Arrivo!

Buon giorno tutti! I’m here and everything’s great. The trip really wasn’t so bad, and if I’m going to be honest, I’d have to say that I enjoyed it. My wonderful, gracious family took time from work and school to join me at the airport for my final hours in America. I went through security swiftly, through a few air kisses back to the ‘rents and fratellino, and hung out at the gate for a while. At first, I was a little upset to find out that my seat was the last row on an aisle, but boy was I surprised. This wasn’t any plane, but an “air bus” with personal touch screen televisions with our choices of movies, TV shows, and music. Not to mention I had the window and aisle all to myself and the best airplane food I’ve ever had. Che fortuna!

I met a guy from Bulgaria across the aisle who was so intriguing that neither of us slept on the entire 8 hours! We would come to regret this decision as the plane landed in Munich, but I enjoyed the company and how the time seemed to slip by. I rushed off to my next gate for the final leg to Pisa to find nothing but the usual Italian way: waiting. When we boarded the toy plane as I like to think of it, I should’ve known that the ride was going to be a bumpy one. I’ve never been scared of flying before but this particular pilot gave my nerves a run for their money. The flight was only 1.5 hours but with George Clooney’s look-alike sitting across the aisle who would expect me to fall asleep. I must say how utterly wonderful it was to be surrounded by Italian again. And already I’ve been mistaken for an Italian, but couldn’t keep up with the conversation and had to confess myself.

Once in the airport, I was met by a terrific group of women. Crazy as it may seem, but my ENTIRE program is other ladies from around the nation. We’ve been spending a lot of time getting to know each other and it really feels like we have a complimentary fit. I can’t wait to see what unfolds for us over these four months. But now, I’m getting ready to sleep after this long journey. They’ve put us up at questo agriturismo which is quite comfortable. I learned how to play a few Italian card games like Scopa, which was quite entertaining to say the least. And of course the food was good, although I almost fell asleep in my 4 course meal. So now vado a letto. Ciao ciao!