Checkpoint

Today is a milestone. I have already completed the first quarter of my study abroad experience, one month- gone forever. I have three more. That is 12 weeks, 90 days, 2160 hours, 128, 600 minutes, 7,776,000 seconds. And by the time I am finished writing this, it will only be 7,775,000 seconds. Yikes!

So I have constructed a road map for success/ bucket list/ general instruction manual to guide me through my remaining time here. I started with one list, but over my four weeks it has expanded and evolved quite a bit. I hope that by looking and updating it frequently, I am never living in the moment so much that I lose too many of them, and subsequently, sight of what’s actually important.

Roadmap/ bucket list/general instruction manual for Florence:

1. Travel to as many places as possible

o Barcelona
o France (Check!)
o Prague
o Amsterdam
o Capri (Booked!)
o Venice (Booked!)
o Dublin (Booked!) - Go to the world famous Guinness Storehouse mmmm
o Rome (Check!)
o Rest of nearby Italy: Verona, Milan, Sienna, Montepulciano, Naples, Pisa

2. Document each of these visits through writing, pictures, and souvenirs.

3. Learn how to balance touristy activities with authentic and personal ones.

4. Make a friend in each place, the more the merrier.

5. Enjoy pasta without eating too much.

6. Find a surrogate Italian family.


7. Try not to stress out about anything, mainly finances, as it will only detract from my experience.

8. Practice living a healthy, balanced lifestyle.

9. Get off my ass. No sleeping in past 9am. *Recently added so I can start maximizing my time

10. Learn the Italian language as best as possible, even if that means teaching myself.



11. Try improving my French or learn a little bit of another language (German perhaps?)

12. Get a tattoo.

13. Eat pizza in Naples.

(Paternal figures, skip to point 15)

14. Buy a sexy Italian lingerie set.

15. Stop facebooking as much. Nobody is having more fun than you Linds, don't worry.
*Note: Twitter exempt

16. Become a food and wine pairing master.

17. Go wine tasting in every region in Italy.

18. Ignore the few pounds I will inevitably put on.

19. Get involved in my classes. I have time here, and no excuse NOT to do all my assignments and readings for once.

20. Apply for internships back home, and keep up to date on all my bills so I’m not overwhelmed when I get back.

21. Party. (I’m only young and abroad once!)


So that’s it! My 21 rules to a successful experience in Italy. I’m sure it will grow as I remember more and more things I find to be important, and amendments will be made to many of the rules, but as a general set of instructions and goals, I think it encompasses pretty much all the essentials.

They say that we will inevitably have regrets. But if I’m careful, and keep up-to-date on my road map for success/ bucket list/ general instruction manual I’m hoping that I can walk away from this experience with as few of them as possible.