Preparations

Hello hello hello! I hope you are all doing wonderful and even if you aren't you're probably doing better than me! I am so stressed out because I have a billion things to do and only a week to do it all. Like I don't even have time to breathe. It's just insane.

So one thing I'd quick like to touch on is what I'm putting in this blog. Obviously it's mostly meant to record and share my time abroad, but I also want it to include things about my life and thoughts and hobbies and likes and dislikes and random details. Whether you know me, have yet to meet me, or will never meet me in your life, I want some of this blog to help you get to know me. Because it is much more fun to read about someone you know instead of reading about a random stranger you know nothing about. So basically just don't be surprised when I talk about baking cookies instead of Italian culture.

Can you recognize what's on my hat?

On that note, in case you were curious about my whereabouts, I am at my cabin! Technically it's my grandparents' but my whole family on my mom's side goes there all the time in the summer. A normal day at the cabin generally consists of sleeping in, swimming, and lots of ice cream. This is our last visit to the cabin this year (tear tear) but I'm glad I could fit in one more weekend here before I leave. And since there's not much I can do here to get ready it's the perfect time and place to relax one more time before the hectic week ahead of me!

 (Also expect a lot of pictures because I like taking pictures and people like looking at pictures so it's a win-win!)
 

New hair!

One thing to get ready was my hair. For those of you who don't know, until a few days ago I had bright red hair. I'm a natural blonde but that was boring so for the past two years I've been a proud redhead. (Picture below) Unfortunately, that sort of hair is not ideal for an exchange student. So I had to say goodbye to most of my red hair. Now it is a light brown with red on the ends. I desperately wish I didn't have to lose my red, but it had to be done. (Tear tear again) And even though I miss my red and I never thought I'd ever be brunette, I like my hair like this! And it is ideal because I can grow it out without obvious roots and it will fade to a natural color. So I know this whole paragraph is about hair which might seem ridiculous but it's a big deal to me! So don't hate, don't judge. Just read.

Old hair!

 Like I said in the beginning, I am stressed to the max with my to do list. I can't even take naps anymore because once I'm not distracted by anything all I can do is think about all the stuff I need to do so I just sit there freaking out which makes me wide awake. I feel like I'm never going to get any of it done. It's like I'm moving in super slow motion and time is fast fowarding around me. AHH! I can't take it! To give you an idea, here is what I need to do in a week:

• Figure out what to pack (clothes, shoes, movies, gifts, etc.)
• Wash any clothes that I need to pack
• Actually pack everything
• Get emails, skype names, and addresses of friends and family
• Plan a goodbye party
• Throw the goodbye party
• Say goodbye to everyone
• Make instructions for taking care of my bird
• Finish one more unit of Rosetta Stone
• Try to get my drivers license
• Clean my room
• Eat lots of American food
• Order some stuff
• Buy some stuff
• Clear off memory cards
• Skype my host family

And that's just all that I can think of right now! Buh. I'm doomed. And tired. And stressed. And excited. And freaking out. And every emotion possible all at once. Pretty much!

So that's it for today. Man, this is long. Next time I'll probably be mostly talking about packing. Ugh even just seeing the word makes me want to cry. So this should be interesting and you get to experience it with me! But probably without the crying. Unless you want to then go ahead and we can cry together. Okay so goodnight my lovies!

Visas and Cookies

Hello everyone. It's been almost a month since my last post so sorry about that but I'll warn you now: don't expect regular posts because well I'm not one to be organized or motivated. So yeah!

A week ago I went to Chicago with my family to get my visa from the Italian consulate. I had my appointment in the morning and everything went perfectly! We didn't even need the 5,000 copies my mom made of each document. I got my visa a few days ago in the mail so I'm ready to go! For the rest of that day in Chicago I spent all my time and energy running around the stores of Michigan Ave because shopping is a wonderful thing. I fell in love with Chicago in just the 2 days I was there and yes someday I will live there. It was a fabulous time in a fabulous place.

Another very exciting thing that happened in my life today was that I baked cookies! Now for most people this is no big deal, but I don't bake. And when I do I usually fail miserably. And the only time I ever bake is about once a year when I wake up and have sudden inspiration to do the almost impossible (for me this is baking). But today, all by myself, in one try, I have successfully made chocolate chip cookies! Though a little crunchy they taste good and haven't killed me yet! So I am feeling very proud of myself and you should too. Of me I mean. Please. And thanks.

The last thing is that I got my orientation info for when I'm in Rome. And I'm sort of freaking out because it's like OMIGOSH. I don't know how to explain it but I guess there are a lot of unanswered questions and I don't know like anything and yet I do and it's just like whatever but I don't know. I am very excited to meet everyone though because there will be around 470 kids from around the world! Like what! It's gonna be pretty sweet.

My biggest problem right now is what I shall do to pack. But I'm not even going to get into that right now. I mean I have time! Right? Well most likely half of my packing will be done the night before I leave anyway but oh well! So until my next post.. Arrivederci my lovies!