Lago di Garda

I know I've been neglecting my blog. I officially start 'school' today!

Lago di Garda was amazing! It was nice to get away from the city for the weekend and just relax, and don't worry! This time I did not fall into lake water, but it would have been perfectly fine if I did. Haha. We started with an early train ride there, where we all pretty much fell asleep. It was an hour and a half long, so we did have a little bit of time to get ready for the long day ahead.

After getting to destination point, we caught a cab to the trailer park where we were staying. It definitely was the cutest little trailer...ever. LOL! It had air conditioner, and I had my own bed. After dropping our stuff off there, we headed out to get something to eat because we were all so hungry. Jade and I split a hamburger and french fries. It was seriously so good! We then headed out to rent those foot paddle boats. I don't even know what they were called, but it was definitely so AMAZING!

We walked around in the pounding sun for about an hour. The town was so pretty, but it was definitely a relief to get back to a place we recognized. We chilled at the pool for a while before going to dinner at this Mexican place. The food was alright, but the company was AWESOME.

The next morning a group of us wanted breakfast. In Italy, they don't do "breakfast." You know....eggs, pancakes, bacon, waffles....and in Hawaii rice, fried rice, spam. Haha. But we went around looking for something that would satisfy our craving, but with no luck, we found the nearest restaurant and decided for some pasta. It ended up being a great decision. We were going to try and catch the bus to the castle, but it started pouring, so instead we decided to go back to Milan. It was a great decision at the perfect time because the train system was on a strike that day! We got lucky though. When we got up to the window, the ticket lady said she just heard of a train we could catch back to the city. We were stoked that everything worked out perfectly!

This weekend we stayed in Milan because it was Milano Fashion Week!!!! It was amazing, but that'll be my next blog. I'm also heading to Oktoberfest next weekend. We're driving from Milan to Germany. I'm so excited!

Bug bites and language barriers

Although Italy is AMAZING (I have no other words to describe it!), there have still been a couple of interesting situations. Haha. I have these incredibly huge bug bites: one on my arm, the others on my two legs. The one on my arm has swollen up to the size of a huge orange! It's not enjoyable at all, and I'm not sure what to do about it except ice it.

The language barrier makes it harder to communicate. I'm not sure why I wasn't expecting for it to be so hard, but this experience will definitely help me be more compassionate to those who don't speak my language. I've been trying to pick up Italian as quickly as possible, and the Italians who do know that we can't speak Italian are really helpful. Haha. I'm definitely learning a lot about everything!

But onto the AMAZING things....

We've been exploring our neighborhood. It's everything you think Italy would be! We've also made amazing new friends from all over the world: Brazil, France, Hungary just to name a few. They're awesome people and have definitely made the language barrier a lot easier.

Our school is beautiful. They have these gorgeous courtyards with the greenest grass I've ever seen. We've also found that for this Italian intensive course we're taking, we only have school on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays. And for the regular semester classes, we don't have school on Fridays, so you know what that means....HAHA!

We also went to the Duomo the other day. We were supposed to meet up with some friends that day, but we couldn't find them when we got to our meeting place, so Jade and I decided to walk to the Duomo. It was amazing! When we turned the corner and saw it, we were speechless. We have nothing like that in Hawai'i. NOTHING! Haha.

Ciao!

The Thrill

OH EM GEE! That's all that's pretty much going on in my head right now. After all this time talking about leaving to study abroad, I'm finally doing it. I leave for Milan, Italy tomorrow. I'm nervous yet definitely excited!!! I mean...how can I not be? After going from bringing only one fifty pound bag, I'm officially bringing two forty-something pound bags. I'm not even sure if I have everything I need, but I definitely have enough shoes. Haha. JK...Dad!!! A girl could never have too many shoes anyway :)

AHHHHH!!!!! I can't believe this. I'm leaving for the airport at 4:15 this morning. I'm also planning to stay up all night. I would never be able to sleep anyway. I'm way to STOKED for this semester!

I leave in less than a week: three days to be exact. I'm feeling nostalgic not only about this summer but about my family, friends, and Hawai'i. This is the first time I'll be living away from Hawai'i, let alone home. It's only four months....I'm not expecting to get home sick, but everyone keeps telling me I'll eventually get home sick. We shall see...

I haven't really started packing yet. I guess I should start doing that. Hmmm....what to pack. I want to bring everything including my three adorably, naughty dogs! Haha.

There's so much to do, yet so little time. I'm not worried....yet!

It's finally starting to hit me! Well, maybe...

University of Hawaii started school today, and my brother leaves for Oregon tomorrow. What in the world?! I guess it really is time to get back on track for school. This summer has by far been one of the best summer's I can ever remember. I didn't have to worry about work or school :) It was nice to have probably one of the last "real" summers before the "real world" actually hits. And to think...this summer started off with one of the most amazing shoots I've been to all thanks to Kori at Little Darlings Hawaii!

I'm leaving for M I L A N next week! WHAT?!! Someone pinch me!

3 AM RANTS/RAVES

• Insomnia has set in. I find myself tossing, hoping to find that perfect dream position, but instead I end up sleeping extremely late/waking up extremely early.
• At least I can catch Boy Meets World at 6 AM.
• Why hasn't anyone told me about this Nickelodeon throwback channel? I'm obsessed.
• I hate how I keep refreshing my Facebook status feed at 3 in the morning because there's nothing better to do.
• Netflix is a lifesaver especially this early, but I can't find anything to watch!
• I've only recently discovered that Passion Pit covered Dreams by The Cranberries. I can honestly say that I can't get enough.
• I probably should get back to these emails waiting to be replied to.
• Or maybe I should play minesweeper on my iPhone. Seriously....so addictive!
• If you're wondering if there's a connection between those pictures up there and this post, it's very random. The pictures fit my mood. I'm a visual person. I like pretty things.
• I just realized that that's Diamond Head in the background. I actually forgot I took these. Score! Going in my portfolio tomorrow.
• And if you didn't know...G A R L I C M I S O C H I C K E N at Zippy's is BACK!!! I'm so excited. I've been waiting for this since last year. I better get my fix before it disappears again!

P.S. My phone just fell between the wall and my bed again. I should get it because I need the alarm tomorrow just in case I don't wake up. Haha.

And the countdown begins...

It's officially August, which means that I leave in exactly thirty days! The fact that I'll be in Italy for four months is finally starting to settle in. Whoa! A wave of nervousness just hit me. What do I bring? What can I buy there? And what won't I need? Even then, how am I going to fit four months of my life into one suitcase? Nonetheless, I'm still excited!

Alyssa Wooten for Reverie Jewelry

Finally Moving

It's almost August which either means that it's time to get excited for my study abroad in Italy, or it's time to get worried because I haven't finished everything I have to do before I leave! It's a little of both to be honest. Between waiting anxiously for my VISA or buying a coat for the trip, I've been just a little on edge. I mean, I live in beautiful Hawai'i. The only time, if any, we need a coat is almost never, and I know the transition from going to summer all the time (Hawai'i weather) to way colder weather shall be interesting. Nevertheless, I'm definitely excited!

If you don't know, I'll be studying abroad in Milan, Italy for a semester (4 months). I've never been out of the country, so EVERYTHING will be foreign to me. I'll also be attending school with one of my most awesome friends, Jade. We've pretty much got all the big stuff down. We got our beautiful apartment in a safe neighborhood. (Mom, this ones for you!) We of course bought our "round-trip" plane tickets. The only thing we're really waiting for is our VISA, which we sent in last week. Apparently all the Italian consulates are on vacation until August (great for them, but not so much for us.)

The rest of the things we have to do aren't as big but are still of importance. Here's our list so far:

• Get traveler's check/figure out the money situation
• Unlock our phones
• Buy US to EU converters/Adapters
• Get physicals
• Go to the swap meet for gifts for future friends
• Government travel registration
• Sign up for miles

Pretty important stuff. There's more, but these are the more important of those things. Arrivederci!