PREPARATIONS

So when I'm not jumping into the La Salle pool, I'm swimming in constant deadlines and paperwork to prepare for study abroad. But everything is gradually getting checked off the list. I completed the medical authorization paperwork [good news: i'm in one piece enough to travel to Rome, ahah I was rather pleased], submitted my housing request to stay in a single bedroom in a shared apartment in the "Student Living" set of buildings, and mailed in my 9 passport-sized photos so that EAP staff in Rome can put a face to a name. [sadly, the pictures didn't turn out too hot. I just dont know if they really do justice to the name of Haley Fiorenza Baird Donovan. Too bad I couldn't just forward them a few of my facebook profile pics...Somehow the fluorescent lighting at the Longs Photo Station just didn't do wonders, aesthetically speaking. oh well, c'est la vie. Or, rather, C' e la vita? E la vita? I have to work on that.], and I EVEN HAVE MY PLANE TICKET!! yessssss. I leave SFO on August 17th, arrive in Rome disoriented, overwhelmed, exhausted, but giddy and enchanted on August 18th, and begin the program on August 19th, my 21st birthday. Something tells me it's going to be a very good birthday ;) A massive leap of improvement from my 20th birthday.
For the most part, the only thing left to do is apply for my Visa (wayyyyy excited about how that'll snazz up my passport), which i hear is QUITE the process. Let the checklists...continue!

Since I've uploaded my blog last, a lot more has happened in preparations. I went to my pre-departure orientation; that was really fun. Pre-Departure orientation was an info session for program participants with our program advisor and two girls who participated in the program last year. Between hearing about their experiences and hearing what we can expect to be a part of ours, it was fabulous. They answered all our questions, and it was very informative. All in all, it got me even more incredibly pumped. And it was great to meet the other people who also in the same program as me.

Just last week the Education Abroad Center hosted a study-abroad social event/info night/meet-and-greet at Woodstock's Pizza in Downtown Davis. It's really great how the EAC coordinates things like this; there were past participants, future participants, and students who are studying at Davis from somewhere abroad. [Shawna and I made friends with several International Students from places like Chile and New Zealand] Good times for sure!

In addition to making sure I'm addressing the tasks and such that EAP expects from me, I've been also enjoying a little research of my own, such as looking up music that's big in Italy. Some things I came across on one of those classic YouTube adventures:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNs_zj2_IzI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOZWTHxhqxg

what more could an international-music-lovin girl ask for? ;)

My next step, among many, is to start reading travelbooks/guidebooks on Rome....

Yes I AM still alive, I just haven't updated this in far too long...

Wowww it's been WAY too long since I've updated this, a little more than two months to be exact. [It's been so long that I forgot my blogspot account password upon signing in ahaha...when Shawna heard that: "CASE IN POINT!!!"]
On a brighter note, that must mean that I'm getting used to Italian time ;)
I've heard bus drivers leave when they feel like leaving, people get to scheduled meetings when they feel like getting there, etc etc...I was about to say that this particular way of going about things will probably be Main Adjustment #1, [punctuality's my thing. Which isn't to say I'm always on time, I just always get frustrated with myself when I'm running behind schedule, or when people are taking their sweet, and i mean saccharine-drenched-sweet, time.] but who am I kidding, there are going to probably be a thousand different adjustments clamoring for my attention, way too many to rank...
I'm getting SO excited for this trip; I can't stop thinking about it, I can't stop talking about it, (sounds like a bad infatuation, typed out like that hahaha...). And the way this quarter, and this year, is FLYING by, study abroad is practically around the corner at this rate. It still definitelty doesn't feel real. It definitely hasn't 100% set in that within a few months, I'll be downing cappuchinos, visiting famous historical buildings, trying out my Italian language skills, and humming "That's Amore". It probably won't hit me until I'm packing, or on the plane, or some moment like that. I'll go "Oh my goodness [they havent taught us the more, um, alternative expressions of surprise in Italian 2 ;)], VIAGGERO IN ITALIA!! and that'll be it. Go time. August through December. Needless to say, in addition to my intense excitement, I'm also pretty nervous/anxious. Not "cold feet" status, heck no. Just a little jittery. I've never been gone, on my own, for this amount of time before. So I have no idea what to expect. I suppose there's only one way to find out, and I'm certainly on track to do that!! I'm up for the challenge...