Arrivederci...

Ciao i miei amici,

Departing for Rome in about 14 hours, it still really hasn't hit me that I'm going to be in Italy for four months without seeing any familiar faces or surroundings, but, God willing, it's going to be an experience of a lifetime. Preparing for this trip has been somewhat hectic due to the fact I didn't start packing until today, but the days beforehand were too important to waste. The best way to reach me will be by facebook, email (peters1287@yahoo.com or typeters@ucla.edu), aim (tpbruin), or skype (tpbruin).

I'll be arriving in Rome at 8:50 am on Wednesday (which will be 11:50 pm Tuesday here -- 9 hr difference), taking a cab to my apartment, and having a few days of orientation to sit through. The first three weeks will be full of intensive Italian Monday-Friday so I don't know how much free time I will have to travel around, but I'll definitely start getting a feel for the geography of Rome, the transportation system, and how to properly interact with Italians without looking like an American tourist. I'm really praying for solid roommates and friends for traveling purposes, as well as simply having others to share my experiences with. Classes shouldn't be too difficult because they're going to be in English and at about the same difficulty as UCLA, if not easier.

Photos and blog posts will come online sporadically so keep checking every so often and make sure to tell anyone about this if they'd like to see what I'm doing. Arrivederci i miei amici! (good-bye my friends)

Tyler