Today is a sad day. Today I left Italy. As I sit here on the plane getting ready to leave Frankfurt, Germany for Chicago I have to do everything I can to keep from crying. Thinking back about my life these past six weeks and all the new and different experiences I have had makes me realize how much I have grown and changed in such a short time. I am going home a different person
The last week in Firenze was a whirlwind with so much to do but as it always goes, not enough time. Monday I had all my finals so a good part of my day was spent studying. That night, some of the Velluti girls who were done with exams went to a restaurant called Open Bar that overlooks the Arno river and the Ponte Vecchio. We decided to try their appretivo, a popular Italian custom similar to happy hour except for by buying one drink you get to eat all you want for free from a big buffet of appetizers. It was a lot of fun and nice change from our regular heavier meals.
Tuesday was my 22nd birthday and I spent most of the day shopping, packing and hanging out with friends. What a perfect way to end my time in Italy– celebrating my birthday in Florence with people who started out as strangers and now have become some of my best friends. That night was our “last supper” with the school at another great restaurant close to Piazale Michelangelo. Sue (the director) made a moving speech about what this experience has done to us and how it will change us and take on a new meaning when we return home. She talked about how the new friends we made here will always be special and that we should never lose contact with each other because we each shared a unique experience with each other that can never be explained or understood to someone else. It all made us a little teary eyed and our imminent departure seemed a little bit more real. Towards the end of our dinner one of my really nice friends (note the sarcasm) spontaneously broke out singing happy birthday to me and everyone joined in. I was a little embarrassed but it was a really cool gesture nonetheless. After dinner, the Velluti girls said goodbye to Sue and our various teachers and headed out on the town for my birthday and for one of our last nights in Florence. It was an awesome birthday– maybe even the best– filled with lots of hugs and a few tears as we realized our time together was coming to an end.
Wednesday morning, the Velluti girls had a lazy start and rolled out of bed around noon to go to the American diner. Afterwards, some last minute shopping and packing and spending the day in Florence, taking it all in one last time. Wednesday night, the Velluti girls had their last meal together at where else but– il Gato! We decided to go out with a bang and called ahead to see if they could do a special family style meal for a fixed price. They said sure, they would do something special fur us with all the wine we want! It was another huge meal with meats, bruchetta and three different kinds of pasta. And of course, wine. Kendall and Victoria’s parents had just arrived in Florence that day and joined us at dinner and it was so fun talking to them about all the experiences we have had together. Towards the end, we decided to all go around the table and tell what this experience has meant to us. There were lots of toasts and lots of crying. A very bittersweet moment– sadly, we were going home but with so many awesome experiences and memories. Almost all of us were getting picked up to go to the airport early in the morning so we decided that the best plan of action would be to go out and stay up all night! We headed to Lion’s Fountain after dinner and found that everyone else in the program had the same idea. Again, more tears and more reminiscing with lots of sad goodbyes. Around 4 in the morning, the Velluti girls all made our way back home. Morgan, Capri, Alissa and I were the first to be picked up at 4:45 am. I didn’t realize that this goodbye would be so hard and so sad- it almost broke my heart. We all promised to see each other again and stay in touch, all the while knowing this is easier said than done. Next thing you know, we are in the taxi and driving away from Velluti with the sun starting to rise over Florence.
The last two months have been the absolute best of my life. I learned how to adapt to a new culture and foreign surroundings. I found a deep love for a country and its people other than my own. I learned a new language and a new lifestyle and fully immersed myself in it. For the first time in my life, I traveled on my own, in foreign countries nonetheless. I learned to read maps of which I had previously refused to do. I learned not only how to get along with and respect a different culture and its people other than my own but also how to live with 9 other strangers who were so very much like me but also very different. I have become more patient with people and cultural differences, more accepting and better able to roll with the punches, understanding that not everything done in a foreign country is the American way. I learned that I was a little bit ignorant before living in Italy– everyone I’ve encountered during my two months here know how to speak some english and are surprisingly very familiar with U.S. politics, geography and popular culture. I knew little to nothing about Italy. Most importantly, I learned that I can make it by myself and that I can survive and adapt pretty easily no matter where I go.
These were the best six weeks of my life. But I understand that I have thus far lived a pretty short life and that there is much to come in the years ahead. It was an awesome chapter, maybe even the best chapter in the many chapters of my life but the book is far from closed.
Until then,
Arrivederci!
