numero uno

Hi! I'm Jessica, and this is where I'll be keeping account of my upcoming trip to Rome, Italy for a winter study abroad program dedicated to Baroque Art and Architecture.

Fact: I am slightly obsessed with travel blogs. Now finally, I get to keep one of my own. Instead of vicariously circumnavigating the globe by poring over photographs of sunlit cityscapes and glittering lights and delicious local cuisine, I get to be the cultured world traveler - for the next month at least. Expect lots of photos and even more rambling.

So about the title: Exiles Among You is a song by one of my favorite bands, the Weakerthans. Fact #2: I actually created this blog back in the 7th grade, but I'm pretty sure I only updated it once... with a Myspace survey, of all things. I was recently in the process of making a new blogspot when I stumbled across this ancient one (I felt like a paleontologist unearthing relics of generations past from the depths of the internet), decided the name was rather fitting for a travel log, and went with it. I know, you're giving me shifty eyes at the mention of "exile", but no, I didn't commit some heinous crime and am now banished from the United States or anything. I will defend my blog title with a dictionary.com definition, which says that an "exile" is simply "one who lives away from one's native country, whether because of expulsion or voluntary absence." Bam. Let's be philosophical for a moment and recognize that no matter where you go, there are always ~exiles among you. Nice job, 7th grade me - way to plan ahead.

Anyway, thanks for visiting/clicking on the link I shamelessly advertised on some social networking site! Hope you enjoy reading about my future adventures in Italia.