Well it's finally here. I am currently sitting in Atlanta, Georgia, writing my first blog ever. I will be studying at Aberystwyth University in Wales for the entire semester. Check out more about Aber here. I am also going on a two week trip through Italy visiting Venice, Rome, and Florence. Aber has been in the works for a long time, going to meetings, figuring out details, and getting classes worked out so I know what to take when I get there. I got up at 5:45 this morning to throw my things in my brothers truck, say goodbye to my mom, brother, and sister before Noah (my other brother) took me to Sarah's (my girlfriend's) house. Sarah and I, along with her mom (Peggy), brother (John), and brother's wife (Katie) boarded a plane in Peoria and flew to Atlanta. Dale Johnston (relation of Sarah) is a pilot and just happened to be flying out of Atlanta while we were waiting on our plant to Venice, Italy. We got to go down to the cockpit and look around and I even got to sit in the pilot's seat. In about an hour we will be pushing away from the terminal and making out way over to Venice, which is about an 9 hour flight... There is a 7 hour time difference between central time and Italy so we get in around 2:30 a.m. here in Illinois. Hopefully I will be able to sleep on the plane.