In a month and five days i will be freaking out and unable to sleep as i will be departin the U.S. the very next day. On January 8th i will step onto the plane that will fly me to sights my eyes have never seen, and i am SO EXCITED! It will be completely different than Maine, which has been my entire life. I have never really been able to travel, especially out of the New England area, and if i did it was most likely for sport related reasons. But now i can say that i am Europe bound!!! Out of everything that i have had to do in order to prepare for my new adventure, the visa process was probably the most stressful. I was worried about not being completely prepared with all the documents that they require. When i arrived in the tiny room in Boston at the Italian General Consulates office, many people were being told that they needed another letter or didnt have enough photocopies. Luckily i did have everything and had photocopies of everything (which was key) and was probably the first person who was not turned away and told to come back with everything. For the most part the men behind the glass calling our names and checking our forms were very serious, rarely did they crack a smile. It allowed for a lot tension in the room. After i went up and was told i was all set and that i could come and get my passport on a monday, wednesday, or friday between 9-12 (very specific), a huge sigh of relief left my body. I was done!! All my forms were in to CIS and i got my visa taken care of! The only thing left is to pack up my life and say arrivederci!