Arezzo. What a Wonderful World.

Ciao America!

I'm finally all settled into my apartment. I have a great view and the walk to our class center is only 10 minutes. Life is good. My roommate Lucy is awesome and I think we are a great match to be roomies. We both have very similar interests and we survived our first shopping adventure so things are going well.

I cannot believe how beautiful this place is. I thought I loved Rome, but man, Arezzo is even better. It's a small community and the people here are so friendly. I can't wait to get to know the people even better and learn about my internship.

Tonight we had an OUA group dinner at Tortello Divino. It was the best meal ever. We had a four-course dinner and some street performers came by and did a show at the end. This week has been fantastic and I look forward to many more adventures over the next four months. 

I also found out today that I am the only student enrolled in the Beginning Italian 2 class which means on Monday I have a one-on-one class with my Italian teacher. I'm super nervous to be the only student because I don't remember much of my Italian from last semester but hopefully this semester will really advance my knowledge of the language. Tuesday and Thursday I combine with the Italian 3 and the Italian 4 students. The three of us are going to be doing lots of studying together.

There is a fair this weekend where they sell fresh food and many other things so I fully intend to buy some fruit and freshly baked bread. I think I am going to get used to this place pretty easily.

That's all for now.

Arrivederci!

When in Rome

Well I managed to make it to Rome safe and sound with my four other travel buddies. After many hours of sitting on planes and listening to a crying child next to me on my flight from Canada to Rome, I still have most of my sanity.

We just spent our first day in Rome! It's already been an incredible experience. I'm finally getting through the jetlag and can't wait to go see the sights tomorrow. We got to the airport and our baggage had not been put on our flight so we will have to get it tomorrow. Not a huge setback though. We were still able to see some amazing places today and eat wonderful Italian food. Staying in the hostel has been just as exciting. There are three other girls in the hostel room with me and my friends. They are from Barcelona and we spent a good hour teaching each other card games. It was so unexpected but an awesome time. I found a sign that said Fermata on it which was REALLY cool, took a picture of some cats and listened to a man play the accordion while I ate dinner. Basically, I feel like I'm in a movie. Europe has already amazed me and I haven't even been here 24-hours! We have to get up early to go back to the airport to get our luggage so that's all for tonight!

Ciao!

The Packing Begins

I started attempting to pack for Italy today. I didn't realize how much stuff I have been planning on taking. Getting this all to fit in my suitcase and making it under 50lbs is going to be like a super intense game of Tetris. Good thing I have gotten lots of practice with playing Tetris with the camp freezers over the past three summers. Packing four months of my life into a suitcase and a carry-on bag seems impossible. I guess the next week will determine what possessions are really important for me to take with me!

Adventure Is Out There!

Let me start out by saying I have no idea how to blog. I'm not a great writer which is why I am no longer studying Journalism but rather Broadcast & Electronic Media. I work well with video production and photography but writing is not my strong point. Anyway, I will be studying abroad this semester in Arezzo Italy for four months. It is my intention to write this blog and post pictures of my travels so friends and family at home can keep up with what I am doing. A wise friend told me that I should start blogging before I leave in order to create the habit before I fly across the world and forget. So here I am attempting to tell you all my plans for the future. I hope this blog isn't super boring and the weeks pass by. I'll keep you all posted!