Here we go again!

After a several-month-hiatus, it's time for this blog to come back into active use! For anyone who hasn't heard yet, I'm spending 7 weeks abroad this summer. I fly to London on Thursday, May 13th, to visit friends. On June 1st, I fly to Pisa, Italy, then take a train to Florence (Firenze), where I will be studying opera for the month of June. On June 30th, I fly back to London, where I will stay with friends until I fly home to the US on July 2nd.

I am extremely excited and also nervous about this trip. It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study opera in Italy, surrounded by the history and the language (more on those in a future post).

It's also wonderful to have a chance to catch up with the dear friends I made last semester. It's been just under 5 months since I saw them, and I've definitely missed them. I'm excited to see what God's been doing in London since I left, excited to go back to HTB for a few weeks, and excited to have a chance to do a bit of sightseeing that I ran out of time to do when I was there last fall. I'm also planning to visit a couple of grad schools while I'm there (more on that later, too).

At the same time, as departure draws closer and closer, I find myself getting nervous. I'm not at all nervous about London, but I am nervous about Firenze. I'm nervous I'll have trouble picking up the language, getting around, and making friends. I'm especially nervous about finding an English-speaking community of believers to worship and fellowship with for the month. God's been gracious already to me in this regard, though, because at least one other student going on this study program loves Jesus, too. Finding that out was really an answer to prayer. But I must admit I still have to remind myself of God's past faithfulness to me to calm my fears as Thursday gets closer.

I intend to keep this blog much more up-to-date than I did last time I was 'cross the pond. The posts may be less thought out or less carefully crafted, but hopefully they'll be a genuine representation and record of what I'm doing, what I'm learning, and God's constant faithfulness to me.

To-Do list before I leave:
-finish unpacking from the semester
-laundry
-repack for seven weeks
-buy an English-to-Italian phrase book
-get a haircut
-finish making my best friend's birthday/graduation gift
-have lunch with my best friend and give her the gift

Thanks again for reading!
Cheers!
-Emily

Joshua 1:9 (NIV) "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."