And the journey begins.

So I made it to Florence, Italy. 

I’m not going to bore you with all the details of my day, everyday.  But since this was quite a quest, I figure I should tell the story.

Let’s see…. *dramatic squiggle flashback*

So I got to O’Hare and met up with one of my classmates.  She and I ended up on the same flight by coincidence.  It was nice to be able to travel with someone.  She and I didn’t sit near each other on the plane, but I did sit next to two other students who were going to study in Spain (that was where my layover was).  They were awesome and made me not freak out on the 7 hour plane ride.  Names exchanged… I should probably look them up on Facebook. 

And then we got to Spain.  It was around 7:30 am their time.  I didn’t sleep at all on the first flight, so I was really out of it.  Apparently in Madrid’s airport you have to take a train to go from one end to the other for the connecting flights.  The airport was pretty empty… it was like flying into Sarasota in the slow season.  My friend and I made it to security, and as I was escorted through, my friend was escorted away.  I tried asking where she was going, but the security refused to speak English.  This was my friend’s first time overseas and it is daunting when you don’t know what’s going on and no one will talk to you.  I didn’t want to have to call her parents and tell them that I lost their daughter.  But I had to go through security without her. 

Where I was frisked.

It isn’t a trip for me unless I get frisked or detained.  Oh, that reminds me, at O’Hare I did one of those body scanners.  I don’t understand the big deal.  It was so simple and I would rather have that than be frisked.  And since I had both happen in one trip, I feel that I can say that. 

After my friend and I separated, I had to go up to the gates, where again no one could really help.  My phone wasn’t working and my internet was out so I couldn’t contact her.  Finally, about 15 minutes before boarding, she showed up at our gate.  Apparently O’Hare forgot to print her 2nd boarding pass and she had to go to another part of the airport to get that.  She had the same language barrier issues. 

But we got on the plane.  It was FULL of students going to my Florence school for various programs.  I sat next to one.  A guy from Brooklyn who made fun of me every time there was turbulence and I freaked.  But all in good fun.  He and I chatted the entire 2 hours and again I felt at ease.  Well, as at ease as I can on a flight.  I should probably look him up too.

We landed.  Got our luggage.  And took a cab to our school.  I got my keys and dragged my luggage over there.  It is about a 10 minute walk to campus, which will be very nice without 70 pounds of luggage. 

To get to my apartment I had to carry those bags up 60 stairs.  60. 

But!  My apartment is awesome!

My bedroom:

 

 

The kitchen:

The sitting room:

The bathroom:

And the SUPER LOCK:

See that metal thingy going straight up?  That goes into the ceiling!

Alright, what else…. I met my roommates.  I have two.  They are awesome!  Super chill.  We went to a market, got dinner, walked around a bit, got gelato, went to the Ponte Vecchio… walked up and down those 60 stairs probably 5 times.

And now I am here, sore, in my room at midnight, Italian time.  I’ve been up for 32 hours and somehow I am not as tired as I should be.  I’m going to force myself to sleep though.  I have orientation tomorrow and, although it’s not till 12:30pm, I can’t oversleep!

To Italy and beyond?

I don’t know why I thought this would be a good idea, but I decided to start a new blog, one separate from my work one.  This one will be used for everything else, really.  Italy, attempts at grad school, my downward spiral into insanity…

So let’s start this one with something interesting.  Today at work I saw a monster.  It tried to kill me while I was peeing.  That might be a bit dramatic, but I did see some type of critter that I’ve never seen before.  It was like a cross between a millipede and a snake.  A.  Snake.  Three inches long, super skinny, millions of legs, but it slithered like a snake in an “S” pattern.  I called my coworker over and when she saw it, she gasped and hurried away.  And then it FREAKED OUT when I got near it, like it was having seizures.  My face gave a snake/millipede/creature a seizure.  I had to slay this psychotic snake creature before it attacked me.  But as I went in for the kill, it slithered under the base board.  And just like that it was gone.  We have no clue where it went.  But now all I can think about is how it is probably an alien that came down in an meteor.  Cue one of the worm/creature scenes from Evolution.  Ya know the ones where worm things are found leading into a closet/shed/[fill in the blank room], and when someone goes in they find a ridiculously evolved creature?  I really hope I don’t find some type of monster in the bathroom tomorrow.  Although maybe that will deter patients from using the staff bathroom and wreck the pipes again.

Where’s David Duchovny when we need him?

In other news, today I used my new vacuum for the first time.  It has a retractable cord, and I was successful in not hitting myself in the face with said cord as it whipped back into the machine.  Small victories.

(Psst… that up there… that’s the first time I ever used a gif in a post.  I’m way too proud of that.  And I’m even more proud that I was able to find this gif.)