Flight

I can't believe I have made it to Rome!  I left Boston on Monday, August 26 at 2:40 pm after having a final American meal of blueberry buckle, eggs, and ham at Nanny's with my family, the Hays, and the Cronins.  I was feeling really nervous before the flight.  Hugging my mom goodbye made my eyes get a little watery but I didn't want to be crying alone in the airport so I pulled myself together.   Luckily, once I made it to my gate, I felt pretty calm and more excited about the experience.  My 45 minute flight to New York was easy but I became nervous again when it was delayed by 20 minutes.  It was supposed to arrive in NY by 4:05 and the delay made it 4:18 with my second flight to Rome at 5 and boarding at 4:20.  Once we landed, I was so nervous that I might miss my flight but I knew that other people from Boston were on the Rome flight.  Even though I was in row 24 out of 30, I waited for everyone in front of me to get off the plane before running to my new gate.  Thankfully, I made it to the gate as a large group of people was waiting to board the plane.  Rachel and I took this same plane together so I saw her once I got on and it was comforting to know that we would be arriving together.  She sat about 6 seats ahead of me.  I was just so happy to make it to the plane in order to start my journey.
On the plane, I sat next to an Italian girl and her father who were returning home with some other family members.  I later found out her name was Georgia (not sure if that is the Italian spelling for it) but at first she started talking to me in Italian.  I think she asked my name, but I didn't understand so I said, "I don't speak Italian." She said "English?" and I nodded.  I felt bad that I wasn't able to communicate with her and that the thought of sitting next to Italians on the flight hadn't crossed my mind.  So, I pulled out the booklet that came with a beginner's Italian learning disc my mom got a few weeks ago to try to ask Georgia a few questions.  I learned that she was 9 years old, and I told her I was 19.  She also does not live in Rome but I don't remember the name of where she lives.  As I looked at the book, she read with me over my shoulder.  On one page, she pointed to the word for "tall" (which I can't remember right now) and then pointed at me to say that I am tall.  I found the word for "short" and pointed at her.  It was nice to have this experience on my flight as a heads up about what it would be like upon my arrival in Rome.
Surprisingly, a lot more people than I imagined speak English here in Rome, since it is a big city with lots of tourists.  Despite this, I wish I had come here knowing a bit more Italian so I could communicate better with the locals.  I am able to pick up on some words because of my time spent at Grandma's house and the fact that I know French, but it is hard to put sentences together with grammar.  My Italian class is definitely the one that I look forward to the most because I want to get as much out of it as I can as quickly as possible!