Countdown

Today marks exactly 1 month before I leave for Italy on my study abroad trip! This makes me both anxious and excited.  I cannot wait to be there, taking in the culture and teaching the little ones English; although I still think they will teach me more than I will be able to teach them.  I've been working on my Italian, but I'm not nearly at the point where I should be.  I'm hoping I will pick it up quickly once I'm there.  I can't wait to find out who my host family is and start getting to know them.  While I am looking forward to all of this, it also stresses me out a little to think about everything I have to do in the next month.  I have a to-do list that is pages long with things I need to pack and do before my trip.  Never mind the 7 papers I have to complete for school before then.  Maybe this countdown will motivate me to be a little more productive.  Aside from the logistics, there is still so much I want to do before I leave. My weekends are filled between now and then spending time with as many people as I can (in between all the school work).  This past weekend, I was able to spend the whole time with my family.  It was a nice relaxing weekend, just enjoying each others company.  I volunteered at church in the kid's rooms during the Easter services and loved getting to see their excitement.  I was even asked to come back and help out on a regular basis, which I am really looking forward to doing.  After church, my dad had hide a bunch of eggs out in the backyard.  We normally do it inside, and considering all my siblings and I are no longer little kids, I wasn't even expecting an egg hunt this year, but let me tell you; we had so much fun competing with each other to find the most eggs.  I love any time the my family is all together.  It is rare these days, so I enjoy it while I can.  I am looking forward to counting down these next few weeks and ending this semester on a good note.  Pretty soon I will be done with summer classes and moving again...but that's another countdown for another day.  Until then, I hope you all have a great week!