The journey to Paderno.

 I can’t believe this is real. One of the girls we met here said that for the first week or so, she felt as though she was having an out of body experience, and I think that is exactly how I feel. I keep asking myself, “Wait, am I REALLY in Italy??” Then I continue to remind myself that, “Yes, yes, you are.” What an amazing opportunity. I feel so blessed to be here and have a semester of life-long memories.

Traveling here went very well. No flight delays, or running to catch a flight. The landing in Dallas was a bit bumpy so that did start my nerves, but they were definitely calmed when I met up with Megan minutes later to travel the rest of the way together. The theme of the first couple hours of our flight was CATCH UP. We talked, talked, and talked. Then we decided we better get some sleep otherwise we were going to fully regret it as the next few days went on. We took our sleeping pill, put on our headphones and movies, and hoped for a few hours of sleep.

Arriving in London was a whirlwind. We had a short connection, so we quickly walked through the airport, went through security (which we weren’t expecting), and in about an hour we were boarded and headed to Venice!  Once landed in Venice, we retrieved our luggage (which we were THRILLED to see had arrived), and began our long wait in the airport.

We had signed up to ride our program’s bus from the airport. Sadly, we did not realize that the bus was going to be picking us up at 4, meaning we would be trapped in the airport for about 4 hours. The first hour was quite entertaining. We were people watching, ordering our first meal, and the excitement kept a big smile on our faces. Then, as time went on, all we wanted to do was go outside and explore, but obviously, with our luggage, this wasn’t feasible.  We were just anxious to get started! It was nice to talk to some of the other CIMBA (our program) students, but we were all so tired that the conversations were difficult to carry.

After we loaded the bus, we set out on our hour and half bus ride to Paderno del Grappa, where our campus is located. To be honest, I don’t remember much of the ride because I was fighting to keep my eyes open and the sun was setting so we weren’t able to see much of the countryside. What I did see was amazing though, especially when the mountains started coming into view.

Mountains surround Paderno, and the views are incredible. The sunsets are especially beautiful. We have spent the first few days getting acclimated, making friends, and learning more about the Italian way of life.  Pasta is THE option when going thru the line in the cafeteria, and coffee is as strong as possible (still good though J).

We are headed to Venice this weekend, and couldn’t be more excited! Here goes our first hostel experience. THIS IS REAL LIFE.

-Hannah