It's the Final Countdown

It seems like it was just yesterday my family and I were standing in MSP exchanging hugs and tears as I embarked for a four month journey to the other side of the world. This coming Friday, my study abroad semester will come to a close and I will again be reunited with my mom and sister as the make their first trip to Europe to explore with me. 

This week is a week filled with so many emotions. While I am beyond ecstatic to see my family again, I am also heartbroken that it means leaving behind a place I now call home and an experience in my life that I will never be able to duplicate. As they say, all good things must come to an end... but hey, at least I have a whole three days left!

My relationship with Rome has been one that you see in the stereotypical romantic comedy. You know the drill... a control-freak, perfect girl meets a sloppy, spontaneous guy and at first they hate each other and then one day they discover that they are actually in love. Well, that's me and Rome, and I'll leave it up to you to decide if I am the beautiful, Hollywood goddess or the quirky, hot-mess guy. All jokes aside, I have come to absolutely adore Rome despite my initial trepidation. Every day when I step outside my apartment, I find something new to appreciate about this city that makes me love it even more. Recently, it's been the Christmas decorations. There's a tree and manger scene outside the Vatican and Christmas lights on every street. The other day my roommate Ashley and I went on an evening walk to enjoy the Christmas decor and it was an absolutely perfect study break. When you're away from home around the holidays it can be hard to get into the Christmas spirit, however, I've discovered that in Rome it's not to hard to feel the holiday magic!

While the past week or so has mostly consisted of me trying to study and complete all my final projects for the end of the semester, I am still trying to see and do as much touristy stuff as I can. A couple weekends ago some friends and I visited Villa d'este in Tivoli, about 20 miles outside of Rome. The villa was once home to a cardinal and now open to the public, massive gardens and all. The villa was absolutely stunning and may be on of my favorite places I have visited in Italy thus far. 

Also of note, last week I took a pasta making class with my fellow bennies and johnnies where we learned to make fettuccine and pomodoro from scratch. Not only was the experience fun and the food we made delicious, but I now have an extra skill to show off when I come home! I am now accepting reservatioms for a private home cooked meal of gourmet pasta; cash down payment required. 

In my travels in Europe I have also been lucky to meet some wonderful people, some of whom happen to be my neighbors. At this point I would also like to note that I am not referring to the neighbors that live in the apartment above me. On the extreme off chance that they read this, I would like to take a moment to ask them to please stop playing polka music on full blast at 1:30AM. Playing polka music in general is just weird, you crazy people.

As I was saying, my neighbors are cool. I live next door to two restaurants where the hostesses stand outside all day trying to lure people into their restaurant. It turns out  these people are actually pretty cool when they aren't begging you to eat their food. Over the past two months, I have enjoyed building relationships with my next-door-neighbor hostesses who always greet me with kindness and help me with my Italian, all while never asking me to eat at their restaurant. This past week my roommates and I finally tested the restaurants out.  Not only were we welcomed warmly, we were also given free wine, appetizers and dessert. They treated us like family and it truly warmed my heart. The moments I had in those two little restaurants reminded me of why I'm so thankful for study abroad. Without this experience, I would have never met these people or found these restaurants. I would have never made those personal connnections. Now as I reflect back on my trip, I know one of the things I will miss most is seeing their smiling faces everyday. It really is the little things that make this experience so special. 

As I said earlier, I do have three days left before my semester ends, which will be filled with finals, wine and goodbye tears. I really am looking forward to the next few days and celebrating this wonderful experience I have been able to have. Then, after my semester ends, my mom and sister will be taking their first trip to Europe where they have trusted me to be their guide for ten days. Wish me... er... them... er... us luck! 

Te amo, Roma!