Friday, July 3, 2009

Departure

Today is my last day with my host family. Tomorrow is my last day with Italy. And Sunday I'll be on the plane!

Ok, so here is the detailed schedule for my near future:

Tomorrow morning I will wake up early (a bit before 7 I think) to head to Torino with my host parents Simo e Eros. (I have to say goodbye to my brother ans sister tonight, because they aren't coming to the station with us.) At 9.05 my train leaves for Roma, and I will be in a train car with only other AFSers all together!
I have packed up some plastic knives, a big pack of cookies and a jar of nutella for us all on the 7 hour long ride down!
When we arrive we will meet up with the AFS Rome volunteers and head to our hotel where we will have a riunione with tutti i altri AFSers in Italia!
Then, Sunday morning we have our adieu's and I get on a plane for Paris with the other Americans ( I think there are about a hundred of us in all!)and finally to New York.
But it doesn't end there. From New York I find my dad who will fly into JFK from Arizona to meet me, and then we are going to rent a car and spent a week back east visiting colleges! Then a week from tomorrow we fly home together from Boston to Pheonix where my mom, sister and Andrea (italian student staying with us for the summer!) will pick us up.


I'm really looking forward to coming home! I miss my family like crazy! I miss my friends! I miss english! I miss my house, I miss my dog, I miss my bed, I miss pine trees and skunks and driving! I miss cheddar cheese! I miss soy and tofu and veggieburgers! I miss mac and cheese! I miss real mexican food! I miss Flagstaff, and I miss my high school! I miss DANCE.

I miss home, but at the same time, I don't want to leave! I wish I had done the year program, because Now I finally speak italian but I have to leave! I know that I would learn so much more and create closer bonds with my family and friends here if I had more time. I think that I'm learning more and more each day now at the end because I am arriving at a level of understanding where I can stop fussing over congiugations and just talk. At the beginning, sure I learned a lot and grew, but at a slower pace due to my language handycap. Now I see my potential and am determined at least to continue studying italian and to come back one day!

I've grown a lot during these months I've had here. I think the biggest way I've changed is that I have expanded my point of view and my opportunities. Six months ago I was determined to go to college right after High school and to always try to be the best, but I never imagined what the best could be! Now I know that I want to travel and come back to Italy, maybe with the Dartmouth program abroad, maybe with AFS again, maybe on my own, who knows! I have seen the reality of how huge and diverse our world is, but also that nothing is too big or too far. The world seems a little bit more attainable to me now. Now I'm determined to do much much more.

I think I've changed.


"What are going to do tomorrow Brain?"

"Tomorrow, Pinky... We take over the WORLD"


Thank You and Goodnight.