Counting Down...

I just finished my final and am now done with summer school, which is a great relief. My parents should arrive in SLO soon, and tomorrow I will move back home to Livermore before I depart for Europe. I leave in only 9 days! This week I completed all of my and Pepe's reservations, so I don't have much to worry about. For the time being I plan on reading about the sites before I see them, studying the layout of each city using Google Earth, and making sure I will have everything I need when I pack. I also received my Italian Visa recently and paid for my Permit to Stay (Permesso di Soggiorno), which I need to obtain within a week upon my arrival in Rome. So far from what I've read about the Italian bureaucracy (and Italy in general), it seems like it is very disorganized, and getting my Permit to Stay will likely be a tedious process. Many Italians don't even bother paying taxes, forming/waiting in lines, or following traffic rules like stopping at red lights. It will be quite an experience adjusting to the different customs and culture when I get there, but that is what studying abroad is mainly about: living in a different environment to broaden your perspectives. I look forward to it as an exciting challenge. Ciao!