The calm before the storm

Ciao!

First blog posts are always the most awkward, so I'll just jump right into it, and we can just pretend this sentence never happened.

In just over a week I'll be heading to Rome for a 5-week study abroad program at John Cabot University, an American university in Rome. The only foreign country I've ever been to is Canada, and though I'm sure Canadians would disagree, I feel like I have never really traveled. I have never even left the east coast.

Italy is going to be a huge change for me. I'm nervous, because I don't know any Italian (though I'm hoping 5 years of Spanish will help me out) but I'm also looking forward pushing myself out of my comfort zone for a little while and experience something completely new and exciting.

I applied to the program on a whim. A friend mentioned a new program in Rome that would start Summer II, and after seeing the sparse Summer II class offerings at NU, I figured it was worth investigating. I'll probably never have another chance to drop everything and live in Italy for 5 weeks, so I applied. People around me (especially well-traveled adults) say it’s the best decision I could have made.

I’m not even there yet, but I sort of agree.