Last night in the U S of A

So here it is, the eve before my departure. Allow me to provide some background. This blog will chronicle my two trips abroad this summer to Rome and Jerusalem and anywhere else I happen to hit along the way. I'm going for a month to each location to participate in two academic programs. The first, in Rome, will be centered on topography (with intense survival Italian lessons thrown in every day for about an hour). I will be in Rome until June 13th, return home for a few weeks, then leave for Jerusalem June 28th. Anyway, to begin, at least for Rome from what I've been told we will be having long super packed days, so hopefully there will be a lot to tell!

Here's the layout of the program from what I understand:

I'll be living in an apartment with two other American girls and we'll pretty much be on our own, expected to master the transportation system and be able to meet at different sites each day for an on site lecture before then making our way to the school for a complementary in class lecture and Italian class, in between we'll have self guided walking assignments that involve different locations all over the city (which can't be completed unless you physically go visit the site). As for food, we have kitchens to cook in as well as numerous restaurants around, no dining hall or anything so easy!

I'm glad we'll really be forced to get out there and fend for ourselves. While there will be staff and support, no one is holding our hand and leading us around. We don't get bussed from site to site with our own private tour guide. We'll also be in the heart of the city, surrounded by amazing opportunities and things to see, so I'm hoping even getting lost will be a learning experience- provided we get back to our apartment in one piece! I'm excited we'll to be able to go out on our own (preferably not completely alone- but with no constraints) and do what we choose. We can even take weekend trips to other cities in Italy.

By the way, did I mention I speak no Italian? You probably got that from the whole "intense survival Italian language class" part. You're all smart people I assume. Well it gets better. This will be my first trip abroad. Ever. So of course I had to do it with one of the most intense academic programs just to make the experience that much more interesting, as if culture shock wont be enough!

And of course, I haven't finished packing. So if you haven't guessed already this is going to be one heck of a trip! I don't know how often I'll be able to sit down at a computer and update this blog, but I'm sure going to try. And hopefully I'll have some seriously amazing/amusing/new stories to tell!

Wish me luck everyone!