I sit here writing this at the kitchen table of the 4th floor apartment where I am living in the centre of Florence, with a glass of wine at my side. Someone pinch me, please.

Today is my 7th day in Firenze, and what a 7 days it has been. It’s so odd to think this time last week I had not long arrived and I was wandering around the Piazza del Duomo for the first time, marvelling at the architecture of the Cathedral and thinking “Oh my goodness, I am actually here!”

It’s only been a week but it feels like so much longer! I am not sure if that is because I am tired – exhausted even, but I feel settled into my little routine. These first weeks have been and will be all focused on the TEFL course I am completing, with not much time for anything else. If the next 3 weeks go as fast as this one has… it’ll soon be time for me to go out there and actually start working in Florence as a teacher.
​
I am SO excited…

​Preparazione – (Italian) Preparation

Waking up early in the morning and feeling as though your life is so very boring is really not a great thing to wake up to. As someone whose main purpose in life at that very moment was to go to work and then go home again, I had that feeling. Yes, I loved my work, I didn't feel that it was just a job to pay the bills. I did genuinely enjoy it. However, I laid there and thought work was about the most exciting part of my life, and that made me feel quite sad.

There I was, 30 years old, single, no kids, pet free, reasonably solvent (slight addiction to expensive beauty products) and I was doing absolutely nothing with my time. I felt like I was wasting it. I felt a bit sorry for myself, something I detest as I really have no reason to, and I thought nothing exciting was going to happen for me. Ever.

Almost all of my friends, and now my Sister (thanks Charlotte for taking the pressure off of me to produce a Grandchild!) were having children and/or getting engaged, married, buying houses, getting a dog.... you know, all of those live changing things, and I wasn't doing anything! I was the friend who was always told, "aww, there's plenty of time". I was the friend who let other non-single friends have a go on my Tinder so they could have a laugh at the sad world of 2017 dating. I was the friend who always congratulated other people on their amazing news or life changing announcements. I'm not bitter about that, far from it. I am so so happy for each and every one of the people I am thinking of in this moment. It's their lives and their own wonderful adventures. But I wanted my own!

So laying in bed that particular morning, it was then that I started preparing for this next part of my life....

 ... and today, 4 months later, I flew out to Italy... to live.....