The Inconclusive List

It’s currently 9:12 on the evening prior to my departure for Italy. Why should you care? Quite simply, you probably shouldn’t. But in case you are equally as bored as I currently am, maybe this blog can provide the slightest bit of entertainment. I’m writing mostly for my own account, but you're welcome to read it. I know I won’t remember the details of my experience in Rome years from now, so I am enlisting the help of my laptop, the Internet and my somewhat trusty memory. The amalgamation of these forces (in the form of this blog) will attempt to document the amazing opportunity I will be embarking on in less than 24 hours.

Here’s an incomplete list of what I may write about:

• Legends of the Hidden Temple
• Incredibly long airplane flights
• GustoLab
• My attempt to become a coffee connoisseur
• Getting lost/getting found
• Attempting to speak Italian
• Eating kiwi
• Visiting advertising agencies
• Indulging in the culinary creations of Laura Ravaioli
• Making pizza
• The branding of Italian cuisine
• Delicious feasting experiences
• Friends

This list is inconclusive, albeit still very random. (Okay, I concede that “albeit” is not the appropriate word for the previous sentence, but it sure is a fun word to use.) I just looked over our itinerary for the trip and those are the descriptions that jumped out at me.

You may be asking, “Why are you just now looking over your itinerary? You’re leaving tomorrow and have no idea what you’re doing?” I really did not know that I was going to be visiting a kiwi farm until five minutes ago. I like to procrastinate and just never got around to reading it. If it weren’t for my family’s “you are the laziest person I know” intervention earlier this week, my boxes from leaving school would still be sitting in the living room and my luggage for Rome would still be empty. So, thank you family, for making sure that my bag is packed for tomorrow’s departure.

Attentive readers may note that “bag” is singular. You read that correctly. I will be in Rome for three weeks and the airline only permits its passengers to check one bag (without charging extra fees). You can imagine just how difficult packing was. Sure, I can bring a personal bag and a purse on the plane, but that hardly puts a dent in my packing list. (Speaking of a packing list, do you know what to pack for a summer in Rome? I sure don’t. I’m hoping those online lists told me to pack weather-appropriate clothes, or else I’m in trouble.) I've yet to pack a few more items, but I think if I sit on my suitcase while I zipper it, it just might shut.

Well, I think I’m going to call it a night—at least for Blog Post #1. If I don’t seem overly exuberant in my writing, it’s because I haven’t grasped the concept of “Summer School in Rome” quite yet. Today seems like an average summer day and this evening was just as ordinary. I’m blaming this mundaneness on the very disappointing NPH episode of Glee.

Tomorrow begins with an Orange Iguanas t-shirt and ends with another post.

Tomorrow, friends, my legendary summer will commence.