Thank you, father.
Yeah, ok, so it is a little embarassing that I haven't updated in about a month...or more.
Well, here's the thing, I have about 8 days left in Italy and it still doesn't feel like it. These past few weeks I've really been able to take a look around and see what this world means to me. I walk along the streets of my neighborhood and look at the Tabacchi, the cafes we frequent, the constant construction, and I love it all. I see how much this place has become my home and how my heart and my mind know this isn't the last time I'll be here. The fact that I have so little time left at this point is somewhat unsettling. Not necessarily in a bad way, but it's just so surreal that I've been here for about 4 months and it feels like days. But days in which I've been able to find my way around, learn the language a little better and make this foreign land a true part of my life.
In the last few days, I've really been running in to opportunities that are loaded for my future. It's exciting. This has been a dream that I never felt would become reality, but here I am. Through the struggles that I've come across, I would not trade one single millisecond of my time here for anything else. The people I've befriended, the sites I've seen, the culture that I've learned about, experienced and accepted, are all things that have just become part of me. At the same time, I've come to appreciate, more than I can express, what I have at home. It's so funny to me that I've traveled thousands of miles from comfort and become comfortable just the same.
Anyway.
As for the past few weeks, they've been great. School still doesn't feel like school, and now it's over. I have exams next week and then I'm done, crazy. I've been finding so many fun markets and stores, meeting new people and hoping they become lasting friendships, and really just living. I haven't done a whole lot in particular, just the day-to-day has been the main event. I guess to keep you fully informed, I could update more consistently, but, you know...promises, promises :)
It's been raining a lot lately. I suppose as a trade for snow, Rome gets rain. It's a bit of a downer from time to time, but there's not much to be done about it, of course. Either way, I haven't let it stop me from enjoying being outside of the apartment. A few weeks ago we took a day trip to Assisi, and it was beautiful. The town was incredible, with beautiful structures and the great basilicas like the St. Francis Cathedral. We had a ridiculous lunch, typically Italian, with about a million courses. An antipasto of cheeses and meets, 2 pasta dishes, a meat dish, and dessert and coffee. I couldn't move. Either way, the trip was beautiful and, yet again, a relaxing getaway from Rome. In addition to that, there's been an abundance of birthday celebrations which have all been packed with food, activities and cake.
Again, I love my friends here, I love the cafes, I love the sites, and I love the language. The following days are going to be filled with all of the above, as much as possible. Forget sleep, I'm in the Eternal City.
