Getting closer!

Ciao!

Only 6 days until I leave the US! I just finished my school semester and my two jobs. School went really well, I got the best grades that I have ever had. I am excited but also nervous to leave so soon! I have been relaxing and spending alot of time with my family and Blair, as I will miss them both. Today the roads were terrible; in a matter of minutes the roads went from fine to being covered in pure ice. It took me almost an hour to get from 86th to 96th street on Michigan road. I can't believe that Christmas is two days away! This year it means so much more than gift giving and receiving. I am appreciative of the time spent together more than anything. I have to move out of my apartment by next Tuesday... which I haven't started. I also will have to pack for 6 months in 2 1/2 suitcases. I am really really happy to see Anita after almost three years and meet her family before I go to live with my Au Pair family. I am trying to see all of my friends before I leave, it doesn't seem like enough time!

My first bold move.

I have been determined to experience something other than Indiana for awhile now, after high school I stayed in Indianapolis, disappointed that I didn't move to go to a college out of the state. I accepted the idea of living in the city and had a great time while doing so... but I had and have the urgency to experience something bigger. Anita, our Italian exchange student in high school is traveling all over the world; living in three different countries by the age of 20. This leaves me thinking.. why can't I do the same? So I am. I looked into options of studying abroad and quickly found that the cost's were outrageous and I am not planning on having to pay off 100,000 dollars in student loans when I graduate. I love kids, I have been a nanny for a couple of years.. thinking about it the perfect opportunity came to mind; to be an au pair. I researched it for a couple of weeks, looking at different agencies and reading about different countries/cultures. I talked to many different families and found one that seems to be a good fit. They are a young couple in their 30's with a two year old daughter. Alessandro is a graphic designer while Valentina is working on her second bachelors degree in psychology. They live 20 minutes from Milan, where they both commute to for work. Their daughters name is Alice, they would like her to learn English at a young age. They live in a small house with a garden in a city called Casteggio which is in Pavia. They would like me to have a cultural experience rather than a job. I will be watching Alice 2-3 days a week while teaching her English... I am sure she will be teaching me Italian as well. I will be living with them for 6 months starting January 1st, while I continue taking classes online through Ivy Tech. I figure, I am only nineteen once.. I only have this opportunity now. I am not tied down to anything, my opportunities are endless. I am ecstatic, nervous, anxious and happy.

I will miss my family, friends, puppy and Indianapolis but I can't wait to experience more of this wonderful world!

After getting over the initial excitement I had to start working on the technical stuff to actually go overseas. I will have to get a residential visa ( for this I am required to take a language class in Italy during my stay), learn about international banking, converters for all of my plug-ins, and most of all learn some Italian as quickly as possible! The first few months are going to be hard, it will be exhausting to get around knowing little Italian and translating all day. I figure that being in the country will at least force me to learn it quickly.

It seems surreal that I will get to experience so much, but here are things that I would like to do during my stay:

Go shopping in Milan
Mass at the Vatican
Be able to walk from town to town
Eat real Italian food.. ( they don't actually have bread sticks, that is American Italian, crazy huh?)
Travel to France, London, Greece, Switzerland and Spain
Meet Anita's family

I am sure that my list will grow with the weeks.