Do as the Romans do!

Do as the Romans do, which really just means eat and drink. and sweat. It's a little cooler here today but now its just really humid and its suppose to rain.

I've got myself a cell phone too! email me if you want my phone number, it's free for you to call me and a low rate for me to call anyone else who has the same type of phone.

Nothing too new today. I had my Italian placement exam this morning which didn't go too great, but that's alright. I'm okay with starting from the bottom and working my way back up. The rest of today is going to be pretty lazy. We're going to make some dinner and then go on a night walk from Piazza Navona to the Spanish steps.

I'm going on a Baroque tour tomorrow and going into the Vatican! Its going to be great.

Here's a picture of my room:

I'm the middle bed and we have TWO balconies. It's super nice. The entire apartment is furnished by Ikea. Feeling right at home!

My lunch today.

And last but not least, the contents of my purse: Euro coins, wallet, camera, pens, keys, notebook, receipts, and a shopping bag















That's all for now! Write a comment! I'd love to hear from you!
Love, H

I made it!!!

Got up some unknown amount of hours ago in San Francisco, got on the plane to Toronto, sassed at passport control, bought a neck pillow, waited for four hours in the very SWANKY airport, and then got on the eight hour flight to ROME. The flight was long and I slept a little. I watched a movie (or six) and drooled on my neck pillow (very true).

Got my bags and waited for a seven person taxi for just little ol' me. I got nervous when I was trying to tell the taxi driver that I could wait for a smaller cabie so I just blurted out in English "It's just me!" and he was like, "thats okay... get in" :)
But I did give the address for my apartment correctly in Italian. Patted myself on the back for that.

Got to the apartment. Oh did I mention its HOT? its like 98 degrees today. No air conditioning. My apartment is on the 7th floor of a seven floor building. Eight girls all together. My roommates seen nice and two of them are from UCSC! The apartment is HUGE. Super funky. There's a balcony off every room! photos of the apartment tomorrow.

here are some photos from the past 24 hours

Thanks mom for snapping this photo at 6am. AND I'M OFF!

This is my face and glasses position as I sit next to three Dutch 6 year olds for four hours.

Coming into Rome!

Check out this cute piazza we stumbled upon when we were in a desperate search for gelato tonight!

dinner. fresh gnocchi and a banana.

















I should get some sleep.

love love and love, HBY

And I'm off!

In less than 10 hours, I'll be on my way to Italy.
Here is what a year of stuff looks like:

Nerves have been coursing through my veins all day. Some heartfelt goodbyes and packing behind me, I think I can say now that I am ready for this adventure.

Wish me luck! I'll miss each and everyone of you on this adventure and wish you were all by my side, but I am going to take a giant leap here and say, Arrivederci!

Some of the most simple advice I've received in my preparations has been, "You can't grow unless you're uncomfortable."

So here I am, growing.

bacio, H

I've started packing!

And I've made a video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOB1Wg9X96Y
Keep in mind, that is only a fraction of the amount of stuff I'm bringing. 

(and here's a link to Avril's music video because I know you are all upset when the song ended: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NPBIwQyPWE&ob=av2n dude you wanna crash the maawll?)

I've also made two packing lists, cleaned out my backpack, decided I'm only bringing four pairs of shoes, and said goodbye to some people and IT STILL DOESN'T FEEL REAL. And when am I leaving? yup, in 9 days.

I'm bringing one huge suitcase, one small carry on, and my backpack. That's it. For a year in a different country. My entire life (wardrobe) in three bags. I'm totally overreacting. hashtag story of my life.

That's all for now. Making ice cream this weekend and getting ready for the last few days at the best summer job ever.

x, H


PS while writing this blog entry, I realized my shoe count just went up to 6. I'm horrible. Okay, compromise at 5.

Exactly a month

Well here I am. Sitting in the San Francisco fog, a month away from sitting in the Roman heat.

It doesn't feel real yet. I've typed out four different ways of explaining how I feel about leaving and what it feels like to move half way around the world, but I've deleted all of them. I've heard it all. I'm nervous, but incredibly excited. More excited than I have ever been in my entire life.

Since it doesn't feel real yet, I haven't really accepted the fact that I need to organize my life and start thinking about how my life is about to change. I'm about to more frustrated than I've ever been but I'm ready for that challenge!

I keep doing things I don't really need to do because I'm leaving. I'm looking up dates for concerts, getting my iPhone updated (I'm not using it in Italy), and spending money when I should be saving for my Italian Proseco. Oh well. Only young once...?

Another picture of things in my purse.
The NYTimes Weekend Arts section that I stuffed in my bag on the way to work this morning, some change, an old earring, my friends business card, sunglasses, deodorant, a pen, headphones, and my wallet. Will I carry the similar stuff in Italy?

Outtie!

I'm going to Italy!

I'm going to answer all your boiling questions in one full swoop:
1. Where will you be? I'm going to be in Rome for my first semester, and Florence for my second.
2. When do you leave? August 23rd at 8am.
3. Where will you be staying? I'm staying in a residence apartment in Rome in the Trastevere neighborhood. I'm not sure where I'll be staying in Florence yet.
4. What will you be studying? Art history mostly, and Italian. I'm trying to minor in the language.
5. Do you know anyone who's going on the same program? Nope. I've met the people going to Rome  from UCSC, but besides that I'm starting completely from scratch. But a few friends from high school will be scattered about Europe.
6. Do you know any Italian? Un po'. I've taken one quarter of accelerated Italian this year, so I have a very basic understanding of Italiano.


Glad we're now all on the same page.

Along with clothes for work later tonight, this is whats in my purse today. We'll see how this changes in the next couple of months.

I have my passport, my visa, my flight arrangements and now, I have my blog.
Next step: Packing.