I cannot believe I finally get to leave for Italy in 4 DAYS! Who thought I could be so excited to leave the beautiful, sunny South Florida during the summer? I have been dreaming of this trip my whole life, but it seems surreal that it is so close to actually happening. While it is a bit daunting to think about flying to a foreign country where I do not even know the language, the potential for exploration and adventure excites me. I have not even started packing, so that should be fun. How can you confine 5 weeks worth of clothes into a single bag that can be easily lugged around the whole country of Italy?! I have a lot on my mind still to do, just little things like buying a memory card for my (Clay's) camera, setting up an international phone plan, getting a luggage lock, picking up contacts to last me the trip, etc. So much to do, but so little time!

The study abroad program is based in Milan, Italy, where I will be taking the Operations Management class Monday through Thursday 8:30 am to 11:30 am (a little early yikes). It will be nice having the whole afternoon to explore the city, as well as having Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to travel as the group pleases. It is driving me crazy not knowing where the group will be travelling together yet! I guess we will have to figure it out when we get over there. I only know a small handful of kids going, but I am sure I will meet more. We are living in an apartment of 6 people, one of them being a student at the Italian university to help us get accustomed to life in Italy.

I must get going to start checking off my to do list.. until next time!