Last day in the States before my adventure!

I've actually never consistently blogged like this before, but I figured this would be a good way to keep everyone updated on my adventures in beautiful Italy (and hopefully other areas of Europe!) For those of you who don't speak italian, the title of my blog, "le mie piccole avventure in italia," translates to "my little adventures in Italy," and the blog address "con tanto amore, Kayee" means "with all my love, Kayee"- is similar to how I like ending my letters to family and friends. I'm thinking I might update this blog at least once a week, but with all my packing and last-minute errands I haven't figured it out yet, so for now I guess we'll just play things by ear :)

So, today is my last day in North Carolina before I head out to Florence, Italy! Part of me is still not grasping the concept that in a day, I will be almost halfway around the world (from Los Angeles); and the other part of me is literally about to jump out of my skin from excitement. (And then a really really little part of me right now is sad about how I won't be able to listen to Pandora outside of the US because I am such a Pandora addict). Ever since freshman year of USC, I wanted to participate in the study abroad program that our animation department offers for students, so now that I'm finally about to head off to Italy I can barely contain myself.

To be honest, even after taking a semesters worth of Italian, I still know very little about the country and culture, so I'm not quite sure what I should be expecting. My time in Hong Kong this past winter has taught me to put aside my "american" standards and upbringing, so I hope that I will be able to do the same here. Going to Italy will be more of a challenge though, because even though I still had to go through adjustment in Hong Kong, my Chinese upbringing has made it fairly easy for me to transition. Italy, on the other hand, is a world that I have only begun to explore. I want to arrive in Florence with an open heart and mind and learn all that I possibly can about Italians, art, culture, history, and anything else I can manage to get my hands on. Despite the stereotype of Florence being a highly "americanized" and "touristy" city, I want to go out of my way to learn as much about the local life, culture, and language as I can. I mean, I'm not going to Italy to be American.

I do know what I'm excited about though! I'm so excited to attend a full-on art school for the first time, and I know that I am about to meet really, really amazing and talented people/friends. I cannot wait to immerse myself in the city that I have heard so much about through my art history lessons in high school, and traveling!!! Not only in Italy, but around Europe. I absolutely will not leave without seeing the alps in Switzerland, or the Christmas Markets in Munich. And the best part is that I will be sharing this experience with a good number of my animation classmates and friends from USC!

And before I head off to bed, here is a picture of my slow but sure progress in packing :)