Continuing to check things off The List

I have continued to check things off the list in the past few weeks despite going on vacation to the East Coast to go sailing with my Dad over the 4th of July and taking a break to celebrate my Birthday. I sent in all the required forms to the accommodation organization so that my place will be reserved at in Copernico Hall. I also wired the 350 Euro deposit for the accommodation. They still haven't gotten back to me about if that money will be applied to my rent or if I will get it back at the end of my stay.

During breaks at work I have been researching what laptop I should buy. I have been studying up on all of the components that go into laptops and trying to find one that has everything that I want and is in my price range. At the moment I am thinking about getting an Acer but my brother has been pretty happy with his ASUS so I am considering that too. I will probably buy one in the next couple of weeks so that I have enough time to get used to it before I go and add all of the necessary programs.

As a birthday present my mom ordered some guide books and phrase books that I picked out on Amazon so that is taken care of. She also ordered the scientific calculator that I picked out. Those items should be coming in the mail in the next couple of weeks. It will be good to get the new calculator to start using it and get used to how it works before needing to use it for school. It will also be great to get the guide book about the area around Venice so that we can plan more fun stuff to do when Mom and my brothers come to visit in December.

One other thing that I crossed off the list last week was going to the eye doctor. Got a whole bunch of cool tests done on my eyes and it looks like they are seeing just fine. No glasses needed.

Housing Announced

While I was vacationing with my dad out on the East Coast I received email notification that I will be living at the Copernico residence hall in a single room and paying 255 Euros per month. This was my second choice of accommodation in Padua, Italy for the first half of my studies. My first choice was a double in the neighboring Copernico flats. I am very satisfied with a single in the Copernico residence hall however because it will give me a chance to find out how it is to live on my own. Even when I was living at St. Olaf in the dorms, I always had a roomie. Also, the Copernico residences are less than a 10 minute walk from where my classes will be held so I wont have to spend more money and time on transportation. I believe that the canteens available for reasonable student lunches and dinners are also not too far away. The one unfortunate thing is that I will have to share a kitchen and possibly a fridge with the rest of the dorm but I'm sure I can make it work.