Okay, I realize that I’v e completely slacked off on this whole blog thing for about the last month. Sorry. Life got a little hectic. The last one I wrote was from Germany when we were about half way through spring break and then my laptop went insane and stopped working. Just my luck. Anyways, to make a long story short, spring break was amazing. We finished up the trip with Austria (AMAZING!) and Prague. Those 2 weeks were QUITE an experience! We also made a second trip up to Udine for the Lovato family reunion. I’m really glad that I got to go back because it’s nice to have memories with the family now that I’m older and can remember them. These past few weeks have been a blur with all of our 20 page research papers due and then our finals all piled up on top of each other. We took our last final in conversation Italian today and I’m actually kind of happy with myself. Haha I think I might just leave this country speaking some Italian after all! Anyway, that brings me to today. It’s currently 6 am on Friday, May 8 and I never went to sleep last night. Oh boy. I’m leaving tomorrow!!!!!! Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve completely enjoyed my semester abroad but it’s time to come home. The Italian lifestyle is getting a little old! Because I’m leaving on Saturday this will most likely be the final blog that I write. It’s been an amazing semester full of memories and I’m so happy that I made the decision to come here…but heres is a list of what I WONT miss!

-Italian Men…they’re totally creepy
-Expensive stores that I can’t afford
-Almost being run over by an Italian while they proceed to park on the sidewalk
-The dog poop that they leave all along the sidewalks
-The evil psycho pigeons that like to attack me
-Pasta (haven’t these people heard of a salad???)
-The “ciao bella! Its-a me! Mario!” comments
-The “ciao bella! I give you special price” comments from the illegals selling knock-offs
-This twin bed that I’m currently laying in
-Not being able to swipe my debit card because it’s from America
-Being ripped off at restaurants and stores because I’m American
-My cheap and useless Italian cellphone
-These weird European electrical outlets
-These weird European showers that always cause you to spray water all over the bathroom
-The Roma bus systems
-The fact that no one in Europe has gotten the memo about a daily shower and personal hygiene (The smell is rough when it gets warm! Haha)
-The creepy security guard that follows me around the supermarket because he thinks I’m going to steal a 1.29 euro jar of pasta sauce.

Now, for what I WILL miss…
-Walking by the colosseum, pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Vatican, Spanish Steps etc. every day
-The nice old Italian men that tell you that you’re pretty all the time (Its always nice to hear. Haha)
-Being surround by history wherever I go
-The ability to hop a train to anywhere in Europe
-The way the sun sets over the Vatican everyday when we’re walking home
-The churches (SO beautiful…)
-Learning something new every day
-The Italian culture as a whole
-Seeing the world (When I’m not studying, of course!)
-Watching Aaron devour a large bowl of gelato every day
-Spending time with my wonderful friends (That live all the way across the country)
-Meeting new Italian people and attempting a conversation in Italian
-The smell of flowers in Piazza Novona at night
-The Spanish Steps after dark when the crowds are gone and it’s peaceful
-The amazingly cheap (and illegal) markets of Trastavere on Sundays
-The AWESOME Italian shoes
-Walking along the piazzas at night in the warm weather enjoying the beautiful country that I was lucky enough to call my home for 4 months

And the list could go on and on forever. This semester has shown me how much I appreciate my life in America but that I am also capable of adapting into a new lifestyle halfway around the world. I couldn’t be happier with this semester although at times I just wanted to come home. Homesickness set in once or twice but that was bound to happen. The culture shock was terrible but we learned and accepted it. The language was difficult but we got by. The stress got to us at times but we made it through. I’ve climbed an active volcano, Sunned on the beaches of the Mediterranean Sea, stood a top some of the highest points in Europe and been completely immersed in a strange yet hypnotizing culture but I’m still standing.
After seeing as much of the world as I have this semester, I can’t wait to travel again and see what else is out there. At the end of the semester, my travel list includes

London, England
Barcelona, Spain
Paris, France
Florence, Rome, Bologna, Venice, Udine, Trieste, Sorrento, Solerno, Pompeii, Capri, Siena, Pisa, Naples and Verona, Italy
Munich, Germany
Brussels, Belgium
Lucern and Zurich, Switzerland
Ljubjana, Slovenia
Salsburn and Vienna, Austria
Prague, Czech Republic

Not bad for a 20 year old college student, right? Now that its all over, I’m sad that I’m leaving but also really excited to get back to my life in the United States. You don’t realize how much you miss something until you a million miles away from it all. I’m going to miss Rome but after all, home is where the heart is and that is exactly where I’m heading. See you all there :) Arrivaderci!

Michelle