Always have a plan B. That’s the lesson I’ve learned recently, the hard way. Last weekend, I travelled to Italy. The original plan was for me to fly to Rome on Thursday, take a train to Florence that same night, then meet up with Abigail and our friend Mary Elizabeth in Florence, where Mary Elizabeth is studying abroad on Thursday, and finally we would wake up Friday morning and have the whole weekend to see the city. The plan changed…several times…
On Wednesday, before my flight the next afternoon Mary Elizabeth and I were double checking train times. The trains stopped going to Florence at 9pm. I flew in at 8 pm. It took over an hour to get to the train station; it wasn’t going to work. We panicked. Another lesson for life: don’t panic. We looked at virtually every other mode of transportation. And then it occurred to me that I have a really sweet friend studying in Rome this semester. I called her and she was perfectly fine with me crashing on her couch for night! What a relief!
In an unexpected turn of events, I got to spend a night in Rome and see Amherst friends. Which was even better than I could’ve expected.
On Friday morning, I took the train to Florence. The second part of my lesson actually concerned my friend Tucker. She is studying in Orvieto, Italy, and wanted to visit me for a night in Florence. The original plan was for her to meet the three of us at the train station in Florence. We waited an hour. No sign of Tucker.
We met her on our way back to Mary Elizabeth’s apartment. Tucker had been wandering everywhere and calling everyone trying to get in touch with us. When in doubt, go somewhere with wifi. And stay put!
But the rest of the weekend was fantastic! We hiked to the top of the Duomo and saw amazing art at the Uffizi. Of course, we ate pizza, pasta, and gelato. Fortunately, the rest of our travels were safe and happy.
We also passed the midterm point in the semester. This is scary, but not surprising. As expected, everything has been going by with blazing speed. Looking back over the first part of the semester, I am so grateful for all the experiences I’ve had. Even scary moments abroad turn into either crazy informative life lessons or just absurd stories that I’ll remember fondly (?) when I am back at Amherst.