Ciao, I have arrived in Grado, Italy and I am totally enjoying and immersing myself into the culture. Traveling to a new country by myself was a new experience for me. It was a little nerve-racking since I had missed my connecting flight in Rome due to my delayed flight from California. I have taken two years of Italian, I am taking my third year now, and I am very grateful for my language skills. In Greencastle, Indiana it is difficult to practice Italian since everyone speaks English. However, obviously being in Italy I am gaining tons of practice. Like my experience at the Roma airport, I used my previous knowledge of Italian to book another connecting flight to Grado. It is very rewarding using my Italian here because my language skills have been so useful. In addition the constant practice I have with my host family, with Paolo and Mary Grace, has helped me tremendously. During the first couple of days this week while we sat and talked at dinner, we had to use a book to translate words, but at the end of the week we had no problem conversing and understanding each other. I could tell my Italian improved greatly from just one week of being here. Even though my language skills are so-so, I am very proud of myself because I am at least able to have a conversation with someone in Italian and understand what is going on. I try to talk to everyone I can in Italian. In addition the Italians will comment that my Italian is actually alright, which to me is pretty good. I find myself wanting to talk in Italian more and more, and even as I write this blog I have to stop myself from writing in Italian. If my Italian has improved this much in just one week, I cannot wait to see where I will be in eight weeks. I have fallen in love with learning another language and using it in another country. Learning another language has also helped me improve my English, since I am learning the definitions of new words and mastering the grammar. It is crucial to understand the culture when traveling to a new country and attempting to adapt as best as one can. I am very eager to see what my progress will be at the end of the eight weeks. Ci vediamo!