Day 1: On the Moon - I mean....

I got up ready for my flight. Bags were packed. Last minute details taken care of. All was as it should be.

Bolts of excitement shot through the group as we gathered for final farewells. Dr. Cole gave us a lot of encouragement and with misty eyes said goodbye to this first group entering the Rome program. We were pumped!

After everyone got through security we rejoiced to find our flight on time...then there was a slight delay...then we were flying to Paris....then - canceled.

I filmed a super great video telling you the whole story...but due to technical difficulties, you'll have to get the low down the old fashioned way ;)

Everything turned out really well. All sixteen of us got our own room is the super posh hotel. As we checked in the attendants gave us each a chocolate chip cookie (the shmoosing was great!) Each member of our party also got vouchers for dinner, breakfast, and lunch. So all looking up.

Our all American hamburger dinner was outstanding. Then we got a surprise visit from Brian and Brenna. Supposedly, Brian had came to "say good-bye to me" but I think I know better ;) Girlfriend + scoring points with the best friend!

Anyways, Mr Wright took up for milkshakes and then we had a wonderful, good old fashioned pillow fight! It lasted on and off for about an hour haha

If we had to spend another night in thr USA that was the way to go.

Please check out the other pics from the trip on my Facebook page!!!

Today is the Day!

This is my last blog post from the USA for quite a while! I can't believe this day is finally here...it doesn't seem real. I am excited...but it all still seems pretty sureal.

I think I'm still waiting for someone to pinch me so I wake up.

But here goes nothing...I'm off to the airport.

Will send updates soon :)

1 Day to Go...

Time is a really strange phenomenon. Five seconds of silence can take a lifetime to pass when you're in a really awkward situation, or five hours can fly by when you're having fun.

When I was accepted into the Rome program it seemed so extremely distant. I spent a semester looking forward to this trip, three month of summer seemed like they would never end, and now I've just spent my last weekend at home for quite a while. One more day in the USA

I'm not going to lie, this last week has been hard. During orientation I once again realized how much I love my college. I met so many new people and deepened past friendships, so coming home to pack was really difficult. One day I even told my mom "What the heck was I thinking going away for a whole semester!?" And now I'm facing the reality of saying goodbye to my family for three months.

Its pretty mind blowing. I am feeling very overwhelmed...but I know that everything is really going to be okay. The Lord worked everything out so perfectly for this trip. I know I am supposed to go, and that He has amazing things in store for me!

I am going to get to do what many people dream about doing. Living in another culture, traveling, meeting people, and growing into the person that God would have me to be.

This is going to be an amazing three months and it will be good just to get over there and begin my journey!

5 Day Update

The clock is ticking and I am feeling pretty good about my 'To Do' list. I've spent the last few days running errand and getting organized...hopefully it will all pay off when I get to Rome!

So here is the progress I've made on the list:

• Buy School Books – Done! And the best part is I got all my books, for the whole semester, for a whopping $40. Now that is economy my friend.

• Plan Plan Plan – Lets just say I have a three ring binder filled with amazingness! Now I have to powwow with Lisa for final arrangements on our 10 day adventure.
  

• Budget – Tuition paid, Credit Card received, Debit Card renewed, companies notified of my travels
  

• Research and Purchase Electronics – Finally decided on this Panasonic Lumix and I'm loving it!
  
  
• Knock Out My Killer Shopping List – Well, after the longest shopping trip of my life, I though I had everything, but today I managed to make up another list *sigh*
  
  
• Dealing With My #1 Problem – I have one suitcase packed! Now I have to tackle fitting all the rest of my stuff in the other one!
  

* Secret Coding: (Strikethrough – completed) (Italic – Waiting) (Bold – Working on it!)

I spent a good part of this afternoon packing my large suitcase and I think its finally starting to sink in how long I am going to be gone. We are supposed to bring enough clothing for 2-3 week...and it has to be warm clothing...and weigh under 50 pounds too. So I'll keep you updated oh how that goes haha

The clock is ticking and I still can't believe this is happening!

6 Days...Lets Just Take a Moment to Think About This Shall We?

So, in less than one week I will be boarding a plane to spend three months of my life in Europe. (I'm sure by now you're tired of hearing this, but then again, you could go read someone else's blog ;) Anyways, to make a long story short, I was thinking about all of the things in my life that are going to change as I embark on this new adventure. For example:

In 6 days I'll be in a totally new country and culture

By September 16 I will have been in school one week - Geneva students will be at 2.5 weeks

In two months I will have visited five European countries. I'll have spent the night on a train, stayed in multiple hostels, experienced couch surfing, sang "Do Ra Me" on the Sound of Music tour in Salzburg, seen a fashion show in Paris, and stood before the glimmering lights of the Eiffel Tower.

And within the next three months I will have traveled through Italy, ridden a gonadal, been lost on the metro, learned how to cook, see the Coliseum and the Leaning Tower of Pisa, studied a foreign language, lived with the locals, and made new friends.

There will be tough times to. I know that I'll get homesick and have to deal with problems just like any other time in my life. But I hope this will be such an incredible opportunity for me just to grow into the person that God wants me to be.

Its hard to take it all in. So much is going to happen to me in a mere 90 days and I am looking forward to ebracing this new experience with all of the joy and enthusiasm I can must. The Lord has given me such an amazing opportunity to learn and I cannot wait to find out what He has planned. This truly will be a life changing experience....I'm not sure you'll recognize the Sarah who comes back!

And it all starts in 6 days...

8 Days...This is Really Happening

I think every inexperienced blogger suffers from a drought every now and again. For me, these last two weeks have been crazy busy and An Optimist's Alcove has suffered. But hopefully this week I will be able to get things back on track.

What have I been doing that could have possibly been more important than blogging? How about freshman orientation!

This year I was a part of Orientation Leadership Staff - and boy was it a blast. I semi-moved back to school for two weeks. The first week was filled with planning and running errands until the new students arrived.

Move in day was the outrageous. I stood on the curb outside of the girl's dorm and directed traffic all while greeting families, finding out what room the girl was in, and then yelling at football players so they knew where to take the stuff!

But it didn't stop there. The next few days were filled with a trip to Pittsburgh, picnicking, tug-of-war, water balloons, sleep deprivation, student panels, ice cream, the O-Show, and finger paints.

It was an incredible two weeks! Definitely not void of frustrations, but having the opportunity to form deeper friendships and begin new relationships with the incoming class was so amazing...

...and then I came home.

Yesterday was the first day of classes for everyone else on campus - except me. I have 8 more days of summer. 8 more days to pack, 8 more days in the USA, 8 more days until ROME!

This is really happening

OMG!