gelato and it is way better than ice cream.
• Don't go out to a bar the night before school orientation (it doesn't end well).

• You will walk everywhere. Hello cardio workout.
• I can compare Italian boys to pigs and dogs and sharks and uh essentially every other animal.
• Tutto 99 is like Dollar Tree, so pretty much it's a magical wonderland.
• Wine can be purchased anywhere and I mean anywhere. Cheers.

• Tomatoes and eggs are so delicious here. Probably the lack of hormones.
• Expect to get lost. That is why they invented maps. Best purchase ever.
• Secret Bakeries are awesome...and sketchy...did I mention awesome?
• Skype is a Godsend.

But most importantly

• ITALY HAS CRIPSY M&M'S and I plan to buy in bulk ;)

Not Real Life.

     After the LONGEST DAY OF MY LIFE I am finally here in Florence! Trust me, I make no exaggeration when I say the LONGEST. The first plane we took was 7 hours to Munich, Germany, the land of pretzels and beer. I am so thankful to have had Britni sitting right across the aisle from me to hold my hand because I sure as hell crushed it. The flight wasn’t bad at all though. I never thought that would come out of my mouth, I mean it may be the wine talking, but I mainly talked the entire time, which calmed my nerves massively. I’m not gonna lie I really enjoyed the food too. Everyone has horror stories about plane food but clearly they did not have what I did. Good job Lufthansa. I opted for the chicken dish with mashed potatoes and chocolate mousse. Fancy, huh? We got reaaaally lucky with our first flight but then came the 3-1/2 hour layover, which felt like an eternity. As nice as the Munich airport was there's only so much one can do. We were all just so anxious to get to Florence until we saw the second plane. It was small and fat and there was more luggage then that plane definitely could hold. For some reason I was miserable on that flight and I don’t know why. It’s not like it was ultra bumpy or anything, I think it was just a combination of a lot of things. I’ll spare you the details of the next part. Long story short, there was lost luggage, nausea, tears, a crazy taxi, no keys, 100 stairs and broken backs. But that’s all in the past. It could only go up from there (right?)

     Last night a bunch of us went out to dinner. Wine was obviously ordered, as was penne and mini meatballs in a lemon sauce. It was such a cute place and they sat us in a back private room. I had my first gelato afterwards even though I was stuffed from dinner.  I got a strawberry cake flavor. The name of it was obviously a lot longer but I don’t remember it at all. Delicious nonetheless.

     So I’m now sitting in my living room with my housemates.  Our house is beautiful. We have a roof top balcony that looks over Florence and I live with 7 other girls. You could tell it is one of the older apartments. Aside from a smelly fridge, no water pressure, broken dishwasher, non working burners and no hot water, things are finally starting to get somewhat settled here. We are unpacked and groceries have been bought (just a little for now). There are still sooo many things to do and figure out and it is so so so overwhelming (culture shock anyone?) but I think we are going out tonight, which is exciting. But before that the game plan is siesta and an icy shower!

Holy Shit.

      I was trying to think of a word to describe how I was feeling right now but then I realized I could only come up with two. Spoiler alert: it's the title of this post (sorry mom). Okay I know they are not the most appropriate of words and I was even thinking of substituting the “i” with an asterisk or some crazy symbols but I thought that writing the actual word would be more effective. Actually I’m pretty sure "Holy shit" could start any sentence I could make right now like, “Holy shit I'm about to study abroad in Florence for four months" or “Holy shit I’m going to be on a plane for over nine hours.” See?

    

     It has been such an overwhelming mix of emotions this past month and I'd be lying if I said there wasn't a really big knot in my stomach right now. Don't get me wrong it's not a bad knot or anything, I think it's just more of a nervous/excited one. At this point I feel like I've talked about abroad for so long and yet for some reason it still doesn't feel like real life. My best guess is that it sure as heck will once I am sitting on that plane. Oye. First of all, I am terrified of flying. Yes, I’ve been on a plane before but not for nearly as long. I also have no idea who I will be sitting next to. I really hope they don’t mind a stranger grabbing their hand/wrist/shirt/face upon take off because I can’t make any guarantees and things could get awkward real fast. I mean I will try to keep my hands to myself since society generally tells us to, but once that moment comes I take no responsibility for the actions that will ensue. I’ll plead temporary insanity. Now I don’t know much Italian (actually I don’t know any) but I do know the word VINO, and yes that will be ordered. For two reasons. 1: because I can and 2: because I will desperately need it. Despite the fact that I now sound like an alcoholic and a crazy, I promise I will not be channeling the scene from Bridesmaids because I really can’t afford to be “that girl.” And if you’ve seen the movie you’ll know what I am talking about and if you haven’t...well... 

     Anyway there are so many things that I am scared of aside from the whole flying thing, like not having my cup of coffee to go every morning and not seeing my parents. But there are also sooo many more things that I am SO excited about. I know that this semester abroad will be life changing and I will miss my family, friends, Marist (and Frankenstein) unbelievably, but this really is a once in a lifetime opportunity that I am so grateful for. I hope to do as much as I possibly can and I also hope to keep up with this blog so that I have something to look back on. Well now that I got all of the sap out of the way I think this is where my first blog post ends and I promise the next will be much more exciting...I’ll even put in pictures (now if that doesn't excite you).

So wish me luck and ciao America! <3

Courtney