Starting this experience I can honestly say that when I woke up the morning of July 6th I expecting a few things to change. If someone would have told me that my life would be changed completely, I probably wouldn’t have believed them. Now August 5th, 2011 I’m crying as I write this because I want my Italia family back. Nothing in my life will ever compare to this experience and it’s beyond hard not being there waking up to every single person in the morning. Being back in Michigan right now, doesn’t feel right. I feel like I’m not even near the same person I used to be, like I’m missing a huge part of my self. I feel more homesick being back in Michigan…how is that even possible? I know it will get easier and we will all keep in contact…so that makes it a little easier.
3 Months later, It is October 22, 2011 and not one of us can say life is the same since we have been back. Most of us still left our hearts in Gagliano and nothing compares to how we lived there. There are no words other than what I have written in this blog, that could even describe or explain how amazing every single day was. Not only did I now have a family here in America but I now have family in Italy. I will be returning one day, though I have no idea when that day will be. I have realized it was hard for me to make this blog, because it made this trip really end but I love every single person I met and all of these memories and moments will stay in my heart forever.
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We woke up on Wednesday as our last full day in Italy. We all had to finish our exams and by the time it was over we had the rest of the afternoon to pack and spend the last afternoon together. Steve came up with the great idea to write letters to each other and put them in bags so when we leave we have a bag full of letters to read. I went up to my room and started folding my clothes but it did not feel right actually packing so I left my clothes on my bed and went to walk around Gagliano with Nalda. We went up to the castle and took so many pictures of the beauty and homes.
By night time we were preparing to have a dinner outside underneath the stars with everyone for our last dinner. We all dressed up and had a lot of food made by Antonietta and we laughed, talked about memories and took a lot of pictures with each other. At the end of the night Ashurina came up with Mock Awards and presented them to all of us. All of them were so funny and we pretty much laughed the whole night until Steve came up with a few games for all of us to do. The last one was to all sit down in the area where we would always eat and we would close our eyes. The professors would tell everyone by birthday months to stand up and touch someone who made an impact on your life on the trip. With all of our eyes closed we all hugged and touched each others shoulders.
I knew when Francesca, my roommate touched me because she gave me a huge hug and I knew it was her. I almost started to cry when the game was over and we all had a few tears in our eyes. By the time we got outside we realized a few of the Italian students were leaving that night and I could not stop crying. We cried all night hugging each other a hundred times before finally watching them leave. The rest of us were planning on going to a bar but a few of us stayed behind to pack and finish everything. I went to sleep that night as my last night in Gagliano looking out my window at the stars and moon.
LAST MORNING:
The morning we all woke up, it didn't feel real that we were about to leave for the airport to Rome. All the Italian students woke up with us and helped us with our bags down to the courtyard. The minute me and Francesca walked down the stairs one last time, I lost it and not only hugged her tight but could not stop crying. It was so hard to think we might never see them for a long time.
We all got onto the bus, all crying until we fell asleep on the bus to Rome. I did not want to go home and I was jealous for the others who were able to stay for a couple of weeks after. On the way to the airport our bus broke down and we were all joking that it was a sign we should all stay in Italy!
Sadly, we made it there and began our 10 hour trip home. When we actually made it to America I just wanted to go home so the long line to get through Customs was not making it any better. I finally got home and I felt lost and empty. I stayed home that night and the next morning was the worst.\
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The Monday after we came back from Florence was our study day before the Closing ceremony and finals. We also watched the Italian students do their "American Slang" presentations that were very funny. Most of the American students helped each group with all the different slang words and phrases we use in America. We spent the rest of the day in class and then went off to do our own thing. Most stayed at the monastery working on our presentations for the ceremony and just spending some time together. When Tuesday came it really hit us how close the trip was coming to and end but we never talked about it. We made it to Castelvecchio with enough time to get a tour through the monastery and also to head to our favorite bar Komodo. Everyone was together Italian and American students and the ceremony began.
Me and Erika got to recite the Italian National Anthem, and embarrassingly I messed up a few words. After all of our presentations, The Italian students got certificates for finishing the TOEFL Test, and then the American students got ours for studying abroad. Mandi and Andrea made a video of everyone saying their favorite memories in English and Italian with all of our pictures in the background. I almost cried and it really hit me what was happening. We spent the rest of the night eating and talking and some went back to the Komodo Bar, while most went back to the Monastery to study for finals the next day.
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When we woke up the next morning, we packed all of our things and got ready to go out and finish shopping. We stopped to get Gelato and found a vendor area with about 20 vendors. They had all neat things like souvenirs, tshirts, purses, a lot of cute items. We walked all around Florence taking pictures and really enjoying the buildings that surrounded us. We came back to the hotel and me and Nalda started talking to Enzo's grandma who was beyond the sweetest woman. We talked for a good hour and before we realized it, it was time to leave and go to our bus. We walked a long way and finally found our bus for the long trip home.
It was probably a great way to end everything because this trip was more relaxed and easy going compared to Pompei and Rome. We got to spend a lot of time together and on our own and It was really special!! The ride home took forever but we all laughed, watched movies, and slept most of the ride back.
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The minute we got to Florence we were hit with beauty. Sadly our bus would not be allowed to take us to our hotel so we walked and brought all of our stuff to the hotel. Me, Nalda, and Angela left the group to go to our appointment at a salon a few blocks away. I got my hair styled and cut in Florence, how cool is that?
After, we went to a lunch at a restaurant and then walked around going shopping and to see the statue of David. Although we were not allowed to take pictures I took a picture of David!
We continued shopping when we ran into Romina and Dante, we went to dinner and made plans to go to the discoteca. Sadly, we did not know how far the club was so we ended up going to the bar with the rest of the crew which was really fun. We drank the whole night just talking and laughing and enjoying the time together.
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For the next couple of nights we just spent all of our time together going to the bar to see Giuseppe or to Komodo Bar in Castelvecchio. We also spent the next night drinking wine and having a karaoke night. We sang Italian songs, American songs and just danced the whole night! I was a great night spending time with each other knowing that the end of the trip was coming soon.
Ashurina and a few others came up with the best plan to create an American Breakfast we would cook for everyone for dinner. We made potatoes, eggs, pancakes, and a lot of fruit. It was so delicious and amazing that I was part of making something for everyone!
The Friday before we left for Florence, we learned how to make Gnocci and we lost two Italian students. Davide and Michele were the first ones to leave and I think that's when it really hit us that this trip was close to being over. Making the gnocci was really fun to learn and interesting to see how it was actually made. We ate that for dinner and we watched an Italian movie that night and got our bags prepared for our trip to Florence!
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The Wednesday after we had arrosticini we went to Vittorito to a Winery were we got to try about 6 types of wine. We first got a tour of the place where they store the wine and bottle it. After trying each glass of wine plus had some amazing olive oil and bread most of us bought a lot of the wine. A couple students bought 3-6 bottles when others like me only bought 2.
My two bottles were only 9 Euros together and I also bought some olive oil. We all talked and enjoyed each others company until we left to go eat at a Pizzeria. We were all a little....tipsy but It was fun to spend some time together with all the students, American and Italian.
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