I'm back!!!

It has been three years since I last posted in this blog. Since May of 2011 I have gotten engaged, married, adopted a puppy, and defended my prospectus for my dissertation. There have been a lot of changes in my life, but the biggest one of all is that after 6 years (on and off)of living in Chapel Hill, NC working on my PhD, Andy and I are moving back to Charleston, SC where I will begin teaching at my alma mater, College of Charleston. We are in the process of closing on our first home and trying to organize our last move hopefully for a while. I thought it was an opportune time to bring back my blog so people can keep up with what is going on in our lives, and I can tell people about my upcoming travels. In less than a month I am headed back to Italy for the first time since I left Florence in May 2011, and I am ecstatic. I received a grant from the American Association of Teachers of Italian to study at Babilonia Language School in Taormina, Sicly for two weeks, and I am also going to spend some time in Milan, Florence, Naples, and the Amalfi Coast. Most of these places I have never been, so I should have lots of stories, and hopefully some travel trips to share about these regions of Italy. So stay tuned as I post about my trip preparations, my search for a carry-on suitcase that meets the requirements for both RyanAir and EasyJet, trying to pack for three weeks in the previously mentioned carry-on, and Andy and I moving all of our belongings and decorating our new place. A presto, Kate