Thursday, December 11, 2008

Arriverderci Roma

Ciao everyone.

And welcome, finally, to my last Roman blog.

It's a seminal moment in this study abroad experience, and over the past 113 days, I've updated 83 times including this one. It's really something to think about, how much I've seen and done, wrote and posted, and lived and learned, and now, my home is coming to a close. In about three hours, I'm heading to the train station and hitting up the night train from here to Paris.

And here it comes to an end.

I cannot really express how I'm feeling right now beyond just saying I've grown a lot as a person and seen so many amazing and awesome sights that so many people never even get a whiff of, let alone see them all in a four-month period. . . it just reminds how lucky I am to live such a life. I talked to a few of my professors last night at the farewell dinner at the Wine Bar (more on that in a minute) and just chatted with them about subjects and materials that four months ago I hadn't the foggiest about and found myself totally enjoying it from a learning standpoint. In San Diego, next quarter is all Political Science, and I didn't take any over here at all, but I was engaged and interested all the way through.

I want this last Italian blog to be something special and represent something more than just an entry, but the fact remains that this blog has always been a place for me to put my thoughts up and say what I've been feeling, and right now I feel a bit indescribable. Maybe time will give a bit better perspective. I am so excited about going home and part of me wishes KK and I were loading up right now and just heading home today, but the other part of me is so excited to see Paris and Barcelona and continue this journey and sharing with everyone what I'm seeing and doing.

Home is going to be so excellent though, no doubt about it.

Last night we went to the wine bar Crudo over off Ponte Sisto and it was one of these "am I really old enough to be here?" moments that I've had a few of over the course of my life. We roll in, and it's a candle-lit place with appetizers galore on the bar and we are given a wine glass and two drink tickets to fill up, and all of us in the program, our professors, the front-desk people, and even the tech staff was there. We were there for over 2 and a half hours, and it was just a goodbye session filled with laughter, stories, and sentimental so longs.

I've made some really excellent friends in this program, and it's going ot be a tad weird not being able to talk about G.O. Smith, Padre Larrey, or Rita's "wow!" moments with anyone, but back in San Diego, I've got another great brace of friends to make more memories with and pick up where we left off.

Right now I'm just a grab-bag of emotion, but I just want to say this:

I have really, really enjoyed my time here, and it couldn't end at a better time, and at the same time, part of me feels like some portions never would have a good time to end. I miss home, I miss my family, I miss being able to talk on the phone whenever I want for not a jackpot's worth, and I miss seeing Kirsten and just eating Mexican food and being lazy. It's all going to be back soon, and I know I'll miss some parts of Rome the same way, like the beauty and splendor of the momuments and churches, the always-something-new-to-see feeling, etc.

But home is on the way. I'm off to Paris soon, and I'll probably update there, but I hope you all enjoy your rest of your week. I promise a more organized entry at some point, but maybe this gives a bit of insight into what I'm feeling.

Until next time, arriverderci Roma and bonjour Paris,

Ciao.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Trust me, I wish we could be leaving tomorrow too-- that'd get me out of two finals!

Enjoy Paris, I'm so glad you get to go while you're over here. Say bonjour to the Eiffel Tower for me!

Grant Alport said...

I miss Mexican food, too.