Benvenuta

Haven't quite figured out how to operate my voltage converting thingy yet, so I'll keep this short as my battery is about to croak:

I made it here!!! This was the information given to me about my host family:

"Annalisa move to Siena in July 2007; she fully Sienese in any case...she has two children (ages 14 and 10). Both children shoot archery. Livio practices kung-fu, and Olga does rythmic gymnastics. Annalisa works in a school or neuropathy in Fiesole and has a herbal remedy store in Siena's Piazza del Campo. When she was younger she had four American students in her home. She loved the experience and wanted to repeat it along with her children."

Fantastico!

Intensive Italian classes begin Monday, but for the moment I'll be watching "Honey" in Italian with Olga...

T minus 18 hours!

Tomorrow afternoon I'll blast off from lovely Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario (the Soo for short), where I've been enjoying our annual family reunion/vacation for the past week, and land in ROMA, ITALIA! It'll be a big change from this sleepy town on St. Joseph's Island, and I have absolutely no idea what to expect besides jet-lag, an unavoidable sunburn, and a constant headache for the next four months as I tackle Italian.

For the moment, I'm off to continue packing and go over my emergency Italian phrases...and enjoy some traditional American foods during my last hours here. On the menu: Meatloaf! Ice cream! Sticky cinnamon buns! Oh my!