More than a week in China gives much to think about, although life here is so fast that it’s hard to remember many of the things that have surprised me and, when I finally find some time to tell you about my first impressions, without realizing it, many other things have vanished.

Ciao amici! It is day three in Italy, and things are going as well as can be expected. The night before my flights was a nightmare. Thank you United for claiming to confirm my flights, kicking me off at the last possible minute, and saying that in order for me to get a seat, I would have to pay triple the original amount. Somehow through all of the chaos, I managed to safely land in Florence, and meet up with my group in time to take the private bus to Siena.

Today is Tuesday, August 30th. It’s 12:32pm, and so far all day I’ve been back and forth between packing haphazardly and watching the first five minutes of different movies on Netflix, unable to like one enough to commit to it fully.  

I’ve been in Nice for a week now, and I’m truly not sure why I haven't come to the French Riviera sooner! I love it here! This past week has been a whirlwind and this quick post is not even the tip of the iceberg, but it highlights the culture of France, specifically Nice, that I have sincerely enjoyed so far.

Hello again dear reader(s),

With less than a week to go before I head off to Spain I thought I would share with you some things I think are important to consider as you finalize your packing list. Now, I must stress that the items I list below are only suggestions. Seriously, I’m a blogger, not your mother. Take these things, don’t take them, it’s all the same to me; I can rest easy knowing that I have done all that I can to guide you by creating this post in the first place.

Usually writing isn’t too difficult for me, but for some reason, trying to start this first blog post has given me some writer’s block for the past two weeks. I didn’t know how to approach the start of this blog because while I wanted to sound super excited and psyched for the upcoming semester, I also feel some apprehension and nervousness. So here I am deciding that instead of writing what I think most people want to hear, I am going the honest route (I mean, honesty is the best policy, right?).

The time has come to pack for my semester abroad in Nantes. This is the thing I’ve been looking forward to the least, because it’s stressful and I always manage to forget something. But now that I can count down the days till my departure on one hand, it’s something I have to think about, so here are my three packing rules: