Can you believe it's happening? In six months, you'll be in Italy! (actually six months from right now, we'll be on a bus, heading north from Sorrento towards Siena, getting ready to make a stop near Tivoli)
What to do between then and now? Ah, so many things. But to start, be sure to hug your parents once every day and thank them for this chance, all the way up to our departure date. (yes, that's LOTS of hugs) They're sacrificing their own opportunities JUST FOR YOU. Then, make sure you get the most out of this - what are your interests? Art? Food? Travel? Language? Music? Your job is to share your interests - mine is to fulfill every opportunity to enjoy these which I can give you. Dante Alighieri is one of the best Language schools around (it's international, even - people learn Italian in Mexico City from them!). We'll be in Siena during the Palio, and you'll learn more than you ever wanted to know about horse racing during that time. There's a music conservatory in Siena - the Chigiana (yes, named for the Chigi family) - and there will be summer evening concerts while we're there. DA has an internationally-recognized cooking school attached to it, which your nose will notice every day. You'll have opportunities to join me each day for visits to churches/museums/views, where you will gain an amazement for what the Siennese have done for Italy over the centuries. And, of course, the food - you'll dine amazingly at your homestays, and you have the opportunities to snack on gelato, a granita, or even a cannelloni as we pass through town on our daily walks!
And that's just the start . . .
a piu tarde!
Laura :)
