Two Days and Counting

I leave on Saturday for the first half of my Italian exchange. For those of you keeping score I have not yet begun to pack...I have not even taken the tags off the suitcases I purchased on Sunday. I have been busy at work trying to wrap up some last minute things along with making sure I got a nice good-bye lunch in yesterday (thanks Larry!). And really lets face it I wasn't going to pack until tomorrow anyway...and the only reason I have to pack tomorrow is because I am going up to Lake Geneva tomorrow night.

I realize that it is only a couple days away but it still really hasn't set in that I am actually leaving...partly because I don't want to think about all the things I will miss. It is hard to imagine not waking up every day to take Cork out for a walk, a run or game of fetch. It is also hard to think that I will miss Leila's birthday (some how those middle kids always get screwed huh?). What will I do without a million softball leagues to play in not to mention basketball and flag football?

All those things aside it will be an amazing experience that I am very excited for. I have yet to obtain my visa but that is what I will work on my first week there. On Monday, I will go to the police station (with Raffaella from our Italian affiliate) and register myself and then have them determine my status. I will most likely need to obtain paperwork from both True Partners and Studio Manzoni Pagliero Vanz e Associati that details my work arrangements (how I will earn income, will I have health insurance, etc.). Once we understand all the information they need we will compile it and return to the police station and hopefully I will be able to obtain the "stamp" necessary to take back to the Italian Consulate here in Chicago. I'll make sure to keep you posted!