Sono Arrivato

          I finally arrived in Lecce, Italy after leaving my house at 1 p.m. and arriving in Lecce at 2:30 p.m. the next day  (17 hours of traveling time). It was really hard to say goodbye to my family. It did not really hit me how much I enjoyed being with them this summer.  I only spent 2 days with my brother in the past month and now I will not see him till end of November. We became much closer during our time in Africa and I hope we can continue staying in touch as he is applying to colleges and I am traveling in Europe and learning Italian. I am also going to miss playing doubles in the morning with my dad and having his constant support. I look forward to questions about grades and money once in awhile :) I am especially going to miss the best mom in the whole entire world. She is not only my mom but my best friend. I am going to miss working out, making awesome dinners and calling her during the day even when I was going to see her at night.  I know this trip is a once in a lifetime experience but it was very hard to say goodbye to my family yesterday. I can't wait to Skype with my family and friends and show them Lecce and I am so excited for my family to visit in November.
    The program for the first month is mostly girls (not sure about the exact number) and 2 guys. There are more people who will be joining the group in Bologna. On the airplane I sat next to 3 other students on the program from Wellesley and Wesleyan and was able to get to know them during the 8.5 hour flight. As soon as I made it through security and check in my flight began boarding (talk about a close call). But I made it to Munich and that is all that matters. I had a 1.5 hour layover in Germany to relax with free wifi and then I boarded Air Dolomoti to Bari. I sat in the back row by myself and slept the entire way. When the group arrived in Italy we all quickly walked to baggage claim, hoping that all of our luggage made it. Fortunately, both of my bags made it. (I definitely had an anxiety attack before my bags arrived) After, our program leader from Wesleyan, Ellen greeted the group and we boarded a bus 2 hours to Lecce. The bus was ridiculously hot with limited air conditioning and it was a very uncomfortable ride. We finally arrived at Oxford Institutes Via Adriatica 10 in Lecce where we would be staying for about a month. We were able to pick our roommates (triples) and the staff directed us to where we were staying. I am rooming with 2 other Vassar students but in my unit of the apartment there is another triple and double and we all share a big kitchen with a refrigerator, a washer (no dryer), 1 bathroom with just a sink and toilet and 1 full bathroom with a shower, a shower room with 4 showers and a table with chairs. I immediately unpacked all my summer clothing in my closet and showered. The shower felt awesome! except that the shower room has no curtains, just stalls with doors so that was very interesting. Anyway, after showering I took a nap until dinner time at 6 p.m.
    Dinner was served for everyone and there was lasagna, fresh tomato and mozzarella, bread, pickles, bagel dough chips, peaches, nectarines, and grapes. Of course I ate all the fruit and I decided to eat some lasagna for extra energy because I barely ate all day besides the awesome salad I had for dinner the night before that my mom packed me :) Once everyone finished dinner we walked into town and the teachers pointed out great places to buy bread, fish, fruit, meat and vegetables. We then stopped in a market that was opened late and I bought some shampoo, soap, and breakfast food (greek yogurt and apples) and of course prunes! At dinner we were all given 230€ for spending money on food because we have to cook our own meals. I am very happy about this because I love eating fresh fruit and vegetables and this summer my mom taught me a lot about cooking. I can't wait to make dinner for myself and post the awesome food I make. Tomorrow I am planning to go to the fresh fruit and vegetable stand markets after class and decide what I want to make for dinner.
     When everyone was finished shopping for food we walked back to Oxford and have free time before bed. We don't have a curfew but we just have to be in the courtyard where the facility is gated. Tomorrow morning we start class at 9:30 and I am very excited to start school and just be focusing on one class without having other science classes to worry about like organic chemistry and genetics. I will try to post everyday because I have free wifi in the courtyard where we are staying. I miss everyone and I am safe!
con tanto amore,
Samantha