By Lindsey Besecker
Staff Correspondent
FLORENCE—Lately in the villa, all anyone has been talking about is the potential war with Iraq. A few weeks ago, about 35 of us woke up early to watch President George W. Bush’s State of the Union, which the Chandler family kindly taped for us in the wee hours of the 
morning. We huddled once again around the television to watch Secretary of State Colin Powell’s speech. It is probably the longest period of time that any of us have watched television since arriving in Florence.
However, we still travel every weekend and have no idea of the state of the war until Sunday, when we go back to the comfort of our home and turn on our laptops. Sure we are worried, but we do not want to let that ruin our experience. We are sure that we will be taken care of. I think we are all still stuck in this dream and do not think that anything bad could happen. We have nothing to complain about.
Besides the war, the biggest excitement is Ireland. By the time you read this, the 60 of us will be enjoying one of the greenest, most beautiful countries around. I am most excited about having a tour guide with an Irish accent. I know visions of leprechauns will be dancing through my head. Too bad our field trip was not scheduled around St. Patrick’s Day …
Ah yes, and then there was Valentine’s Day. Due to the lack of relationships in the house, many people were definitely not looking forward to it. But from what I hear, things turned out well. Actually, it was more like another day. It helped that there were no lovey-dovey couples around. Personally, I took a bus to San 
Gimignano with seven other students for Brett Phillips’ birthday. Heck, I would rather celebrate his birthday anyway. I know that the ONE couple in the house went to Paris for a romantic getaway, but I would rather be around my friends (maybe because I am single and like to mingle …)
Two days later, many of us traveled to Viareggio, about two hours away by train, for Carnevale. There were thousands of people there, all dressed up like Halloween. There were probably a dozen floats, all politically related. It was definitely the best Sunday I have ever had in Italy, and I know that many other people feel the same way.
Well, it’s almost over. Just over a month left to enjoy the gelato, the pizza, the nightlife. The plane ride back to LAX might seem like the longest ever. Just knowing that I am leaving behind seven months of memories, that I am leaving my home is quite a thought. I can add a big No. 3 to my list of “homes”: San Diego (more specifically, Carlsbad), Malibu and now Florence.
Let’s see what happens when people ask me where I have been for the last seven months. I know that two years ago, I would not have expected this opportunity. Here’s one for the memory books.
March 13, 2003
