Let me tell you a story...
I am not a writer - the most I have written in a long time are work emails and messages to my friends! I'm a 30 year old British woman and I started this blog to give me a place where I could capture memories, experiences and my hopes and fears during my time abroad in Italy. It is my aim to fill it with lots of different things that people can come and read and enjoy. I'd always thought, "what the hell could I write about if I started a blog?!", and that's because I'd not done anything remotely exciting that I could write about. Until now.
Everything you'll read on here comes from me, so I apologise in advance for any rants, expletives or typos! Everyone who knows me completely understands how silly I can be and how I love nothing more than to surround myself with sarcasm - you'll probably find a lot of that here. I joke about myself quite alot, I am what I am!
Anyway....
This particular story began in 2006...
For our 19th Birthday, my twin sister Charlotte and I, went to Rome. It was our first ever trip to Italy.
Rome was at the top of my bucket list of places I had always wanted to visit, and I had to beg Mum to help us to arrange and pay for it (thanks Mum!). It was January, rather cold - and amazing!
We left the airport in the evening and got into a taxi, we asked the driver (well, we let him read the hotel address from the sheet we had printed out) to take us to our hotel in the centre of the city.
A little way into our journey the car turned and there, lit up in all of it's glory, was the Colosseum.
If you have ever seen the Colosseum in real life, at night or in the daytime for that matter, you'll understand.
A few moments later, after the moment where we were oo-ing and ahh-ing, I had a thought -
"I'm going to live here one day"
11 years passed before I visited Italy again, April 2017 I went to Verona and Venice with Mum. It was during that trip that I remembered what I thought in Rome, and how I wished I had done it.
I'd spent the last 11 years of my life working, worrying about things that aren't really that important like relationships, dating and about if I was getting too fat or spending too much money on lipstick (I was by the way, I can't help it, sorry - not sorry).
I hit the big 3-0 and I only just managed to not have a complete meltdown and I held it together when my Sister and I celebrated our birthday at a party with friends and family. So I decided I wanted to do more this year. I wrote a list of things I wanted to do... 1. Smile more, 2. Drink more water, 3. Try a new sport (LOL let's all laugh together at that one - those who know me will understand) 4. Aim for promotion...etc, etc, you get the idea.
Well I drank more water, I smiled and I even went for a few walks.... but I didn't get a promotion at work, and with recent events in the world showing us all that life is too short, I really started to re-evaluate.
I went online, I did lots of research, I spoke to my family and other people who had taken the same step and I finally made the decision and decided that I would go to Italy. I could go and teach English. Part of my role in the UK was to teach English so I know I had the ability to do it, and I enjoyed it. I enrolled on a 4 week intensive TEFL course through ITTT and arranged to attend the course in Florence at the Tuscany Learning Centre.
I moved out of my flat and into my sister's house so I could save up some money, I also sold everything I didn't need (most of what I owned...) and the notice went in at work with 8 weeks to go until my departure.
That was it... it was all really happening...
I was going to live in Italy!
This blog is my story.
I hope you enjoy reading it.
Nicola xx
(2017)
Everything you'll read on here comes from me, so I apologise in advance for any rants, expletives or typos! Everyone who knows me completely understands how silly I can be and how I love nothing more than to surround myself with sarcasm - you'll probably find a lot of that here. I joke about myself quite alot, I am what I am!
Anyway....
This particular story began in 2006...
For our 19th Birthday, my twin sister Charlotte and I, went to Rome. It was our first ever trip to Italy.
Rome was at the top of my bucket list of places I had always wanted to visit, and I had to beg Mum to help us to arrange and pay for it (thanks Mum!). It was January, rather cold - and amazing!
We left the airport in the evening and got into a taxi, we asked the driver (well, we let him read the hotel address from the sheet we had printed out) to take us to our hotel in the centre of the city.
A little way into our journey the car turned and there, lit up in all of it's glory, was the Colosseum.
If you have ever seen the Colosseum in real life, at night or in the daytime for that matter, you'll understand.
A few moments later, after the moment where we were oo-ing and ahh-ing, I had a thought -
"I'm going to live here one day"
11 years passed before I visited Italy again, April 2017 I went to Verona and Venice with Mum. It was during that trip that I remembered what I thought in Rome, and how I wished I had done it.
I'd spent the last 11 years of my life working, worrying about things that aren't really that important like relationships, dating and about if I was getting too fat or spending too much money on lipstick (I was by the way, I can't help it, sorry - not sorry).
I hit the big 3-0 and I only just managed to not have a complete meltdown and I held it together when my Sister and I celebrated our birthday at a party with friends and family. So I decided I wanted to do more this year. I wrote a list of things I wanted to do... 1. Smile more, 2. Drink more water, 3. Try a new sport (LOL let's all laugh together at that one - those who know me will understand) 4. Aim for promotion...etc, etc, you get the idea.
Well I drank more water, I smiled and I even went for a few walks.... but I didn't get a promotion at work, and with recent events in the world showing us all that life is too short, I really started to re-evaluate.
I went online, I did lots of research, I spoke to my family and other people who had taken the same step and I finally made the decision and decided that I would go to Italy. I could go and teach English. Part of my role in the UK was to teach English so I know I had the ability to do it, and I enjoyed it. I enrolled on a 4 week intensive TEFL course through ITTT and arranged to attend the course in Florence at the Tuscany Learning Centre.
I moved out of my flat and into my sister's house so I could save up some money, I also sold everything I didn't need (most of what I owned...) and the notice went in at work with 8 weeks to go until my departure.
That was it... it was all really happening...
I was going to live in Italy!
This blog is my story.
I hope you enjoy reading it.
Nicola xx
(2017)
