Buongiorno!

Well we made it safe and sound and all is well!! My roommate and I are finally all moved in so it is starting to feel a lot more comfortable! It is only the third day here and I feel as if I have been here for a week or more. It might be because we have been up late and have had to wake up early for orientation and class.

Now to begin..let's see we landed in Venice and found our hotel pretty easily, arrived and checked in around 4pm. We were all starving because all we had eaten was the food they serve on the plane. We did not run into too many language barrier problems either, most everyone understood our English.

The only bump we had came when Lauren, my roommate, left her book bag on the bus from the airport to the hotel! We definitely thought it was long gone but to our surprise the bus driver took it off the bus and left it at the bus stop! Needless to say she got very lucky.

So anyways, our group consisted of six of us that all hung out together and went out exploring the streets of Venice. Our hotel was very nice but there were definitely some different qualities compared to American hotels. I was surprised to discover that in order for any of the electricity to work in the room the room key must be in a certain slot by the door. Smart way to save power and not lose a room key!

I think we were the most tourist-y at the train station on Monday, trying to find where and how to buy a ticket and where we need to go to catch the train. We probably provided some comic relief to the locals being a group of 6 American kids, with large bags of luggage, chugging them up and down stairs one at a time.

Campus is beautiful too! There are three main buildings that we use and our dorm room overlooks the square outside of all three buildings. We have also met a lot of new people on our hall and in classes so  it will be fun getting to know them more and more throughout the semester. We actually share the campus with an Italian boarding school so we are able to use their cafeteria, gym, dorms, etc. Breakfast is served from 7:30-8:30am, lunch from 12-12:30, and dinner from 7-7:30. So yes exactly 3 meals a day and yes there is always pasta for lunch and dinner.

Classes began yesterday on Wednesday, and continued today on Thursday. I am excited for all of them, but a little worried that they might be more challenging than most of us expected or hoped.

We are planning a trip to Venice for the weekend now and found a hostel right in the heart of Venice, so we are definitely looking forward to our first time exploring the city.

Our dorm room!

 View from our room, overlooking the main gathering area.

 View of the countryside and mountains.

 Another picture of campus.

I think that is all for now though, nothing else too exciting but will update again after our weekend in Venice. Love and miss everyone!