Well, it’s official, I’m leaving for Italy in matter of hours! I’m a mixture of happy/sad/excited/nervous/anxious all bottled up into one. My suitcases and carry-ons are packed, and hopefully I didn’t forget anything. I said all of my goodbyes to my best friends from home the past few days, and it feels so weird – this is the first summer I won’t be spending with them practically every day. I know that I’ll still be able to talk with them semi-frequently over the summer, so it’s not necessarily bad, just different. I also am saying goodbye to my parents today, and it just dawned on me that I think this will be the longest I will have ever gone without seeing my family or friends… weird. In a good way, but still weird.

 
my family last weekend at a phillies game.

my best friends from home, circa 2009.

I must admit though, that my biggest concern right now is that I’m going to end up on the plane either a) next to a crying baby; b) next to someone who won’t stop snoring; c) someone who talks to me the entire flight (don’t get me wrong, I love to make friends on airplanes… but I’d like to be able to catch some z’s on the red-eye tonight); d) next to an anxious flier, who jumps or yelps at every patch of turbulence; or e) next to someone who smells terribly. Now obviously these are all worst case scenarios, and I have yet to really encounter any of the above – knock on wood – for long periods of time, & there’s a first time for everything… ha. But really….

So I will spend the next couple hours doing last minute things (IE: making ipod playlists, making sure I have food for the plane, charging my phone… you know, obviously the most important things), and then I’ll be on my merry way to Philadelphia to board British Airways Flight 66 to London, then to Rome. Meaning this will be my last post from the United States! Ahh. I still can’t believe that I’ll be in Italy tomorrow… totally unreal!