Where to start....

Today will be my second full day in Italy and it still seems unreal. I know this is cliche, but ever since I was little I have dreamed of coming to Italy. In my head it just always seemed like the perfect place to be, so romantic, so beautiful, so much delicious food to eat!

Since childhood I have played up my italian heritage whenever I could. Always being fiercely proud of being Italian. When I saw the opportunity to come here for study abroad, I immediately jumped at it. Ever since last fall, I have been planning this adventure and I still can't believe it is finally happening.

Before I go on, I have a little bit of a confession to make. I have been to Europe numerous times before. Why did you not go to Italy, you may ask? The simple answer is, the opportunity had never presented itself, until now. I have a hunch that it may have been worth the wait though, because this trip is a lot different from all my other trips to Europe.

When I was 10 I traveled to England, Scotland and Wales with my mom, a family friend and her daughter on vacation. It was my first trip overseas so natrually it was amazing but, I think I was too young to fully apprectiate it because I didn't care about shopping or nightlife or culture as a child and there was a lot that just went over my head.

 Then at age 16, I traveled to Ireland with my entire family, there were 15 of us piled into a little bus traveling around the Irish countryside. Let me tell you, we were quite a site to see. We focused mainly on seeing where our family was from (meeting a long lost cousin of my grandfather's along the way) not the touristy things. It was amazing, but I was still surrounded by my family so it was still familiar and secure.

My junior and senior years of high school I went on two trips with my school. Junior year we went on a ten day Eastern European adventure. Passing through Germany, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia. It exposed me to a part of the world I had never seen before and it was beautiful. The only downside was that it was a scheduled tour and we were kept on a very tight leash by our teachers. Senior year we went to Greece and yet again I was blown away by the beauty and the culture. It was a totally different experience from the year before, but again we were kept on a short leash and had everything planned out for us.

Now I am in Rome, Italy and for the most part, I am on my own, completely independent. It is the first time in my life where I am traveling in Europe on my own. I am so excited and open to seeing and doing new things. Everything fastinates me, the history, the architecture, the food, the languege, the people, the culture and customs. I am a brand new sponge ready to soak everything in. Italy is unlike anywhere else I have every been and I can't wait to explore more. La cita e la tutta campagna e magnfico! Sono eccitato per davanti mese! Io sono felice per avere questa experienza! Molto grazie Mama e Nonna e Papa e tutta la famiglia!