Four Week Mark

As of a few days ago, I have only four more weeks in Florence. Crazy how fast the time has flown by! I am in awe in all I have done and seen, every part of the last few months has been amazing. I can vividly remember the week before I first arrived in Europe.. frantically rushing around town getting medications, european power convertors, extra socks.. the list goes on and on. And I'm sure my parents remember me freaking out about my luggage weight or forgetting certain things. It all seems so minimal now that I've been here all semester.. I've learned to re-wear my clothes a million times, pack light for 3 day weekends, and blow dry my hair on the absolute lowest power level to avoid setting the hair dryer on fire and blowing a fuse. Learning to adjust to the ways of a true study-abroad student has made me realize how many things at home or even at school in Spokane that I take for granted. That being normal sized showers, free drinking water, and doing laundry more than once a month. But I've also realized that going without these things hasn't been a tragic loss. European hostels and Italian bathrooms have taught me to be okay with not living in the luxury of my parents' home!

I'm off to finish a 10 page paper due tomorrow, and then Wednesday I'm off to Vienna and Salzburg! More details to come.. but I do know it's supposed to be snowing. After this Thanksgiving break trip to Austria with my friend Brittany I only have one more destination on my list, which is Interlaken, Switzerland. It's supposed to be the extreme sports capital of the world, or something of the sort, but ( don't worry Mom) I won't be sky diving because it's 265 Euro.. which converted into US dollars is not a pretty number. But I do plan on going canyon jumping, which is where you jump off a platform 280 feet above ground and literally swing through a canyon while attached to all sorts of support cables. Should be interesting!

P.S. As of today I have only 8 days of actual class left.. but over 3 weeks left in Europe. yikes!