the hardest week of my life

I've experienced around one thousand, one hundred and forty one weeks in my life, and this one was by far the most stressful, and most difficult one of them all. Exactly one week from sitting in a Premier Inn hotel in Gatwick, I finally say things are starting to look up.

Rather than give you a chronological run down of the last week, perhaps boring you all to tears, I will just tell you about the highlights, or should I say 'lowlights'. 

Whilst we were warned of the difficulties that we would face in this first week, we just didn't expect what we were faced with. 

Emma and I arrived so optimistic, thinking in a few days we'd be settled in a nice house enjoying Bologna, partying every night and getting ready to begin University...oh how naive we were. On a side note, our hostel 'il Nosadillo' was lovely, Olga was particularly friendly, pointing out all the sights on a young persons map and offering to phone Italian-speaking houses for us. Here's a picture of the door from the inside..they are so big here in Italy. 

I think in the last week I phoned approximately 50 numbers regarding a room. From that, I had around 10-15 viewings all resulting in various outcomes (for example, the room not actually existing, being in the wrong city, people not answering the door etc). Searching for a room here involves checking 5 websites several times a day, facebook pages and walls of notices like this: 

I think I've visited every corner of this map!

It is now a Sunday and I FINALLY have a room. I am living with 6 others, I haven't got to know many of them yet, we are all different nationalities but everybody seems lovely so far!
My room is pretty basic but it will do for one year, it doesn't have a window which was a shock at first but it's actually not that bad :) There is a different colour on every wall which helps it look brighter.

Every day of the last week has been a roller coaster, thinking you have a room and then it falling through at the last minute, wandering where you are going to live once your hostel stay runs out...at one point, Emma and I were considering getting on a plane and turning back. 

Not speaking Italian has made the last week even more difficult, however living with Italian speakers, I feel my skills will improve greatly in the next year. 

There have however been some good points in the last week. Bologna is beautiful and with viewings across the city I have got to see a lot of it in the lovely weather we are having here (around 25 degrees daily). We attended a 'Tandem' event on our second day, where we met up in a bar with Tej and Olivia (fellow Leicester-ians) and we met some new people from around the world such as Claudia and Sam and tried to make new connections and friends to help learn Italian. 

We officially registered as UniBo students (Here's Emma outside the ERASMUS office..after we waited in a queue for over an hour).

We ate the biggest pizza of our lives!

In terms of University, we don't actually start until the 1st of October, so I have some time to prepare, but in traditional Italian style, it is a complicated and unorganised process. We have to research the modules online, make sure they don't clash, then if they don't, attend the first lecture, introduce yourself and ask if you can follow the course. As if all of that wasn't difficult enough, the website is in Italian, we can only take the very few courses that are taught in English and try and make up enough ECTS credits. OH and get all relevant documentation filled in, signed and faxed to Leicester.

I just want to do this.. AAAAGGRHHHHHHHHHHHH.

Hopefully now that I have a room, once I have sorted out getting a 'codice fiscale' (essentially a tax code) and the modules I will be taking, I can finally relax. I can't wait to be able to have a social life and meet new people, I think the house I am living in is filled with people who like to have a good time so hopefully when I get to know them a little more we can do things together!

Now I must end this blog post so I can go and attempt to figure out what I will be studying for the next year :/

P.S MASSIVE shout out to all friends and family who have got me through this last week online/over text/skype...specifically Josephiiiiiine ;)



Ciao for now xoxo

Inspiration

Just a little blog post this time. Some of my favourite songs to listen to when I need inspiration. I've been listening to these a lot lately..they help me to focus on and be happy with decisions I've made and am making. 

There are old ones, new ones, cheesy ones, rap ones...a little something to suit my every mood. Here's a snippet of a few from the list. 

Rascal Flatts - Life is a highway

Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten

Gabriella Cilmi - On a Mission

Eminem - Not Afraid

Kelly Clarkson - Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)

Seven Days

In seven days time..I will be in Bologna. Beginning my year abroad and taking a huge leap into the unknown. 

I have to say seven days because I feel it sounds longer than one week or 'this time next week' in which I start to panic and flap around like a headless chicken. 

Many of my friends who are also doing year abroad's with ERASMUS have already arrived at their destinations and knowing I am next is terrifying, yet seeing how they are all enjoying it is extremely comforting. 

I haven't updated this blog for a while because I have been on holiday with my boyfriend. We went to Tenerife and had a 'fantabulous' (my personal favourite adjective) time. 

It was so pleasant to just escape all the stresses. I am someone who can hide and contain stress fairly well. If you were to spend time around me you would probably have no idea how anxious and stressed I am right now. 

So this holiday was just bliss. To be able to empty my mind of thinking too hard, read a great book (Divergent for those wandering) and have fun. I got to see Dolphins, Orca Whales, Sea Lions, Penguins and lots of my other favourite animals, I got to spend time at one of the best and most renowned water parks in Europe and drink a tonne of Sangria whilst soaking up the sun. 

 It was also kind of sad to leave as it marked the end of our 'real' time together before I leave for Italy (even though I will obviously see him this week around work) and I am well aware of how difficult the next year will be. 

Anywhoo....trying to think about it as a positive rather than negative thing because after all, I did chose to do this. I was not forced into it and I need to enjoy and relish every moment of this opportunity. 

The organisational aspect of things are going okay, I'm just trying to make a list of everything to take, get all my paperwork together. Keeping my diary updated is currently keeping me sane whilst I start saying goodbye to friends and family. 

I have been doing a LOT of thinking recently too, about the future and all it holds. When I started my degree I was completely set on teaching I was just unsure as to what age group. I am now re-thinking all of my life decisions. I am definitely still interested in teaching but a part of me wants to do something completely different, whatever that is. 

I'm having one of those periods where I want to be everything. I watched a series on Midwives and now I want to be a midwife. I recently have been involved in a bit of politics and want to be a politician or go into law. Then a big part of me is interested in journalism (particularly fashion and beauty) but knowing how competitive and popular those careers are is daunting and overwhelming, and therefore off-putting. So I'm at a bit of a life-crossroads and I'm hoping this next year abroad will help me towards figuring that out.

I've been looking for some inspirational quotes everywhere recently and I'll just post a few of my favourites (sorry to Alex for stealing yours but I loved it <3)"No, no! The adventures first, explanations take such a dreadful time."

"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself"

"Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional"

And perhaps the most over-used, corny quote of all time, but one I live by...

"When one door closes, another one opens"