Buon Giorno Principessa, La Vita É Bella!

So I've been counting down all summer, and now it's right around the corner...

I have a week to go before I depart for a four-month adventure in Florence, Italy! I fly out of LAX to JFK the night of Sept. 5th, and meet my Syracuse group flight in JFK the morning of Sept 6th. I’d be lying if I said my bags were packed and I’m ready to go: I still have a whole checklist of to-do items before I get on that plane. But mentally I’ve been ready to get on that plane since the day SU Abroad emailed me my acceptance into the Florence program!

As of yesterday, I've sorted through every article of clothing in my possession and deemed each piece worthy or not to join my on my sojourn across Europe. Packing is really really really hard! It's nowhere near packing for a vacation--I'm packing to live in a whole new country in a whole new continent, and then travel all around in my spare time. Plus keep in mind that the temps will range from hot and humid in September/October, to cold and rainy in November/December! So with a deluge of texts from seasoned vets (my Big, Suzi Sweeney, spent the semester abroad in Florence last fall) and consultations with my fellow travelers (I'll be heading to Florence with friends Courtney Winkler, Andrew Sestrich, and Hannah Gorton, who will also be my roommate), the marathon packing session has resulted in a wardrobe suited for a semester abroad. Now I have a week to live in a room strewn with clothes waiting to be packed away and into one of my two suitcases.

I'm still working on those Renee Crown Honors Program pre-departure essays in order to get abroad credit for the Honors program. While I started some of the short answer questions at the beginning of the summer, it's at the top of my to-do list to complete this weekend. The questions range from, "Describe key aspects of your native country's culture as you perceive it. Describe your anticipated reactions tot he same key aspects for the culture to which you are going. Which aspects will be easy to adapt to? Which aspects will be difficult to adapt to?" to "What are your personal goals for the semester? How do you think your semester abroad will be different than at Syracuse? How much do you know of the culture, history, politics, and people of the culture you are going to? Where will you turn for more information on the country you are going to?"

And sure, writing and thinking about Florence is giving me butterflies in my stomach from the excitement, it's still quite the homework assignment.

This final week will be a whirlwind of activity. Still to complete: a shopping trip, a couple goodbyes, a final packing assessment, a review of my three semesters of Italian, and a creative gift for my host family (suggestions appreciated!). Ciao belli!