Good B Italy...

Damn, all that stands between me and the summer is an open-note test on the Holocaust, daunting. As I sit here typing for the final time in Florence, I am finally speechless, or is there too much to say? I can start by saying that I have given a new definition to the term broke. So, thanks to Mom and Dad and Grandma and Papa for helping me out this semester, I really appreciate it, as it has been a semester that I will never forget.

I'm not going to lie, I might not have shown it (or said it), but the first week in Rome was damn tough. I have such a comfort zone at home and at school and I was completely taken out of it in Italy. It wasn't until the second week in Florence, when I had a routine and a core group of friends, that this semester really took off. And from there, damn it has flown by. After 4 months, thousands of dollars, hundreds of glasses of wine, pounds of pasta and 11 countries, it's all over. I'm coming home with new friends from new places, new words and maybe, just maybe, a sense of style. Classes have been pretty easy, and I am really glad that I took the two Jewish classes that I am in, because learning about the material where it actually occurred is a whole different learning experience. I am sad to say that my italian is less then mediocre, but can't win them all. Now let's move on to the 'Best of's' section.

Best Restaurant: La Giostra
Best City for Touring: Berlin
Most Beautiful Trip: Cinque Terre
Best Night Life: Barcelona
Favorite Trip: Prague
Most Expensive City (outside of Firenze): Paris
Best Airline: Lufthansa
Worst Airline: RyanAir
Worst Hostel: Funny Farm
Best Hostel: second night in Granada (something with the color blue)
Best Beds: Marriots in Amsterdam and Marbella
Best Purchase: new sunglasses
Worst Purchase: fake Rolex
Best Guest: Lisa
Best Host: Aaron Miller

Aight, thats enough awards for now, gotta save somethin to tell you fools when I get home. 4 more nights in Florence, then Israel, then NYC and I am finally home on May 29th. If this is the end of the road for this blog, then I hope that you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Look forward to seeing and tlking to all of you very soon. And, Unitl Next Time...


A Presto,

JK

Say it aint so, I will not go. Turn the lights off, carry me home

As I sit on my balcony writing a paper, and his blog, I realized that I will never spend another Sunday on this balcony ever again. The sun is shining on a beautiful Mother's Day (Happy Mothers day Mom, Grandma, Bubby, and everyone else to who it applies) and cannot believe that I will be in Israel a week from today. My second-to-last week in Florence was definitely a fun one, highlighted with a trip to Cinque Terre on Friday and my grandparents being here from Tuesday-Saturday. Lets start with Tuesday...After a brutal morning of class and a quick nap, I met my grandparents at their hotel and we proceeded to walk over the river for lunch at Quattro Liones. After a nice meal of pasta, we waled through the Bobili Gardens, which are incredibly beautiful, but unfortunately there were a few too many steps for my grandparents to truly enjoy the full view of the gardens. For dinner Tuesday, my grandparents took me and all of my roommates to La Giostra, which I have to say is the best restaurant in Firenze. After a huge meal and a good amount of wine, it was off to bed, as we were leaving around 930AM for a day trip in Tuscany. After a breakfast of fresh-squeezed orange juice and corn flakes, our first stop was a glass-blowing factory about an hour outside of Florence. It is incredible to watch the maestor's at work and see how talented they are. After gawking at them for a few minutes, it was off to the beautiful Tuscan city of San Gimignano, highlighted by their 500 year old towers and beautiful views. After walking around the city, we went to lunch in a small town before heading to the Antinori vineyard for a wine tasting. At lunch, which our driver insisted was a phenomenal restuarant where the same two ladies have been making the pasta for the past 40 years, I had a phenomenal bowl of ribolitta soup (really going to miss that dish). Touring a winery really makes you appreciate all the hard work and time that goes into the bottles of wine that we drink. After walking through the vineyards and the cellar, we were lucky enough to try 5 different glasses of wine (one of which was from a 200 euro bottle). After a long afternoon, it was back to Firenze for nap time before dinner at Golden View. The name of the restaurant says it all with a few lucky tables (our included) sitting on the window looking out at the Arno River and Ponte Vecchio. Thursday I met up with my grandparents after lunch (couldn't miss the second-to-last Chinese thursday) and walked with them through the San Lorenzo leather markey and we made a stop at the Medici Chappel before calling it an afternoon. For dinner, I took my first cab ride in Firenze to go to Tres Panches (or 3 benches). A small restaurant with just three tables (about 25 people can eat there at once) the food was superb, and after dinner it was off to bed as Cinque Terre was going to be quite a day. The train to Cinque Terre departs from Florence at 7:51, to at 7:20 me and my roommates walked over to the train station, and went back to bed on the 2 hour ride over there. Getting off of the train in Monterosso (the last of the 5 lands) offered me one of the most incredible views that I have had since I have been abroad. After a long day of hiking, and relaxing on the mediteranean it was back to Florence, and we were all wiped out. Getting off the train, we realized that it was the last time we would make the walk back to our apartment, and the semester truly was coming to an end. Saturday morning, I met my grandparents at their hotel for breakfast and to say goodbye, yet I will be seeing them in just three weeks, weird. Well, I have two finals tomorrow, so I better get to studying. I really can't say enough how scary it is that this semester is coming to an end. I'll give my semester wrap up post sometime later this week. Until next time...


A Presto,

JK

Au Revoir to my Travels

May 4th? Really? I can't believe that this is my last week of classes...this semester has truly flown by. I couldn't have thought of a better way to close out my travels then this past weekend's trip to Paris. Thursday night Marc and I left Florence, with two girls on our program (Kelsey and Liz), for the final time. After two flights (we had a connecting flight in Frankfurt) and a long metro ride, we were finally in the heart of Paris where we met Marc's good friend Aaron Miller, who was our host for the weekend. After grabbing a crepe (how else could you start a trip in Paris???) we dropped off the girls at their hostel and went to Aaron's apartment to get some sleep, because it was going to be a crazy few days. We woke up around 10 on Friday morning, with the plan of going to the Pompiduo (a really cool modern art museum), Jewish Quarter, Eifel Tower and the Louvre all before dinner. Unfortunately, May 1st happens to be Labor Day in France so all the museums (and most of the stores for that matter) were closed. Quickly, we audibled and decided to start the day off with lunch. After all, we had heard so much about the falafel in the Jewish Quarter and were excited to try it. Our first meal in Paris was definitely a success as the rumors of the falafel were true, and I am now even more excited for Israel! After lunch our day continued with a nice walk through the heart of Paris where we walked along the Seine River and walked by the Notre Dame, Pantheon, and through the Luxembourg Gardens before we finally needed to sit down and relax. I am not sure there are many better places in Europe to sit and relax than in the Luxembourg Gardens, as they were absoulutely beautiful. After getting our legs back and giving our feet a rest it was time for the main attractions. First stop, Eifel Tower. Not to say that I wasn't expecting to be in awe of the structure, but it absolutely floored me. Talk about something you need to see to believe, it was incredible to be right next to it and see just how dominant it is in comparison to the rest of the Paris skyline. After a good amount of time spent gawking at the massive structure, it was off to the Arc de Triumphe, which was just as massive and beautfiul as the Eifel Tower. By now, it was almost 6:30 and we were all spent, so we went back to our respective places to get ready for dinner. I have had a lot of really fun meals since I have been abroad, and this Foundue place definitely was up there. The restaurant was small and lively, with two long tables where you better like the people sitting next to you because they are practically sharing your meal and conversation with you. After enough bread, cheese, oils, meats and wine to feed an army, it was time to go experience the Paris nightlife. Aaron took us to one of his favorite bars, which was situated on a docked boat on the Seine, for a fun night. Since all of the museums were closed on Friday, we started early again on Saturday with the plan of seeing both the Louvre and an Andy Worhol exhibit before climbing the Arc de Triumphe. We got to the Louvre early, and again I was astounded by the utter size of the place. It used to be the King's castle, and he must have gotten lost daily because this place was gigantic. After waiting in a little bit of a line and walking through the new (as my mom put it, but its actually close to 20 years old) pyramid enterance we really only wanted to see three things; the Mona Lisa, the Nike of Samothrace and the Venus de Milo. Luckily for us, the Louvre was free for students that day so we didn't feel guilty peacing after seeing the above mentioned trio (by the way, the Mona Lisa is the most over-hyped piece of art in the world, it is tiny and way too crowded to get a good view of...sorry). After getting a great sandwich for lunch, we walked through the Royal garden on the way to the Andy Warhol exhibit. Althogh the exhibit was missing some of his more well-known paintings (i.e. the Campbell's Soup Can) the hundreds of portraits were really cool and he definitely was a crazy man. After two museums in one day, it was safe to say that the Pompiduo will have to be saved for another trip to paris, as all I wanted to do was clumb the Arc de Triumphe and pass out. The view from the top of the Arc de Triumphe was incredible, although we didnt climb the eifel tower, this view (which includes the Eifel tower) was incredible and left me pretty satisfied. Before dinner we enjoyed a nice little wine and cheese tasting at Aaron's place before heading around the corner for some authentic French Cuisine. After a great dinner (I'm pretty sure i had briskett, but definitely not complaining) we decided we needed to see the Eifel Tower at night and it is quite a spectacle. Nothing is more incredible then watching it sparkle for about 5 minutes, and we got a good amount of pictures (although its just not the same). Well, that's that. 3 months and 11 countries later, I now have 12 days left abroad, and I will be only leaving Firenze for a day trip to cinque terre sometime this upcoming weekend. It has been a phenomenal semester and I am both physically and financially beat. I will try to get these Paris pictures up sometime in the next few days, and I will give a few closing posts between now and Israel. You know the drill. Until Next time...

A Presto,

JK

Slow Sunday...

It is almost 2PM here Sunday afternoon, and as I sit down to write one of my 3 eight page papers left to do before I leave, I figured I would procrastinate a little bit and update everyone on the past week (actually, not a whole lot happened but I really don't want to start this paper). This weekend, I stayed in Florence for the first time since early March (the Czech Republic, Spain, Germany (twice), UK, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary have all been crossed off my list since then). It was weird waking up Friday and not having to see a brand-new city, but it was also nice and relaxing at the same time. After sleeping in, a few of my roommates and I went to a breakfast place that we had heard good things about and enjoyed an omelet and orange juice while sitting outside (not a bad start to the day). After a long breakfast, it was off to the library to get some work done since I am leaving for Paris on Friday and my grandparents will be in Firenze next week, which I am really looking forward to. After wasting the afternoon in the library, I went home for a phenomenal spaghetti with sausage and peppers dinner prepared by my roommate Jon. We all do a good amount of cooking and make pretty good food, but I think this is the best dish that any of us make. Before I came to Florence, I had heard from a few of my friends who had studied here before that this place is a ghost town on weekends, and going out on Friday we saw that this was definitely the case. Even the bars that during the week are almost entirely American have quite an Italian flavor during the weekend. The reason that we stayed in Florence for the weekend (besides the fact that it was nice to get a break from traveling and relax a little) was for the Fiorentina vs. Roma soccer game that our program took us to last night. Everyone hears about how crazy soccer games are across the pond, and last nights game was no exception. Even though Fiorentina is not a very good team in Europe, they put on quite a show last night scoring their first of 4 goals only 8 minutes into the game. After 90 minutes of cheering and singing, Fiorentina was victorious 4-1, and we headed home pretty content. So that was my relaxing weekend in Florence, I know I said it last time, but I can't get over the fact that my time here is running out, a few of my friends in other cities are already done and it just boggles me that I will be home in a month. Alright, time to go write this paper.

A Presto,

JK

It's Hard to Believe that in 1 Month...

I will be in Israel on birthright. I feel like I have been away from the United States and it's culture forever, but also feel as if I arrived to Florence yesterday. I booked my flight back to Chicago (from NYC where I am going to spend a few days after Israel with two of my roommates as well as catch up with Andy Stafman who will be working there this summer) for May 29, and I can't believe that it is less then 2 months away. Being here has truly been an incredible experience and one that I recommend to anyone who has the chance. I am sorry that I have been bad with my posting recently, but now I am completely caught up, and actually really only have one trip left for the semester. Crazy. Well I hope you enjoy your reading and that everyone is doing well...Keep in tougch until June.


JK

Fruhlingsfest

Finally caught up...It has been a while and I've been working hard but the past 10 days (which was spent in 5 countries) have really drained me, so I hope I don't pass out before I get this post done.

This past weekend Marc, Jeremy, Aaron Miller (one of Marc's best friends from home) and myself went to Munich. Since we took a bus, we left Florence around 6 PM and arrived in Munich around 2:30 in the morning and passed out. We woke up around 10 friday morning (I had to register for classes for the fall, all went well) and were greeted by the first rain drops that we had seen in weeks. With the rain, the free bike tour offered was out of the question so we decided to head to Dachau for quite a moving day. The trip there was just 45 minutes by train, but once there it was like being in a whole different world. The camp has kept its form since its opening in the early 1930's and walking through it was very disturbing. Everything was still there from the roll-call sqaure to one of the barracks, and even the gas chamber (completely built but never actually used at Dachau) and finally the crematorium. After spending three cold, rainy hours there it was time to head over to the fairgrounds for fruhlingsfest. Fruhlingsfest is held on the same grounds as Oktoberfest, but is about 1/10th of the size, but it was still quite an experience. The tents hold over 5,000 people all drinking huge beers, singing and dancing on the tables while listening to live music. The next morning, we took a long bike tour of the city of Munich, a really great way to see a city. After the tour was over we went back to the tents to enjoy the lively festivities one last time before heading to a sushi dinner for Marc's 21st birthday. After hanging out somemore in our hostel it was time for bed and the end to another incredible weekend abroad.

Parents and Eurotrip

After arriving back in Firenze Sunday afternoon, I met up with my parents who had arrived in Florence the previous day. After having a drink outside their hotel (which was right across teh street from Piazza Republica, a block from the Duomo) and relaxing for a little bit it was time for dinner at La Giostra. After a phenomenal meal of Ravioli, appatizers, Veal and Red Wine, it was time for bed after the end to an extremely long weekend.

I took off class Monday morning to walk around Firenze with my parents. Despite waking up earlier than usual on Mondays, there was no complaining to be done as the breakfast at the Hotel was my first in a long time. Since my parents had been to Florence before and had toured all of Saturday and Sunday, we took it easy on Museums and Churches and just walked around the city. The first stop was the San Lorenzo leather market where my Mom had a field day (new jacket and gloves, Jon got a wallet) before heading to Piazza Michelangelo for my favorite view of the city. Before I went off to class we went for lunch to a pizza place right down the street from me and had a nice quite meal outside. Dinner was another phenomenal meal at a restautrant that someone had reccomended to my parents where we had ribolita soup(a tuscan vegetable soup, very good) fried artichoke, and great chicken for dinner.

Tuesday morning after I had a presentation in my 9 am class we left Florence on noon with a tour guide (great reccomendation by the Marder family) for an afternoon driving through the hills of the Chianti region and other Tuscan towns. It was the first time that I had been out into that region, and I am really dissapointed I forgot my camera as this was some of the more beautiful land I have ever seen. After a great lunch at a famous vineyard, stops at 2 other small Tuscan towns, and a beautiful drive it was back to Florence where we went out to dinner with my roommates. We went to a restuarant called Il Latini, where you have to come starving or you will not get your moneys worth. After plates of ham, salami, mozzarella, tomatoes, pasta, and soup, they brought out the largest platter of meat we had ever seen. The plate was filled with Veal, Lamb, and steak and was accomponied by some brisket-esque meat on the side. After a great meal, it was time to say Ciao to my parents after a wonderful three days.

After getting a little rest on Wednesday, Marc and I left Florence at 6am Thursday to meet up with a bunch of our school friends who were on their spring break. The trip, which was organized phenomenally by Josh Feiger and Matt Kogan, started in Prague or Rome, then they all went to Munich and Salsburg before we met them Thursday in Vienna. After a long travel day, it was great to get to Vienna and walk around before finding a park to relax in for a while. After a great Austrian dinner and night on the town, we left Friday around noon for Bratislava (Slovakia). Now most of yu onloy know Bratislava from Eurotrip, and I was kind of hoping that a dollar would buy me the city, but that wasn't the case. Fortunately, neither was their depiction of the city, as it was one of the more beautiful cities I have visited. The city's square has streets of beautiful, trendy cafes and no cars can drive through the streets. After touring around and having a nice dinner at the cafe, we were happy to see that all these nice cafes turned into nice bars at nice. After a making it to quite a few of them, it was off to bed as we were leaving for Budapest early the next morning. After my first true European train experience with the 6 person cramped cars, we finally arrived to Budapest, where we would spend the final two days of our trip. Saturday, we explored the city and loved what we found. For lunch we found a little wine tasting and local food and music festival that kept us entertained for a few hours before we continued walking the city. After walking for a while we arrived to the Terror Museum, which dealt with the Nazi and Soviet impact on Budapest. After the interesting tour we returned to the hostel to clean up for a great authentic Hungarian dinner complete with matzah ball soup. Sunday, after taking a walking tour of the city, we hit up a great Budapest Bath house where we relaxed in their 12 different pools at different temperatures. After another good dinner and hanging out with my Illinois friends for the last time in Europe, it was off to bed and back home the next morning...What a crazy week!

Spring Awakening

After a just a few days back in Florence, it was time to take another trip. On Thursday (April 2nd) Marc, Jon, and I were off to London to visit Jordan and Lauren Shapiro. After a short delay before take-off, and a 30-minute line at customs in London (it was kind of nice to get a passport stamp, but not really worth the long wait) we finally arrived at our hostel close to 2am Friday morning. After a short night sleep, we met up with Jordan Friday morning to begin exploring London. London was actually the only European city that I had been to before coming abroad (went with my Family in 10th grade) so I was really just there to see my friends, and see things for the second time. After grabbing lunch, we took a tour of the Tower of London, which was a big castle back in the day and is also home to the Crown Jewel collection, which is pretty flashy. After the Tower, we met up with Becky Wolf, who was also visiting for the weekend and staying in the hostel with us, and walked around and saw Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Parliament and just enjoyed the weather while Jordan had an interview and Lauren was on a field trip. After enjoying the weather, we went to a quick dinner before heading off to see a musical (you gotta love the half-price tickets the day of). After discussing for a while on what to see, we settled on Spring Awakening, which was not my favorite musical, but it was definitely fun and pretty good. After the musical, we hit up our first British pub, only to be dissapointed when they actually kicked us out at midnight (how do they do that?!?!?!). After a great night sleep, we woke up Saturday morning and wandered over to the Borough Market for lunch. This market was incredible, free samples of everything from cheese to olive oil to sausage to smoothies, it was a great way to start the day. After sample-hopping, we went to Abbey Road (one place that I actually didn't make it to with the fam) for the obvious picture and sightseeing (you should see how mad some of these drivers get, but come on...if you are driving on Abbey Road you have to know whats coming). After Abbey Road we walked through Hyde Park before making our last tourist stop at Kensington Palace. After another fun dinner at an asian noodle restaurant, we got to the Pub a little earlier, and watched the Michigan State-UConn game, which was the first live sporting event that I caught since the Super Bowl...man I miss sports. After the game, it was time for bed and a wrap on another great weekend....

So much to do so much to see, So whats wrong with taking 6 airplanes

Wait for it, wait for it....I'M BACK. It's nothing like #23 rockin #45, but I am happy to say that I am sitting on my terrace (yep, it's completely finished) posting this blog from my computer (that means I am back on the MacBook Pro, and there is solid internet in our apartment). So, where was I...

After finishing up midterms (grades are in, and classes in Florence have lived up to the bill of having easy teachers, not to say I am not learning anything, because I really am) it was time for spring break. Unfortunately our early bus forced us to skip our Thursday chinese, but Jeremy, Jon, Marc and I were ready to get to Barcelona, which was our first destination. After arriving Thursday afternoon, we checked into our hostel and began to explore the city. Our hostel had a great location just a block off La Rambla, a fun street with many street performers. After having our first off many paella, we met up with my friend from school Jason Yale for the night and had a great time experiencing the Barcelona nightlife. Friday, after taking a walking tour of the gothic district, we met up with more of my friends from school; Ben Blumenthal and Josh Feiger and had another excellent dinner highlighted with the largest dish of paella that any of us had ever seen. Saturday we did some more walking around the city (actually a lot of metro-riding, as Barcelona is a GIGANTIC city) and ended up spending the afternoon at Tibidabo, which is a nice area that looks over the the entire city of Barcelona. After that we met Lisa and her boyfriend/ my good friend from school Jon Levy (who was in for his spring break) for dinner before heading to one of Barcelona's biggest clubs to see Girl Talk in concert. The concert was unbelievable and it was definitely one of my many favorite nights abroad. After checking out Park Guel and getting one more dish of paella, it was off to the airport with Jon and Lisa to head to spring break stop #2: Granada. Despite not even knowing where Granada was until Lisa applied there, this was one of my favorite stops in Europe so far. After putting our stuff down in our hostel, we went with Lisa to her favorite Tapas bar for dinner. It really is a phenomenal concept. One minute after ordering a beer (only 2 euro!) the waiter brought out a plate of sandwiches and french fries, and the tapas experience began. Monday, Lisa had us up bright and early to spend the morning at Ahlambra. This former palace/fortress that sits on the top of Granada was truly beautiful, and the views (sorry, forgot to charge my camera before this day) were breathtaking. After Ahlambra, we went to lunch where Lisa handed us over to our friend Lee for the afternoon as she had class to go to. After lunch and exploring the streets of Granada, Lee took us to the other great view of Granada, at the Mirador San Nicolas. After another night of Tapas and fun, it was off to Berlin to visit some of our friends from school who were on an Alternate Spring Break trip through Chabad. Since it is not easy to get out of Granada, we had to connect in Barcelona, and as Marc and I were sitting waiting for the plane, we got a text from one of our friends in Berlin saying that it was snowing. After spending the previous 4 days in the Spanish sun, the sound of snow really tempted Marc and I to switch our flight and fly directly to Marbella (where we spent the final leg of spring break), but despite the snow, Berlin was phenomenal. It was really good to see my friends Alex Dobkin, Seth Birkan and Steve Klein (all kids a year younger than me in my house) as well as Marc's sister Jori. After a fun night in Berlin Tuesday, Marc and I took a great walking tour Wednesday afternoon. I have never been so intrigued by the history of a city as I was by Berlin. This was a city that was the heart of Nazi Germany and the home to Hitler for the almost two decades, and then became the center of the Cold War for a few decades after that. Imagine finally being free of Hitler, and then being under the rule of Stalin. Not exactly a dream situation. Wednesday night, which was the last night for the Chabad trip, we were fortunate enough to be invited to have dinner with them at the beautiful, new Chabad in Berlin. After another night in Berlin and saying bye to our friends, it was time to return to the Spanish Sun. After a long weeek of traveling and sightseeing, relaxing by the Pool in Marbella for a few days was a great end to a phenomenal Spring Break.

BACK IN FLORENCE

HEY ALL, FINALLY BACK IN FLORENCE AFTER A CRAZY WEEK OF TRAVELING, STILL NO COMPUTER AND NOW I HAVE A MESSED UP BLACKBERRY TO GO ALONG WITH IT. I'M KINDA MAD ABOUT PITT GOING DOWN, BUT GLAD TO SEE STATE DOING WELL. DONT HAVE TIME TO TALK ABOUT SPRING BREAK NOW BUT I AM GOING TO TRY TO GET IT DONE TOMORROW.

CIAO

JK

March Madness

Despite the fact that I will be missing more of March Madness than I would have liked to, I cannot complain because the next 10 days are going to be borderline insane. First I would like to congragulate Dobkin and Seth for their repeat, Word-Daniels b (p.s. dobkin please dont call me here again, it costs money, oh see you next tuesday).

So, my computer should finally be back in the game tomorrow, just in time for me leaving for spring break, so it will have been almost 4 weeks since I will have used my own computer (I now understand how obsessed Americans are with technology, and how little Italians care).

After two consecutive weekends in Florence (and potentially my last until May), it was time to czech another country off my list (I really didnt want to do that, but it was too easy). Thursday night three of my roommates and I (Marc, Jon and Jeremy) left Firenze for a weekend in Prague. Since we are all a little strapped for cash, and didnt know much about where to stay in the city, we decided to take a bus trip (similar to Interlaken)...unfortunately it is a 15 hour trip to Prague. After one of the worst bus rides in my life, we arrived at our beautiful Plus Prague Hostel at 12:30 Friday afternoon, and the hostel was kind enough to leave cereal and bread out for us for "breakfast". After an hour to relax and rejuvinate, we met up with a tour guide in Old Town Square. Despite the lack of sun during the day, Prague was definitely one of the more incredible cities that I have seen so far. The architecture is really cool, and they have a ton of structures and buildings that you just dont see in other countries (again, pictures will be posted once the ol' comp is back and running). One thing that I noticed right away was the amount of Jewish people who were living in the city. Walking through the Jewish Corridore there was truly fascinating, and one of the nicest parts of the city. After a few hours of walking, we finally ended the tour at Prague Palace, which sits atop the entire city and offers quite a view of Praha (still trying to get why everyone just cant call these cities one thign...Firenze, Roma, Praha...crazy). After the tour, we went to the Czech Diner, which offered us our first taste of czech food (which instantly became our last as well). After a nice nap, it was time to czech out (sorry last time, i swear) the nightlife. Fortunately for us, the same guy who gave us our tour also runs a pub crawl, so we figured we would tag along for the night. The beer in Prague is definitely better then what we have here in Firenze, and way cheaper. In fact, the city of Prague is one of the cheapest cities I have ever been to, and beer is the cheapest part of the city (about 35 crowns/beer which is about a euro). Saturday, we woke up and walked around the city before heading to a bar called the Beer Factory, where each table has its own tap, a really cool concept and a lot of fun. After spending some time there, we walked around the city some more before ending up at a chinese restaurant for dinner. After dinner, we checked out a few more of Prague's bars. The first one we went to was really cool, and the interior was made up of all old soviet bus parts...pretty cool concept. Then we ended our night at a 5-story club, where each floor was its own different club of sorts. Sunday morning we woke up just in time for our 15 hour trek home, but at least I had some midterms to study for on the bus. Overall, my trip to Prague was a blast and it is definitely a city that everyone who has the opportunity to check out (definitely had to delete czech there, cant break promises) must do.

I just finished my third midterm this morning, and have one on Thursday right before my flight to Barcelona. I also realized that I will be waking up in Deerfield two months from today, and that sucks (sorry mom). The sun is finally shining in Florence, the construction is supposed to be done when we return from Spring Break, and I will once again have a computer...Well, I guess this is it until I return from break...Still taking Pitt to win it all this year..Until next time...

A Presto,

JK

Gimme all the Chicken Heads from Pasadena to Medinah

One week later, and I still do not have a computer(good thing I got to the library early today). After 5 days of rain, no computer, and a lot of work that I had to do, seeing the sun when I woke up Friday morning was incredibly refreshing. With no visitors coming in, and so many Florence students fleeing the city on the weekends, it was a great weekend to relax and do some sight-seeing. Friday I woke up, threw on some shorts and went downstairs to get my laundry from the laundromat next store, but I was so happy to see the sun I just kind of kept walking. After walking along the Arno, I decided why not go up to Piazza Michelangelo (the steep street and hundred steps almost convinced me otherwise, but I prevailed). It was the first time that I had gone up there by myself, and it really was a great place to get away (and read about the Illini looking like last year's team towards the end of the game). After a few hours up there, I went to the Oil Shoppe for lunch. The Oil Shoppe is right around the corner from Antico and there is a hot debate about which sandwich place is better, but I was not impressed at all by the sandwich I got or the person who made my sandwich, so it's Antico the rest of the way for me (sorry Marc). The rest of the day was spent lounging around the apartment doing nothing (but we have now finished season 3 of the Soprano's...only problem is we don't have seasons 4-6 on DVD...) before heading off to dinner. Again we decided to stay on our side of the Arno for dinner, and found a great restaurant, Mama Gina's, where we all had great chicken dishes (we found teriyaki sauce last week so it was nice to get something different then that for a change). After spending the past 13 days in Florence, I needed a change. Saturday morning, three of my roommates (Josh, Jon and Jeremy) and I hopped on a train for a trip to Siena. It was great to see another Tuscan city, and even better to see this one with the sun shinning (something Lucca was lacking). Siena was truly a beautiful city, and as it is an Italian city, it obviously has a Duomo, and we decided to make that stop #1. Although the Duomo in Siena did not have the dominant presence as its counterpart in Florence, there were many things about it that I did prefer. The front of the Duomo in Siena was absolutely incredible, with Statues coming out of the walls and paintings above the doorways (again, pictures will be added once I get my laptop back, sorry). The view from the top of the duomo was probably the best view I have had since being abroad, as you could see the countryside and all the mountains that seem to surround almost every Italian city. After walking around some more, we spent some time in Piazza del Campo, a large open plaza that Florence really doesn't have to offer. After some more walking, and a few adventerous bus rides, it was back to Florence. A slow weekend, but a much needed one as I don't know when I am going to be in Firenze for a weekend again...kinda weird.

Sorry for the boring post, but that was my week. I'll have more for you next week, I promise. Oh, Pitt looked pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good this weekend...Gordon Beckham at 2nd?...Why do the bulls want to be the 8th seed?...Until next time...

A Presto,

JK

Ahhh Kelly Clarkson

Sorry for the delay, but we are unfortunately experiencing some serious technical difficulties across the pond. I just took my computer into the Apple Store and hopefully will hear from them by the end of the week. So I've been kicking it old-school here this week with no computer or TV (I am actually writing this post by hand right now and hopefully I'll get on a computer soon) so it has been interesting and quite, which brings me to last weekend. After 7 nights and 10 visitors, last week was ridiculous, and the slow pace of this week has been a perfect remedy.

On Thursday, the Barcelona kids arrived at different times throughout the afternoon/night (only Ben made it in time for a home-cooked meal though) and it was great to see more friends from home. Unfortunately, by the time we made it out Thursday night, all of the bars were closed (thanks Florence, way to make a good first impression), but we did find some late-night shoarma, so it wasn't a complete failure. Friday was the second-nicest day we've had in Florence this semester (second only to Saturday) and we kicked if off with an amazing view of the Arno River from the Ponte Vecchio before heading to Antico Noe for lunch (more visitors only meant more approval). After a phenominal panini, it was off to the leather market where the Barcelona kids looked at ties and scarves with Marc while I went to get Jordan from the train station (not like my opinion on ties and such mean anything anyways). The first tourist stop everyone wants to make in Florence is the Duomo, and if the weather is worth it so is the £8 to climb to the top. Since Marc and I had already climbed it, we sat on the steps of the Duomo and got in some phenomenal people watching while our visitors labored through the hundreds of steps to the top of Florence. After the Duomo, it was off to see the David. I have never been so befuddled with a rule as I was with their no picture policy. Why not? Is the flash going to bring the giant David crumbling to the ground? After a few verbal exchanges with the security guards and 20 minutes of admiring the work of Michelangelo, it was time to take them for Florence's top gelato at Vivoli (happy Marder?). With the sun beginning to set, we figured the Piazza Michelangelo would be a perfect final tourist destination for the day, and it didn't dissapoint (unless you've watched the sun set from Sunset dock). Dinner was Acqua el 2 for Lauren's 21st birhday, and it was great to see both her and Becky.

On Saturday, we started the day with lunch at Trattoria Mario (a cool hole-in-the-wall place with a smell menu and fast service) per Kogan's request before sending the Barcelona kids to Pisa for the day, they really wanted to see that leaning tower thingy. After walking them to the train station, it was round 2 of the leather market for the weekend, but with Lauren and Becky there was a little more money being spent (not to mention Marc's new leather jacket). One of my biggest pet peeves here is how the euro bills do not all fit well in American wallets, so I spent £12 on a nice brown leather wallet that doesn't tear £50 bills to shreds. Since the sun was shining, we figured it would be a good time to relax at Pitti Palace. Apparently we weren't the only ones with this idea as the plaza was full of people enjoying the Tuscan sun. After a little dehydration kicked in, it was back to the apartment to relax before dinner. Unfortunately, our reservation at El Gato fell through, but there was a small restaurant right near my apartment that was able to fit us all in. One thing that I really like is walking into a restaurant and hearing zero english, and that was the case on Saturday. After a great meal and a few bottles of wine (best house-red I have had in Florence, take it for what it's worth), we began talking to the waitor and found out the entire restuarant was staffed by one extended family. His wife is in the back cooking every dish, while his brother-in-law was the other waitor and his nephews bussed the tables, which we all found to be very cool.

After another fun night in Florence, all my visitors were gone by 2 on Sunday just in time for me to get back and realize that my computer had crashed. I am going to stop now before my anger starts showing up in my writing, but I am staying in Firenze this week to catch up on some school work and sleep, before heading to Prague in 2 weeks. It's hard to believe that mid-terms are just 10 days away here, and spring break begins that weekend as well...where has the semster gone? Until next time...

A Presto,

JK

What? A non-Monday Post???

Ciao,

Usually don't throw two updates at you in one week, but this has not been a typical week for us in Florence. As I mentioned before, Lisa stayed with us for the first half of the week (we didn't have room for Lee, Kathy, and their six other friends so they stayed in a Hostel near our school) and we had an incredible time. On Sunday we finally made it to the Piazza Michelangelo, which offers an incredible view of Florence from the other side of the river (holla, thats my side).


Unfortunately, on Monday my 4 hours of class in the heart of the day prevented me from touring with the Granada kids, but we did meet up later for one of my favorite nights in Florence. For dinner, we decided to go to a restaurant that we had heard nothing but great reviews about, Acqua al 2, and the meal did not dissapoint. First off, it was a great group of people (Me, Marc, Lisa, Lee, Kathy, 2 of their friends from Granada, and one of our friends here Carly) and the food and wine was just as good. Their big thing there is the pasta sampler, where they bring 5 different pastas for you, going from a light sauce on pasta #1 to a heavy sauce on pasta #5. Everyone loved the pasta, but the big hit of the night was their Strawberry Wine. None of us had tried it before, so were all suprised to taste a sparkling red wine, but it was definitely my favorite wine I have had in Florence (it tasted a little worse when the bill came showing each of the 5 bottles cost us 15 euro, but hey "when in Firenze"). After a brutal Tuesday morning (class from 9-1:30) I met up with them again for my favorite lunch spot, Antico Noe. Despite a 20 minute line, the sandwiches did not dissapoint the sky-high reputation that Antico has in Florence. Although it was sad to see Lisa gone when I woke up wednesday morning, all the Barcelona kids are arriving today and Lauren's birthday crew parades into Florence tomorrow for the weekend.

For those who have any interest in my sleep schedule and the progress of our terrace, they have quite a strong correlation. This week, they finally started working on our terrace, which is great because we have had construction surrounding us the entire time we have been here, but they like to start really early in the morning. Today, I heard hammering, opened the blinds and there were 4 construction workers right outside. Hopefully they will be gone by the end of the weekend, because as it gets warmer here (supposed to be 60 tomorrow) the terrace should be a wonderful asset. Well, time for chinese Thursday (we've gotten over the fact that rice isn't free and go there for lunch every Thursday). Until Monday...

A Presto,

JK

i Amsterdam is so corny, but I honestly have nothing else...damn

This past weekend, 4 of my roommates and I ventured to Amsterdam. Even though this was our second trip to a different country, it was the first trip that we planned everything ourselves for. Our first mistake was flying out of Pisa at 9 in the morning, meaning we had to catch a bus in Florence at 6am. Flying out of Pisa was a breeze. It was probably the smallest airport that I had ever step foot in, which is nice because I will be flying out there a handful of times later in the semester. Getting to Amsterdam was quite surprising. The Amsterdam airport honestly gives O'Hare a run for its money, but the biggest surprise to us was not the quality of the airport, but that you don't have to go through customs or anything of that sort. After last week's Hostel experience, it was comforting to check in to the Marriot for two nights (between the 5 of us in the room, it was actually very close to the same price as a hostel would have been). After putting down our stuff it was time to explore the city. We walked around the city for a little while and let me tell you; looking left and right before crossing the street has never been so important. Between buses, trams, cars and bikes, there were multiple close encounters between vehichles and myself during the weekend. After another week of pasta we were all craving a break, so when we saw a sports bar we jumped at the opportunity. It was the best decision of our trip, as we all had cheeseburgers that, between the combination of its taste and how long it had been since any of us had ate one, was the best I had in a long time. After our late lunch we did more exploring before heading to the Van Gogh Museum. It was cool to see the In the Colors of the Night exhibit and see so many of his paintings. After a long-overdue nap we went to dinner at a Mexican restaurant, then explored the town and the bustling nightlife afterwards. Saturday morning we woke up and wandered over to the Anne Frank house, for what was my favorite tour of the weekend and maybe my semester so far. It was weird and cool at the same time being in the building where 8 Jews hid for almost 2 years. However, it did put a damper on my feelings towards Amsterdam. It was such a nice city, and I know that so much of Europe was bad to Jews as well, but being in a city, and a building that led to the death of Jews really made me think about where I was and how much has changed in the past 60-70 years. After a lunch of shoarma, and some more exploring we went to the Heinekin Experience. It was a cool exhibit and a few "free" beers made it a nice afternoon. After another nap and a less-than-stellar dinner, we went to a Chicago-style comedy show for night time entertainment. It was pretty good, no Second City, but definitely an entertaining few hours. After another early departure, it was really nice to get back to Florence. The fact that it was 50 degrees and sunny here was nice, but even better was the fact that we have visitors from school. Lisa and her Granada crew (Lee and Kathy included) got into Florence yesterday, and after a few hours of touring Florence with them, it was time for a nap and the end of a great weekend. It is really nice having some familiar faces stop through your city, and it is even cooler having your "own" city to walk people around. Can't wait for the rest of the Champaign crew to come through this weekend. Hope everyone is doing well. Until next time...

A Presto,

JK

Off Topic, But my Favorite

So I am sitting at my computer (yeah we finally are rolling with internet in our place...what a relief) and I just watched the first long sports highlight that I have watched since being in Italy. I love reading Bill Simmons, and he's the best blogger in the world, so I figured now that I have a blog I could throw a little sports into the mix.

Honestly, it has been so weird not knowing everything that is going on in the sporting world like I do when I am at home. Sure, I still follow the Illini religiously, but outside of that, unless it has been a headline on ESPN mobile, I haven't read it. So when I watched the sportscenter highlight of the day from yesterday, it made me miss sports, and especially college basketball.

So many people talk about how college basketball trumps the NBA, and up until recently I have been a strong supporter of that arguement. The NBA had a huge down period where players, like Larry Hughes, who only cared about themselves and their contracts ruled "the league". Last year's playoffs really changed the NBA. You had guys like LeBron, KG and Paul Pierce, Chris Paul, and Kobe (even Melo is starting to get it, and Wade is back) all leading their teams in the playoffs. You could see it in their body language, these guys really wanted to win games. When the NBA has guys like them (and even younger players like Roy and Rose, who truly turn it on when it matters...Beasley is a whole different story, but I could talk about that for hours...) playing with that level of skill the NBA is dirty.

But to what I originally wanted to write about...The highlight that I keep referring to was Pitt-UConn. I liked Pitt a lot last year, and they disappointed a little (although Westbrook definitely got a way with one in the tourney…) but this team is incredible to watch. The fire that those guys I mentioned above have is what makes them special. Pitt has two guys on their team who play with that fire, and I haven’t even talked about Sam Young yet. Levance Fields and DeJuan Blair are two of my favorite players in college basketball, and both starters on my all-thug team (with DeJuan Summers, Tyler Smith, and Chester Frazier…that team would win a lot of games). Fields doesn’t make mistakes and has a knack for hitting big shots in the course of the game, he’s just a gamer. Blair is the strongest player in college hoops. He puts up games that only a few others can (see Spencer Griffin, Thabeet, and Harrangody) and just scares people. They both show so much fire and emotion, the way the game should be played (uhh Davis, DMac please take notes) that others around them have to be intense. So yeah, this team is good and my February guarantee NCAA title winner (check back in March and April for a new team).

JK

Swiss Miss

Another Monday and another post.

After three weekends in Italy, I finally left the country this past weekend for Interlaken, Switzerland. Since this was the first trip that we were going on, we decided to go on a group trip just to get our feet wet (they provided transportation and living arrangements for us). After a 9-hour excursion from Thursday night into Friday morning (including the completion of 4 movies) we finally arrived at the Funny Farm Hotel in Interlaken (just wait to hear why it was so funny). Since neither Marc nor myself ski, we had been looking at other outdoor activities to keep us entertained for the weekend. After walking around Interlaken for an hour and getting a feel for the town (including the Hooters right next to the city’s nicest hotel) we found a store that rented ATV’s jumped on the opportunity (anyone actually think Marc was going to go 4 months without driving?). The ATV’s was definitely one of the best activities that I have partaken in since arriving in Europe. We drove next to this beautiful lake with mountains on both sides and just gawked at the view for a few hours. There was only one hiccup on the journey, and that was getting pulled over by the Swiss Police. The speed limit of the road that we were on was 60 km/hr, which wouldn’t have been a problem aside from the fact that the person leading our caravan (not going to mention any names…) was the only one of us without a speedometer. After a bit of a scare, the police let us drive away without tickets (I was kind of wishing I would have gotten a ticket, it would have made for quite a story). After relaxing for an hour, it was time for the second activity of the trip, night sledding. After a less-than-filling fondue dinner (just bread and cheese) and a little white wine, it was off to the slopes to see what this night sledding was about. If anyone is planning on going to Switzerland this semester or anytime soon, this is an activity I definitely recommend, especially for people who don’t ski. Let’s just say that Willow hill pales in comparison to sledding down the Alps. Saturday was a lot less adventure filled (which was fine because all the falls the night before left my body aching). Five of us who don’t ski decided it would still be fun to head up to one of the mountain towns for lunch and to see what it was life up there. After a bus ride, train ride, gondola ride and two more train rides, we finally reached our destination. The snow took away from part of the view, but it was still an incredible experience being up there. After a pricey lunch (Switzerland is quite an expensive country) we made the long journey back to Funny Farm, and this is where the hostel became a little less funny. When we turned on the shower, the entire bathroom began to flood. Let’s just say that after the eight of us showered, we had our own swimming pool in our bathroom, which became a pain when everyone was ankle deep in shower water when using the bathroom the rest of the trip. After two and a half weeks of pasta, we decided to venture over to Hooters for some “true” American food. We were definitely not the only Americans there; in fact there was definitely an American majority in the restaurant. After a buffalo chicken sandwich (nothing compared to Cubby Bear’s), it was off to the casino. I had never been in a casino before, but this one is definitely not a very standard one. There was a total of 2 blackjack tables, 2 roulette wheels, and about 10 video slot/poker machines. I entered with 15 franks, put 10 on black, won and thought maybe I would be in for a good run. By the time we left the casino an hour later I had increased my total to 95 franks, covering the cost of my ATVing and a few meals from the weekend. After another long bus ride Sunday, we were finally back in Florence. Everyone says that after you start to travel you begin to appreciate Florence so much more, and even though I really enjoyed myself in Interlaken, I was very happy to be back. Well that’s all the time I have for today, off to Amsterdam next weekend. Until Next Time…

A Presto,

JK

Here Comes the Sun...

Ciao,

Today starts my second week of classes, and I feel like there is a lot that has happened the past few days so I figured I'd keep u posted. I am sitting in the library right now because my apartment still does not have internet. I am starting to give up on the fact that I will ever have it, and its really not the worst thing in the world. There's a bar, Friends, right down the street that provides "free" internet (you have to buy a drink to stay, but they have been putting out appetizers and such so its not a terrible deal) and the library has a huge room where everyone sits on the internet. Since I've been sitting here I think I've seen all of my roommates and a bunch of other people from the trip too. I think our school has the fastest internet in Florence. Since it was just our second weekend in Florence, we decided against going anywhere for the full weekend, but we kept ourselves entertained and did some sightseeing as well. On Saturday the sun returned from a 10 day hiatus, so we decided to walk around Florence and be tourists for the day. After walking across it maybe 50 times since I've been here, I finally took some pictures from the Ponte Vecchio (I forgot to take some of the actual shops, stay tuned for those) and then we walked towards the Duomo.

Despite the 8 euro cost, we decided to hike up the 430 something steps to the top of the Duomo for an unbelievable view of Florence. After spending about 30 minutes up there, catching our breath and taking in the city, we walked back down, explored a few more streets and then called it an afternoon (we'll have to make it to the David some other time because it is currently under construction or something like that).


Sunday, we woke up early and jumped on a train to Lucca, a small town about an hour west of Florence. It was just me, Marc, and Josh Fishman (my roommate from Miami who is in ZBT at Indiana) as the other guys didn't want to get out of bed. We got to Lucca only to find that, like Florence, the sun was absent. Despite the bad weather, we walked around the town for a few hours, and really liked what we saw. It was a lot smaller and much more quite then Florence, which was nice because Florence is flooded with tourists, especially on the weekends (now that I have applied for a permit of stay here I no longer consider myself a tourist). After walking around, and finding a tall bell tower to get a city-view from, we jumped back on the train back to Florence. It was definitely fun to have a weekend to explore Florence and its surroundings, as the next few months are going to be full of travel (starting with Interlaken this Thursday). Hope that everything is going well for everyone back home and around the world.


Until next time,
a Presto

JK

'Now That's Culture Shock'

Good morning to the people who woke up in the bitter cold today. It is hard to believe that today is already Day 7 in Firenze. Crazy how fast this week went. After getting to our apartment and checking it out my roommates and I were pumped about the place...then we saw the apartments of others on our program. I will stop my complaining at that, because it is still a really nice place (except for the construction surrounding the building and the lack of internet, my bad I said I was done complaining). Classes started on Monday, and after about 6 weeks off it wasn't the worst thing to get back into classes. Monday I have The Jewish Experience in Tuscany, which is pretty much the history of Jews in Italy (already got an invite to the passover Seder, What Up!). Tuesday I start with my European History post 1946, then have my Holocaust: Jewish and Christian Response in the afternoon. Wednesday I have my Italian 101 class, which I am about to head off to, and Thursday it's back to HJCR. Not a rough schedule, but the classes seem to have a decent amount of work. They all have two tests and a few papers dispersed throughout the semester. The food in Florence has been superb, but we have slowed down on the amount of meals that we are eating out because it can get a little expensive. Here are some highlights. The first night we found a nice local restaurant and the waitor gave us a free bottle of his family wine to welcome us to Florence. Monday my roommates and I decided we needed to try Italian Chinese food. My roommate put it best when talking about the lack of free rice that comes with meals, 'now that's culture shock'. But the place that has taken the cake so far has to be Antico Noe. It is this small sandwich shop in an alley, but it is the best sandwich in town. It is the only place so far anyone has found sliced turket, and each sandwich costs only €4, phenominal deal. So the food is good, the classes are OK, and the city is small and easy to get around. Really no complaints from my end. Also got the ball rolling on three trips; Interlaken Feb 12, Amsterdam the 19th, and London on April 2nd. Time for class. Keep in touch.

JK

When In Rome

B-e-a-utiful. That is the best word to describe my orientation in Rome. Between the Trevi Fountain, Colosseum, Spanish Steps, the Vatican City, and Pompei (I know, its not in Rome but we went there on Tuesday) everything was breathtaking. After the 24-hour journey of getting to Italy, and taking a nap Sunday afternoon, I was ready to begin the semester of a lifetime. The first dinner did nothing to disappoint, as the food in Italia is as good as advertised. One aspect of the Italian food that differs greatly from food in America is that the portions here are much smaller, and not meant to have leftovers for the next day. Monday morning, after the first of a few rough nights of sleep, we walked around the ancient-city part of Rome, which would have been much nicer if it wasn’t so gloomy outside. The coliseum was quite a site, and it is crazy to think about the number of people who were killed there. Tuesday the wake up call came at 5:45 AM so that we could get to Pompei at a reasonable hour. Again, the weather created quite a disturbance, as rain and Pompei are not the best mix. After a miserable tour of a beautiful city and a three course lunch (these Italians don’t mess around food wise) we took the long route back to check out the Amalfi coast, but again the rain spoiled what is supposed to be the nicest stretch of land in Italy. Finally on Wednesday the sun decided to make its first appearance of the trip. I am usually not one for art or historic churches, but the Vatican city and Sistine Chappell are in a league of their own. After walking around the house Jesus built, we walked about 500 stairs to the top of St. Peter’s Cathedral, where we could see all of Rome (pictures to come at a later date). This was the most incredible view that II have ever seen in my life, and was the moment that I truly appreciated where I was. Finally, after a long three days and nights in Rome, we boarded the buses Thursday morning for Firenze. Our apartment is located less than a block away from the Ponte Vechhio (the only bridge remaining from pre-WWII when the Germans destroyed most of Florence’s bridges on the way out of the city) and just a 5-minute walk from the Duomo. It is getting late, and the traffic in Italy means waking up early every day, but hey I’m in Florence for the next four months…Holla…

A Prseto,

JK

Pilot

Hey Guys, hope everyone is doing well and thanks for checking out my blog. As I sit in Deerfield, bored with all of my friends either back at school or abroad, Saturday can't come soon enough. I am really glad that I am getting the opportunity to study abroad, as it is an opportunity that I have always looked forward to. I remember sitting at camp in late June when I realized it was time to get going if I wanted to make this trip happen. If you know me well enough, then you will not be surprised to hear that I didn't actually get the application turned in until September, shocking. When I received the e-mail from Wells College saying that I was accepted into the program I was thrilled. There are so many reasons why I am excited to go abroad; easy classes, the opportunity to study in a foreign country, the ability to travel through Europe, I could go on for hours. But the one opportunity that stood out more than any was the opportunity to branch out and meet new people. I am looking forward to Saturday the same as I did 2 years ago before heading to Champaign for the first time. The only difference is half of my high school class will not be stepping on the plane with me. My apartment is comprised of 6 guys including myself, and only one is from the midwest (granted it's Marc but whatever). I can't wait to get to Firenze (apparently they are too cool to call it Florence there) and see what the next few months has to offer. Thanks again for reading and I will do my best to post again when I arrive in Rome.

A presto,

JK