This experience will be much different than my life in Korea. Firstly, instead of teaching 40 students at once in a public school setting I will live with a family that has three children. I will have my days and weekends free, and I've already signed up for Italian classes at the local University. Also, this is only a 6 month gig, instead of one year (that ended up being extended to two!). I know this time will fly by and I hope to get as much out of this experience as possible. And after my job there is done, I'm going to travel until I get sick of Europe or go broke, whichever comes first. Surely the latter. :)
Pre-Italy excitement (in no particular order):
1. Pizza
2. Wine
3. Gelato
4. Good Cheese
5. Art / Architecture
6. Becoming a part of my Italian family
7. Meeting up with old (and new) friends
8. Learning about Italian Culture
Ok, so what if half of these are food? I'm hoping to put Elizabeth Gilbert to shame on this trip --hopefully without all the weight gain...! Now time for a cliché:
“Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it. You must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it.” ― Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love
