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When I finally (or really, suddenly) decided to go to Italy for the summer to be an au pair for the first time, it was January. I bought a one-way ticket and said that I would figure out the rest later. I couldn’t think past the current day. I still hadn’t processed that I had committed to a solo journey to work with a family I hadn’t met in person in a country whose language I didn’t know. And I still had two classes to teach which meant 46 ten-year-olds who needed all of my attention. My mind could only handle so much. Besides, I still had plenty of time before June came, right?