Little did I know when I woke up that all of my little lingering questions would soon be answered and my minor nuisances wiped away. It’s like the Staples commercials when someone presses the big, red “Easy Button” and says, “That was easy!” But instead of a big, red button, I had a real life person: Joan. We met in the student computer lab this morning. After our initial introduction and exchange of pleasantries, our conversation went something like this: K: How do I get my computer to plug in when my wattage converter won’t fit? Also, I read that I&rsq [View Full Entry]

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It was back to sunny skies today. I was up bright and early, feeling like my internal clock has been set to Italy time (7 hours ahead of Nebraska). I started this morning by sneaking into the computer lab to send some emails and post my journal entries to my travel blog. Then it was back to Familia in Forte for more groceries and gadgets. But this time I had more of a plan. Still not a great plan, but now I have a few more things to eat besides PB&J and corn flakes. And I have a pathetic, battery-operated alarm [View Full Entry]

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I seriously thought I was going to kick this jet-lag thing. My brain must’ve been confused because of its lack of sleep. From when I got up at 7 a.m. (Nebraska time) on Wednesday morning until 10 p.m. (Paderno time) on Thursday night (which is a span of 32 hours), I got maybe four or five hours of sleep. And for anyone who knows me, you know that’s I need a lot more than that. I completely crashed last night. It is so quiet and peaceful here. I have a bunch of big, old-fashioned, shuttered farm windows in my apartment. And, [View Full Entry]

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I suppose that my adventure began when I was still packing my stuff the morning I was leaving from the Lincoln airport. But there was definitely a difference once I was out of the comfort zone of airports and taxi rides. That’s when it started to sink in that I’m in a new country. Anna dropped me off and gave me a tour of my apartment. It is great! It is located off of a winding road north (I think it’s north) of campus and it is perched on top of a steep driveway. Behind the apartment are mountains. There are [View Full Entry]

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My flights went off without a hitch. A good sign of things to come, I hope. Ryan gave me a big goodbye hug at the Lincoln airport a little before 10. My flight was right on schedule and I got to Minneapolis in plenty of time for my 3.5 hour layover. While there, I ever-so-briefly chatted with a couple Purdue (Ag Econ) students who are studying abroad this summer in China. Then it was on to Amsterdam. I seriously had the best seat that a coach-fare can buy! I was in the front row of the coach section, with a window [View Full Entry]

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In only 10 days I am going to be heading off to the Lincoln airport to catch a flight to Venice, Italy! Right now I'm feeling a mix of disbelief (I can't believe I'm really going!), excitement (I can't wait for my adventure to begin), and sheer panic (because of everything I have to accomplish before I can get on that plane)! So for the next 10 days I will be grading papers for my current students, prepping my class for my CIMBA students, getting the ball rolling on my research plans, purchasing all the gizmos and gadgets I'll need for [View Full Entry]

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