Va bene.

Team!  I'm late in the game... it's been a while since I've blogged.  I'm sad to say that up until.. oh, about 30 seconds ago...I've been lurking. 

It's 9:30 pm in Firenze, Italia- the 3th most visited city in Italy. I wake up every morning to tourists franticly navigating through the crowds. Mostly Asians. I'm always on the look out for Max, but I haven't found him yet.

Florence is wonderful, and I'm proud to say that I no longer consider myself a tourista. I wear skinny jeans, dark clothing, and I carry Italian leather. I can communicate with the locals (kind of), and my daily intake of cappuccino = sweet eugenes x 10. 

It's been a long three weeks! So much has happened... let's see. I'll hit the highlights. 1. My favorite city to visit so far has been Venice. It's SO cool. It's just a bunch of tiny little islands linked together by bridges. Crazy. How does that work? You'd think they'd eventually start to drift apart..at least a little.. but they don't.  The picture above is from the top of Venice. 2. Horseback riding through Tuscany was wonderful. I used to think that the most beautiful place in the world was the Texas Hill Country, but I'm afraid the bar has been raised. 3. Listening to music on the Ponte Vecchio every night (the Ponte Vecchio is the famous old bridge in Italy with all the shops) 4. Consuming my weight in gelato 5. Flirting with a worker at St. Peter's basilica so we were able to climb the top of the dome for free (GREAT view of Rome!) 6. Waking up with a new mosquito bite on my face- every day. 

Right now, I'm watching Harry Potter 4, blogging (ovbi), and booking my flight to Barce. I miss all of ya'll terribly! Over these past few weeks.. I've cried, thought, and prayed.. a lot- and here are my thoughts... I didn't realize how lucky I was to have you guys as friends, until we were separated. I took for granted the encouragement, love, and sincerity that I received from all of you on a daily basis. Being here and meeting new people has made me realize how unique our friendships are- and I miss our community. It was really hard adjusting at first, but I eventually came to realize that God has His own agenda for my stay here in Italy- and I truly believe that for all of our summers. So, with that being said- amongst the classes, traveling, sunbathing, and sleeping- don't forget about the greater purpose that we, as believers, are called to. 

More updates to come- Peace out.