Two Down, One to Go.

Whoa, what a week of festivities. After Katie spent her birthday attempting to convince everyone it was a "great day to turn 21 again," it was finally the day of Emily's college graduation.

These crazy kids spent the weekend with graduation lunches, ceremonies and dinners to celebrate the queen's achievement. And what better way to say 'congrats' than some quality sister time before we all part ways? Our plan was to have no plan on this road trip; that's exactly what we did. 

Katie, Emily and I flew to Atlanta on Monday to see our Miranda relatives. Once they realized the homeschooled freak has never been to an aquarium, we knew what our Tuesday plans would be as we discovered Georgia's heat.   

Human fish?! 

So many Mirandas

After Grandpa gave Emily his old Buick, we drove the dream car, complete with power locks, power windows, a backseat and enough luck to avoid four almost-accidents, back to DC. But how can we call this a road trip though without some weird stops along the way? Babyland General Hospital, home of the Cabbage Patch Kids and just as creepy as it sounds - Check. McDonald's, McDonald's, McDonald's - Check. Charleston, South Carolina so Katie and I can soak up too many rays, earning some serious sunburn - Check. 

This cool, cloudy day is just a trick 

But these troopers trekked on! The next day was North Carolina, home to the most strip malls I've ever seen and the Roberts family . After a good time and a great dinner, we said our goodbyes for now until our notorious New Jersey Shore beach trip with the whole family. Friday we drove all the rest of the way to DC. And by we, I mean them - even though I insisted that the one time I drove around a parking lot meant I was definitely prepared to handle highway and DC streets. Occasionally highway hypnosis would get the best of them, creating a pattern in our car activities....

Dear Georgia McDonald's, sorry I'm not sorry that I stole your sign. 

Honey I’m home! Mom, Dad and John drove down with all Emily’s junk for move-in day. The score was Mattress: 1, Emily: 0, but she finally fit everything into her new room, phew. Excuse me while I keep marvelling at the idea that she is now an adult – with her own apartment in her own city and (soon enough) with her own job. With two Uconn graduate daughters living on their own, my parents keep insisting that an empty house in September will be their dream come true…two girls gone and only one to go!

But why is this relevant to my Italy blog? It’s probably not. It just sounds like family time overload, but the Miranda make a good time wherever they go. Enjoying my family now maybe means missing them wont be as hard once I leave. All I know is that I would not have the confidence to leave next year if it wasn’t for their support. Happy birthday & congrats to the best sisters! 

Friends, Funds and Foreigners

Somehow in a family of two accountants I never picked up those genius mathmatical skills, so let’s see if I can get this right. In fifteen days, I raised $850 dollars. Since this was in the month of April, AFS will match $500 of that dollar-for-dollar. This puts me $1,350 closer to Italy. Wow. I’ll admit sometimes I log onto my blog just to see that. I feel so blessed to be surrounded by such generous friends and family who are willing to help me achieve my dreams for next year. I cannot express how thankful I am for each and every one of you.

After waking up early for a Saturday morning drive to New York, my dad and I arrived just in time for my first AFS orientation.  I live and breathe AFS/Italy/Study Aborad, but this made it seem very real. Throughout the day I got the chance to talk to most of these kids about where and why they were going. Their destinations ranged from Japan to Norway, Spain to China, and Germany to Indonesia. AFS volunteers organized us into various stations where we did silly exercises to break the ice before getting down to business. In the morning, we talked about our biggest concerns and expectations. For example, we expected to learn a new language but we were also concerned about how long it would take to understand, just like we expected to make new friends but understood how challenging the beginning will be when we cannot communicate well.  I felt really comfortable and everyone was so open about all the emotions that come with leaving everything across an ocean and finding our own way in a new country with a new language.

 

At lunch, I sat with two girls studying abroad in New York from Italy. It was refreshing to see their excitement when I mentioned that I would be in Bologna. They told me all about the schools, nightlife, style and traveling. Benedetta even explained her shock to see students on the first day of school in their SWEATPANTS! Now, this basically defines the Miranda Academy dress code, but my messy, overflowing closet can prove that I am prepared to step up my game for those Italian students.

After getting lost in the school (typical homeschooler move), I found my next station where we discussed respect, safety and scenarios in a new culture. It was a good way to analyze how we would handle different and sometimes difficult situations. 

Driving home later with my dad gave us the chance to discuss our days, as we were in separate rooms for the majority of our time. I think seeing students from across the world learning English and adjusting here so well gave him extra confidence in the program. Though his biggest concern during my application process was the language difficulties, I think that was entirely eliminated on Saturday. His support is always so comforting to me and I couldn’t happier that I got to spend this fun day with him. 

Fun Fact: Students in Italian schools never change classrooms. Instead, their teachers switch from room to room.