Nervous wreck!

Many or few of you know that I rarely get stressed out. However, preparing for this trip as awoken quite a different side of me that a small number of you have seen. The idea of traveling to a foreign country with little to no knowledge of the language or culture seemed like a once in a lifetime opportunity four months ago... but now that in less than one day I will be on my own again with no shoulders to lean on and quite frankly that scares me.

With the help of parents and friends my stomach has settled and I look to all the new experiences I will be able to have once abroad. A similar situation happened two years ago when I began my college experience at Muhlenberg; I knew only one person, my sister, and the thought of not having my parents around to dictate my decisions was both exhilarating and nerve-racking at the same time. So I feel at ease when realizing that I made it through those first few weeks fine and I will do the same abroad.

For those who do not know, I am traveling to Florence, Italy to study abroad at Florence University of the Arts; a city that many people have said has been there favorite city in Italy! Once abroad I will begin a week orientation of the university and Florence itself. What is interesting about my situation is that the university is integrated into the city and I will be living in an apartment with two other students. During my orientation I will be traveling to multiple areas in and around Florence and the Tuscany region. During this trip I hope to meet new friends and really begin to understand the Italian culture. Once the orientation period is over I will begin my classes which include, wine tasting, drawing, religion, italian, and a leadership class. I am tremdously excited to begin these classes and it will be quite a difference from my normal bioloy classes at Muhlenberg.

In addition to being in Italy, I have many Muhlenberg friends scattered throughout Europe and the UK. My lovely girlfriend, Kelly McLaughlin is studying in Maastricht, The Netherlands, with my best friend from school Jason Steinberg-- I hope to seem them both during this semester. Also, another good friend, Kelsey Griffith, is studying in Scotland and I hope to see her as well.

In conclusion, I realize that I will be experiencing these new adventure throughout Italy and Europe with unfamilar faces, however there will be plenty of the people I love to lean on, even if they are not with me at the time! I hope this first post is not too long and does not have too many grammactical mistakes but I will keep everyone updated as I begin my abroad experience! Ciao!