Back at it Again 2018: Western Europe

I'm back!

It's time for another solo trip across the Atlantic August 31 through September 16. Are you ready? I don't think you are. I certainly am not, even though I already booked everything!

First Leg: Reykjavik, Iceland
Second Leg: Paris, France
Third Leg: Lisbon, Portugal

I think Iceland is probably the most nerve-wracking part of this trip to me, since it's incredibly different from what I've done up until now. Reykjavik seems to have a small city feel and looks very very isolated compared to the rest of the country. The majority of the time I will likely be going outside of the city to do some nature exploring - I will be hiking nearby towns, volcanoes and glaciers that I can barely say the name of, and hopefully sink in a hot spring! (I learned how to pronounce and type Eyjafjallajökull, so that's something)

I was going to do Paris as part of a much larger France plan but I needed more time for that one. Ultimately, I decided that it was worth going to Paris alone and getting to know the city now. I booked a decent hotel here so I can relax while not on my feet. I can't wait. I'm already dreaming about the Louvre, Versailles and the Eiffel Tower.

Lisbon is a wild card. Never really planned to go, but kinda wanted to visit one day anyway. So I'll definitely explore as much as I can and learn more about Portugal's history. There are some beaches available by train or bus so I could do that if I wanted. We'll see which way the wind goes, I suppose.

T-minus 45 days.

Launch Day

The day is here! 

An evening flight meant time to panic all day, rework the packing I did the night before and sit on my couch all afternoon twiddling my thumbs, feeling unsure of what to do! I did get to watch Miss Congeniality and Legally Blonde which are great corny/feel-good movies for destressing.

I decided to take the subway to the airport which took me an hour so I can take control of how I get to the airport - made it easier on my nerves.

When I arrived at Logan, I recieved my tickets, got through security and arrived at my gate within 30 minutes. I felt I was in twilight zone because I anticipated that it would take hours! I got a quick meal and a drink and now I'm settled at my gate with 2 hours to kill. Which meant time to blog a little update before I go overseas. 😊 First stop: a 4hr layover in Munich and from there - Dubrovnik, Croatia.

Don't get me wrong, I constantly tell myself I am crazy for doing this on my own. But I think a big trip is worth doing on your own at least once in your lifetime, don't you think? I hope to appreciate things in life a little more. I look forwards to soaking up the sun in three different sea-side cities I've never been to before, appreciating new kinds of art and architecture, and meeting some local people half a world away from home. And of course, to having fun.

I feel fortunate to be able to do this! I'm definitely going to make the most of it. 

Will blog again on the other side ✈️

The Real Countdown Begins!

One week from now, at this time, I'll be in Dubrovnik.

Whaaaat.

People just keep reminding me that I'm leaving soon, and I fall into a pit of panic where I feel undeserving or totally unprepared and not ready and there's just so much to do and my work needs me and, and ... and. There's just too many and's.

I deserve this break. I need to keep telling myself that. I need to tell myself it's time to slow down, relax, and take a break to breathe. This is my time.

I'm using the next few days to prepare myself. I caved and purchased a Blogger app so I can blog from my tablet. To my surprise, I can upload photos! I'm currently using the app - it is great so far. 

Here's a small look into what I'm packing.

Got my ipad, travel wallet, passport, Croatian kunas and Euros for Mykonos and Barcelona, adapter outlet, portable power bank, travel card (to avoid those pesky int'l bank fees), my new travel cochlear battery module (non-rechargeable so I can simply carry battery packs and not the whole charging equipment), my travel papers - flights and hostels/hotel aaaand all my toiletries. 

Keeping it simple and small.

6 days  ✈

Packing Day #2 

8 days left.

I'm almost done packing! °˖ ✧◝(○ ヮ ○)◜✧˖ ° Suitcase #1 is completely packed and #2 is still open so I can throw in last minute stuff. Also, my carry-on has been tested and my laptop luckily fits. Any bigger, I wouldn't have a laptop to take to Europe!

I got this feeling like I'm not 100% sure that I packed enough... or maybe I just packed correctly. I guess I'll find out soon enough!

Packing Day #1

9 days left.

At this point, I'm throwing anything I think I should pack into a pile. These are the everyday clothes and I'm still not done. I'm done for the bottoms, I just need more tops so I can layer clothes for more variety! But then I need pajamas, undergarments, socks... aks;dlslklhl. I'm probably gonna be using some of those bag things that you can roll out air and flatten like 5 pieces of clothes to make more space in your suitcase.

And is six pairs of shoes too much?! Oh wait, I need flip-flips in case I go to a beach on the Mediterranean. :)

Update:

I made a list to organize all my things. And I'm pretty much done packing suitcase #1!
I've been up since 2 AM doing all this, ahhhh.

Less than a month and counting...

It's been a while since my last post, and I had meant to make a post last week. December 6th marked the 1 month period until I leave for Italy. Now it's 20 days left.

Taylor and I confirmed that our first trip out of Italy would be Paris, France. Imagine: a weekend in Paris!

I also officially have a roommate. We met through the facebook group of the program and hit it off great so we thought we'd work as roommates and requested it! :) I'm really excited about it!

Alsdfkdfh;l, I don't really have much thoughts about anything currently. Either due to recovering from finals, the fact my excitement usually doesn't hit until right before, or whatever.

64 days until Italy!

I glanced at the countdown counter on this blog, and I realized that it's past the 75-day mark and I'm getting more and more excited! (And nervous, but I'll deal with that later, haha.)

I finally got my visa set and I'm due to pick it up in 10 days or so! And this upcoming week, I am on a mission to get all the signatures from academic advising, housing, the registrar, financial aid and study abroad office to sign off on the status form which is basically for "i'm leaving next semester for study abroad but don't forget about me because i'm coming back". I'll be done with that by Wednesday.

Then that's it. All the paperwork will be done. All the work I've done for the past 5 months - done.

And then my school has a mandatory study abroad meeting at the end of November/beginning of December for all those who are study abroad.

Classes and visas, oh dear.

So I signed up for all the classes I had hoped for and best of all I don't have any classes until 10 AM and my latest class gets out at 5 PM and no classes on Fridays! This leaves tons of time to explore (after I do my homework of course) Rome and Italy and beyond.


I had my visa "meeting" yesterday. It wasn't even a meeting. It was more like talk-into-the-window kind of thing. Where you speak into a circular hole in a window at a desk. It was SO difficult to talk then. And then I got turned away because I needed two more docuents that I wasn't aware of. They needed bank statements (not just affidavit of support which I had) and "current enrollment. I handled getting the current enrollment document as soon as I got back yesterday. So now my dad is coming with me to visa office when I go again next week... oy.

An update! // Un aggiornamento!

Everything is all (almost) set!

Purchased my plane tickets, submitted my study abroad agreement (at least part one, apparently) and completed all the post-acceptance forms. Also I'm going to my college's 24-hour lab tonight at midnight to see if I can officially sign up for my classes at JCU (since 1- the registrar system doesn't work on Macs and 2- timezones!).

And Friday I'm finally meeting the Italian consulate about my visa.

And another piece of good news - my best friend officially got accepted to his study abroad program! He and I will be in Rome together, albeit 45 minutes away from each other by walking, but together nonetheless! We're both extremely excited and our dreams are coming true in less than 75 days! :)

Sono Tornato! It's been a while...

Wow, I haven't written here in a while due to getting carried away by school. I think this has been the best month I ever had here at college; I've been moving nonstop and being on top of my homework (maybe a little smudge on my math quiz but I'll do better next time!). I went to Canada for the amazing Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) and met so many different people, and some familiar people too - like my neighbors and old professors! It was really nice. :)

So my current progress in my study abroad predeparture adventures:

• finished everything but two things:
• confirming flight plans
• passport/ID photo
• I'm currently working to obtain my student visa! I hope to get a meeting with the Italian Consulate by the end of October. I'm really excited to meet them and get this thing done!

By November's end, I should be completely all set! I think that's so crazy - just a few months ago I was debating whether or not to apply to study abroad in Italy and here I am... just a few months from packing 4 months of stuff and crossing the Atlantic to the other side for the first time. Excuse me while I get sentimental. ;u ;

Quasi fatto!

I'm nearly done with my online post-acceptance forms!

Just three more things to do on there: transcript form, the flight form which will be done once i get my tickets, and passport photo which is actually something that is gonna be used for my future JCU student ID!

I just sent in the study abroad agreement form and the confirmation payment fee through mail. Lastly, I plan to start the visa application process in mid-September.

Count me excited. Now I gotta get working on scholarships. ＼(;´□｀)/

Possible flight?

After looking at my flight form on my program's site, I looked at possible flights so I can get an idea what planes I could take. One possible plane could be an overnight layover flight in London then into Rome! It'll give me a lot of time to relax between flights and picking up my luggage before getting picked up by the school.

Of course, this is only if it doesn't change by the time I actually book a ticket! I'd probably book one sometime in November. So excitedddd~ ヾ(ﾟ∀ﾟゞ)

Just got some fantastic news!

API (the study abroad program) released the online post-acceptance forms today. 

They have this online system that allows you to do most of the documents online so it's so much easier. and it has information about flight forms, etc. and through that I just found out my arrival dates when I go to Italy for the spring semester!!! !

I will be leaving January 6th, 2014 to arrive in Italy on January 7th. It feels so great to know when I am going because just that date is an official time and place and that time and place is something that makes this opportunity even more of a reality.

I've been reading all the post-acceptance information as soon as I have gotten notice of it. I suspect I'll be finished with all the forms by October (it's due November). I can't stop thinking about everything! I just want to complete all the forms and just go. I don't haven't been this excited about anything since I went to Japan 4 years ago. 

I've added a countdown clock on the right-hand side of this blog. It's to remind myself partly to wait until it's 90 days prior to departure to get my student visa and partly to display my excitement through corny use of a countdown. (ﾉ´ヮ´)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

Research [2]

Rome: Everywhere Else

For the next few posts, I'm going to list everything by neighborhood that I want to see Rome. I'm going to be looking for attractions/tourist traps and the hidden gems that only Italians know. I'm starting near the Tiber River and going to outerlying neighborhoods.

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Vatican City

• Castel Sant'Angelo - 2nd century castle built as a tomb for Emperor Hadrian (which my friend Taylor would love to see since he loves that guy).
• The Vatican Museums - there are several museums within the Vatican City. You can see all of them with one ticket (of course with what time you have). I found a list of museums here in Frommer's guide and these are my top-Vatican museum choices:
• Egyptian-Gregorian Museum - all the Egyptian artifacts like sarcophagi, mummies, statues of goddesses, etc. sounds wicked cool!
• Ethnological Museum - an assemblage of art collected from all over the world and all the rooms are based on region/ethnicity. apparently there's an impressive China section.
• Pinacotecca - aka the"Picture Gallery"; houses 11th to 19th century paintings and tapestries. there are works by Giotto there that I'd like to see.
• Pio Clementino Museum - includes lots of Greek and Roman sculptures.
• Sistine Chapel - kinda self explanatory.

Ancient Rome

• Roman Forum - this was the Roman hang-out spot for almost everything (cremating Caesar, purchasing a "harlot", sacrificing victims, or just talking. *** Gotta see the view of the Forum from the Capitoline. Great picture opportunity! ***
• Il Colesseo (The Colosseum) - Of course I need to see this!  I'll see this even if it's not in my "official" itinerary since it's near my school. 
• Palatine Hill - a hill that oversees the Colosseum and the Forum. A ticket from here will let you see all three. Apparently this was where the first settlers of Rome under Romulus set up their huts. Cool!
• Circus Maximus - Medieval and Renaissance stadium for chariot races and other sports. It's now formless (meaning there's nothing there) but you can see the path around the grasses that now grow there. I'll see this even if it's not in my "official" itinerary since it's near my school.
• Baths of Caracalla - a ruin of public baths from the 3rd century. 
• Piazza Navona - a baroque site that's not ruined by modern buildings. shaped similar to the Circus Maximus and for the same reason with chariot races.
• Pantheon - obviously a must.
• Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (Fountain of the Four Rivers) - A fountain that depicts personifications of the four greatest rivers in the world and you'd have to guess which one is which. Seems fun.

Piazza del Popolo & The Spanish Steps

• Spanish Steps - a very good meet up area. You can take the metro and get off at the Piazza di Spagna). Just good to know. 
• there's a notable upscale shopping area near here which would be fun for window shopping
• Trevi Fountain
• The Appian Way - one of the original Roman highway but the most famous
• Catacombs
• Catacombs of St. Domitilla - apparently the only catacombs with bones still

Research [1]

Rome: Trastevere

Since JCU is in the Trastevere neighborhood of Rome, and thus my home base for 4 months, I've been doing a lot of research to get to know this area so I won't be totally lost when I get there.

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Metro 

I'm still figuring out Rome's transportation system. I see the Metro as all the subways, trams and buses. It seems that the subway system only has two main lines (unlike Boston's five lines), none of which goes over the Tiber River close to Trastevere. Tragic. So I have to learn to use the buses and trams, which would be easier to learn once I'm there. Hopefully it won't be too hard to figure out the stops.

Places to Eat (AKA the "foodie bucket list")

• Panattoni - according to Fodor's Essential Italy guidebook, Panattoni is a fantastic pizza place that's open late past midnight which is a rarity for any place in Italy, especially Rome. It's down the road from my school and that means this will probably be a spot for me during quite a few evenings!
• Asinocotto - found this place through Frommer's Italy 2013 guidebook and it's a very small but sophisticated place that isn't terribly expensive. It has a lot of interesting plates apparently, especially one called orecchiette pasta which consists of eggplant, bacon and smoked ricotta - that sounds so good!
• La Boccaccia - another pizza place, which offers pizza by the slice and has a variety of pizza to try from.
• Freni e Frizioni - this is a wine bar and a café combined and is great for coffee and tea if wine isn't on your palate for the being. It has a large outdoor area that seems to be a potential spot to relax at. Fodor's Essential Italy says this place is the "hipster hangout" spot. Funny. 

 Things to do in the area

•   Trastevere's Flea Market: Porta Portese
• This is Rome's biggest flea market (garners 100,000 visitors every Sunday) and luckily it's in the same neighborhood as my school! It's open every Sunday and you can bet I'll be spending some Sundays here and trying my haggling skills. （○゜‿＾○） 

what's up with them student visas?

student visas are the most complicated things i’ve ever come across omfg there are heaps of documents to obtain and to confirm and fees and consulate visits/appointments holy batman. bUT I’M STILL GOING TO ITALY SO THIS IS ALL VERY REAL

Ciao e Benvenuto!

Hello and welcome! 
Ever since I found out that I have been accepted to study abroad at John Cabot University in Rome, Italy this spring, I knew I had to make a blog somewhere other than my personal fandom blog, and that it would be a blog that is dedicated to my 5-month trip.

I'll be writing about anything that relates to this experience from pre-departure, departure, my entire duration of the trip that, along with Italy, will probably find me in other countries while I'm at it, and my thoughts while coming home. Once in Europe, I'll definitely be posting a lot of photos! 

I'm not sure how consitent I'll be writing a post once I'm in Europe because it could go either way: write once a week or be completely swept away by everything and disappear each month. Who knows? I'll do my best. (❁´◡`❁)*✲ﾟ*