elapsed time...

Okay. I am aware I have neglected this blog but things have been crazy, and whilst I had attempted to sit down to update it several times, something has always popped up. 

*WARNING - this is a text-heavy blog post. Go get a cup of tea. 

So far I've seen some of the best and some of the worst of Italy and overall I am loving it. I still have moments where it hits me that I am in Italy and I just have to breathe. 

Friendships are flourishing wonderfully, I still haven't met too many Italian friends, but several international ones as well as getting to know my Leicester friends better too. I now have a tandem partner and I couldn't wish for any better, she is very lovely indeed! :) I have also got to know my housemates a little better too and they are such great people!

So much has happened since my last entry I can't even think where to start on updating, my memory is like a sieve. 

I think the best place to start is with the bad (although there isn't a lot) because it's always good to end on a high note. 

Firstly, as many of you may know if you're a personal/facebook friend, I had my purse stolen in Verona a couple of weeks ago. It was horrific, the moment you realise it is not in your bag, your heart sinks, trying to retrace your steps, whilst inside knowing it is a futile attempt. For me, it was more the violation. Knowing somebody has all of your details in their possession, your bank cards, driving licence etc. Luckily I called my mum and she managed to cancel them all straight away, spending time on the inside of an Italian police station was not what I anticipated for my year abroad but lets say I am glad it is now over.

The only other negative I can think of is the workload. I know this year is worth 30% of my degree, and I should expect to do a lot of university work, but I am in Italy. I want to travel and enjoy myself, not worry about the stack of reading that piles higher and higher every single day. Being an Erasmus student also means you stand out, the tutors are more likely to ask you questions, get you to read out and do extra presentations. Our lectures range from around 30 - 80 people, compared to hundreds in Leicester, so it's not like you can hide at the back and hope they don't notice, which was my usual plan of action. Shame.

One more small negative is how much I am missing English things - mainly my English friends. Seeing the 'University of Leicester Freshers' pictures gets me every time...why have so much fun without me? I also miss English food, mainly toast, sausages, bacon, steak, and proper chips (drools). I also miss having a kettle, toaster and microwave, I did not realise how much I relied on them until I no longer had them. 

Now on to the good :) Firstly, the part of Verona we did see was beautiful and I cannot wait to go back there and explore it properly!

The thing I love about Italy is that almost everything is a postcard. Going from the Attenborough tower, to centuries old buildings, from University Road to Via Zamboni. I can't complain about that. (see below)

I'm also eating insane quantities of Italian gelato, be prepared for that if you ever come here. I.just.can't.stop. 

I've been enjoying having get togethers and meals with all my friends. Getting drunk from really lovely €2 (a bottle, not glass) wine! 

I enjoyed my first trip to Ikea in 10 years. 

Most notably, and by far, my favourite thing I've done yet, is yesterdays trip to Venice (Venezia). Oh.my.goodness. I am not too well travelled, I haven't visited many places but I was not prepared for the beauty of Venice. This place is the epitome of my earlier statement about everything being a postcard. If you have ever been, you will understand and if you haven't, you must, right now, go, book some flights.

The pictures I have just don't do it justice. The grandeur of the main squares, and the unbelievable picturesque beauty of all the little side lanes and streets. Realising at the end of the day that you haven't seen a single car all day. Having to take a water-bus anywhere. We were incredibly lucky with the weather, it was pleasantly warm but not too much and the sun was reflecting perfectly off the water. 

We even managed to squeeze in a gondola ride. 

I would go back a million times. I think it would be amazing at Christmas with all the little markets and cosy shops. Most unbelievably it only cost us €10 each way and took us less than 2 hours.

In Bologna, the weather has started to cool down. Finally. I actually much prefer cooler weather when you have things to do.

Excitingly, I am going home in 4 days! It is my birthday on Friday 26th October, and because of a mix around of lectures, I have decided to go home for one week, which covers the day of my actual birthday. My boyfriend has managed to take the day off work so we can spend the day shopping and doing fun things. I plan to see all my friends, and attend Laura's birthday party. I have missed my home friends SOOOOO much. I have known them for years and years and hate being so far away from them but I cannot wait to catch up again! 

I also can't believe I will be turning 22. Oh my goodness, when did I get so old. I remember when I was 16, I thought I would have a child at 22, I thought it was still young, but quite old. LOL..that is well and truly out of the window. 

I'm sure many more things have happened in these weeks but I just cannot recall them all :) Just generally living by my favourite quote 'life, laugh, love' :)

Now I must deny that quotation and go read a book about feminist readings of the body in Virginia Woolf's novels. FUN. 

Ciao for now x 

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"

Friendship

AGRH 1 month exactly until Emma and I take to the skies on our Italian adventure. I had a lovely chat with her today and we spent a lot of the conversation flapping about everything. 

I'm sure it will all turn out okay, as we keep telling each other, people do this every year and manage. It is just rather scary considering the lack of organisation from either University (specifically the bloody Italian one).  

It is also sinking in that whilst several of my friends are doing ERASMUS and I will see them next year, I will be missing out on many friends' final year at Leicester. This saddens me greatly as I feel they are not only friends, but family and the rest of the post will be dedicated to friendship. 

I love my friends from home, they are just as special as friends from University as I have known them for many, many years. However it's a different kind of relationship with the ones at Uni.

We have shared so many special moments together, the first time we are out in the big wide world on our own and we are thrown together and told to be friends. I am extremely lucky in that my first set of housemates (Josie, Kat and Gopi) we're an absolute dream. I couldn't have wished for lovelier people. We got on from day 1, we didn't have a single argument, dragged each other home at 3am on several occasions, took pictures of each other when we fell asleep doing uni work in the kitchen at 1am and oh...all the many, many, many 'frapes'. None of these ladies are doing ERASMUS and I couldn't be more upset that I won't see them all graduate but I will always have a special place in my heart for them and I know we will be friends forever. Here's a little pic of one our first nights out together for my Birthday (I hope they don't mind :P) 

In the second year which I have just completed, I lived with Sarah, Lilian and Josie again, because I love her SOOOO much ;) Again, these are incredible friends and I love them with all my heart. I cherish the memories we have here, calling our friend Jack who lives down the road to rescue us from a spider at 11pm, being involved in a Jubilee street party, BBQ's, dealing with the *insert expletive* landlord, and the many, many house parties/pre-drinks we hosted (again, I hope they don't mind an inserted picture :P). 

So alongside the people I lived with, I have some absolutely out of this world friends from my course and ones I've met through other friends, too many to name here, and I'd be scared I'd leave somebody out but I'll leave you with a few group pictures. If any of you are reading this, I love you all. You have made my University experience everything, I could almost cry I have so many happy memories (if you put Wanderwall on, there's a chance I actually will.....ohh Red Leicester times). 

Anyway, this is just a little dedication to all of those who will graduate whilst I am away and also to those I will see on my return. I love you all more than I can write,  and I know we will be friends forever <3

Real

As I'm sure you will know if you know me personally or have read this blog previously but I am now home from a short break with my mum to Bologna. Being there in person has made things very real and whilst it's very exciting, it is also very scary! 

I'll highlight a few things from the trip :) 

Firstly, the weather. It was between 35 and 40 degrees every day and ALL day (37 degrees at 9pm), whilst this was lovely for 3 days, I sincerely hope it cools down by the time I arrive as my fragile pale skin and I may melt. 

Secondly, the food. I can definitely see myself getting used the Mediterranean Italian diet. Caprese salad's (see below), pizza and pasta are to die for, and even those are topped by Italian gelato. I am also now a convert to anything coated in extra virgin olive oil or balsamic vinegar. 

Thirdly, the architecture. Whilst studying History of Art for a year as a supplementary at University, I complained non-stop every time our lecturer would pull out a slide labelled 'Italian Architecture'. This is mainly because he was perhaps one of the most boring men I have ever met, it is also because as a technical subject, it's difficult. However visiting Italy for the first time I was utterly blown away by the beauty of the buildings.  The Piazza Maggiore which is the main square of Bologna is breathtaking and the city is filled with arcades to walk through all designed with beautiful arches. 

We attempted to find the university. We found the 'University District' but it was very quiet and very large and impossible to figure out our way around (as our map didn't cover this part of Bologna) but it did look very picturesque with the large floor to ceiling doors and more arcade walkways. I'm looking forward to deciphering my way around it with friends. 

Overall it was a great trip. But as the title of this post says, it has made things very real, we now fly out to Bologna in 5 weeks today! (Just worked that out on my calender and almost had heart failure)

Ciao 

xoxo

Time Flies...

I can not believe how time is flying! It is now August, which means I leave for my year abroad next month..AGRHH! 

Things are organised as far as they can be, we can't do anything about accommodation until we arrive. When I go to Bologna with my mum I will look at a hostel we have been recommended by a friend who is already out there. Flights and hotels here are booked. Although I have just received a new batch of paperwork from my University to try and battle and decipher my way through. 

Today I decided to brush up on my Italian but that isn't going well. Learning a new language is just so difficult! This isn't helped along by the fact that I have been struck down with illness AGAIN! I would have thought I'd had my fair share of illness this last month, but apparently not. It is mainly just a really bad cold with all the side effects but it doesn't help in getting anything done. 

I think I might link my blog on my Facebook now..so far it's been strictly Twitter only because I used to have an old blog that was linked to a rather embarrassing YouTube channel (which has now been deleted) but this is about my travel journey and I figured some of my close friends and family might be interested in keeping an eye on what I am up to.

So if you're reading this because of the link I posted on my Facebook then Hello :) Please scroll down and read from the first post so it all makes sense :) 

Ciao for now <3