Hey Mom, I'm in Italy!!! (25-01-2012)

I wrote this yesterday before I had internet.

I have never been subject to such torture as two transfers and three flights in less than 24 hours.  I exaggerate—Well, maybe not. Most of it was pleasant. International flights keep you plugged in with movies such as Harry Potter 7 part 2, any music, and multi or single player games. I rock at solitaire, just so you know. Towards the end of the 8-hour flight, though, I did not feel well. Maybe motion sickness caught up to me, or the long day had, but I really wanted to crash. I finally zonked out in my last flight from Amsterdam to Florence for an hour that I do not recall. I think that nap has allowed me to stay up to 9:00pm Florence time when I woke up 6:00am Racine time. I don’t want to know how long that is.

I can tell you right now that I love the shuttles that ship you from one terminal to another. They are so fast and smooth that it is almost like flying, just on the ground. In Chicago, the shuttles are above ground traveling over a decent distance. In Atlanta, the shuttle was underground, and the distance shorter. The contrast was amusing for whatever reason. None of the layover times were long enough to be bored, which was very nice.

Other than my plane-mate Abbey, a colleague of mine, who kept me on my toes and knew where to be and when, I ended up meeting a Facebook friend, Monica, on the international flight. We all got along great, which was very cool. Another classmate was on the flight, but we did not meet her until later. Jessica and I talked Doctor Who and Sherlock all the way to the flight that would take us to Florence. New best friend? I believe so.

On the final flight to Florence, I saw the Swiss Alps. I have seen the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains earlier in my life, but I have to say, the Alps take my breath away. While the Rockies and Cascade are a straight line, the Alps are a forest of land jutting high into the sky. They go on forever! It makes me sad, though, to look at them. Parts of the mountain are bare due to the glaciers melting off of them. Trees have crept up to the snows edge, but now it looks as though the snow bleached the summit tan and let the forest darken the bottoms. Houses dot the mountain-sides in niches. It is the coolest thing I have seen in a long time. Don’t tell the Rockies, but I’m having an affair with the Alps!

All my bags were accounted for! That worry was down. I had some confusion with my last ticket, and I feared that my bag would get lost. The fear was in vain, though. Everything has gone smoothly so far!

Well, that ended. Over half of the class arrived around the time my flight did, but only two shuttle buses were reserved to take us to the office. I had to wait 2 hours before finally getting my baggage in the van. Compared to the Netherlands, it was baking in Florence! Staying in the sun for all that time is sure to have fried some of my brain.

I have settled into Santa Felicita apartment with my apartmentmates Makena, Devan, Gloria and Leah. My roommate is Jackie, and she is very kind to let me move everything around before she came and to let me have the comforter. Makena, Leah, Jackie and I went out for dinner this evening to a pizza place. It was a great time to talk and enjoy our first meal in Italy.

I cannot wait for tomorrow!

P.S. I will finally have pictures of my amazing, totally renaissance apartment tomorrow! It is better than I could ever hope for.