How long has it been anyway?

hey so this is kevin. Its been a while since I last updated. Looks like its been about a month. Sorry about that. I've been really busy. Sometimes life just catches up with you and something's gotta give, ya know. I've had to write papers, study for exams, normal college stuff. But when you're living here you are really on your own. You have an apartment that you share with other students, you have to manage your money, and find/cook food. You're living in a city, not a dorm. Actually, right now I'm cleaning up my apartment. But writing this is one of the many ways I've been putting it off.

Actually I knew it was time to clean when my parents came over to visit. My parents are teachers and since they had spring break last week, they decided to come over for a few days. Well when my dad came up to look at the apartment, he was clearly traumatized. There were dishes everywhere, there was trash, and the sewage system in my apartment is a little funky so you can guess what it smelled like. I'm pretty sure he convinced my mom not to come up since they didn't complain when I tried to avoid my apartment. But it was a nice visit and I was

looking forward to it for a while. I didn't have to pay for a single meal which was a great change of pace.

We even took a trip to Lucca which is a small town off to the west of Florence. Its a beautiful town perfect for a day trip. Its got a pretty cool history. Throughout the middle ages and the renaissance, the town put 1/3 of its money into building these impenetrable walls. Now that's a lot of money, imagine giving 1/3 of your money to the production of a wall. But because the walls were so impenetrable, the town was never invaded. No one even tried. When they loo

ked at the walls, the invaders would always say, "It isn't worth it, lets invade the next town." And when cannons and gun powder were used in warfare, the town knocked down its old walls and built new ones that could withstand cannon fire. The town remained free and was never invaded until Napoleon came to Italy. So when you go to Lucca, the incredibly old buildings and art are in great condition because the place was never invaded.

So now that things are winding down I'm starting to come to the realization of how much I am going to miss Italy. I was pretty homesick in the beginning. I didn't really miss anything specific about home except for the people. But going on spring break and traveling away from Italy has really developed a strong appreciation of the place. Like you realize how much you had only when you lose it. Well I got a taste of that during spring break and now I'm cherishing every moment I have in the country. But don't get me wrong, I'm excited to go back home. But I'm not excited to leave Italy.

Enough of that though, me procrastinating on my cleaning duties is beginning to upset my roommates. I'll write more later!
Kevin