Less than a month away...

Christmas trees are filling living rooms with their fresh pine smell; children are running around frantic asking Santa for just one more toy; teachers are sighing in relief as the last student leaves the classroom; snow parks are open and hundreds flock in their winter gear to ski and sled in the white flurries; and people are snuggling deep into blankets, attempting to battle away the flu everyone seems to be fighting.
Only one more class and then I am done for the semester! Just one more class, but in the last week I have missed more than half of my courses, thanks to a lovely friend of mine called Pneumonia. Pneumonia is still lingering around, I think he wants to make sure I am okay before he departs for his winter slumber. With only one class left, it has become a time for goodbyes. Many of the friends I have shared classes with for the last two years are graduating and moving on to explore different corners of the world, as am I. I am not ready for graduation, but apparently I am ready to explore the world. In less than a month from today, I will be in another country where English is not their first language, where automobiles are a rarity, and where towns are surrounded by medieval walls (built in the 11th and 12th centuries), which even today serve their purpose well.

• Viterbo, Italy: Ancient city in the region of Lazio, roughly 60 miles North of Rome. Population: 61, 473 (+1 more in a little under a month!)

I have begun to read several travel books, but have decided travel books, as helpful as they may be, are not for me. I understand some people may want to be told exactly where to go and what to see, but I think I am a "lost" traveler. I would much rather not know where I am going exactly (of course to quell all of the motherly objections to this statement, I will always travel safely, you have my word), but simply let the streets lead me along and tell me their stories themselves. One can find a more authentic introduction to a city or town wandering aimlessly in comparison to a guided tour, which will only show you the "bright" parts of the city instead of the parts tourists usually turn a blind eye to anyways. However, those "dark" parts still make the character of a place and are worth seeing. The broken statues, the closed up shops, cast away cars, etc. Everything not fitting in with the Martha Stewart view of the world is exactly what I want to see. Of course, I will see the bright parts as well, and most likely take wayyyyy to many photos, but the cast off sections of towns will not go ignored by me.