ciao for now

It has been exactly 3 months and 13 days that I have lived in Italy. The time I have spent here has been so amazing. I have learned, seen, and experienced more in the past few months that I could have thought possible. Italy has been so good to me. It has made me a home over 8,000 miles away from the one I have known my entire life. It has shown me good times and some not so good times. But all the while has given me so much opportunity for growth and experience. I’m so happy to be able to live here and it’s only halfway over. I finished my first semester of college (yay!). And I’m so excited for the fun that next semester will bring.

Looking back, this semester has consisted of many things. Eating big bowls of pasta, drinking red wine, reading good literature, learning to speak Italian, getting to see and study every famous artwork in the city, riding a gondola down the Arno, shopping around countless markets,countless runs to lookout points over the city, piqniqing under the eiffel tower in Paris, shopping the christmas markets in Budapest, olive picking in Tuscany, Touring the Vatican in Rome, Exploring Venice’s many islands, hiking around medieval castles, last minute road trips to Como, swimming in the Adriatic sea, laying on the beach in Positano, cheering for Fliorentina at a real Italian soccer game, eating pizza on the lawn of the Pitti Palace, waking up every day in the heart of Italy,walking to school across the Ponte Vecchio. Countless, trains, planes, buses, cabs, boats, and not to mention the distance on foot. And contrary to popular belief, yes, I did actually attend school.

The past 3 and a half months have taught me so much and brought me so far from my comfortable bubble and out into the real world. I feel At this point in time, all I need is some perspective. I leave to come home on Friday for 3 weeks. I should be interesting to see how my life was before now. The distance an time has caused me to forget a lot of how it used to be. I know I’m going to have reverse culture shock. The way of life here is noticeably different than back home. From table manners, to grocery stores, to money. I was fascinated the other day when my friend whipped out a $5 bill. I hadn’t seen one of those in a while. And when I return there are more things to see, places to go, and adventures to be had.

Ti amo, Italia! Ciao for now. <3! ~Bella