Just two days...

So I just finished my last final and am officially a senior, which is weird because all my friends at Elon aren't even done with classes yet and here I am, in Italy, done.

Not done with Italy though. Only two days left, although I'm not sure how much Italy I will really be doing in these next two days considering my room is a mess and I have to somehow get that mess into 2 suitcases. I'm worried about breakables, but I have a plan so we'll see how things hold up. Some people brilliantly realized that none of the shops in the airport will be open when we fly home-- stupid 6:30 am flight or whatever it is-- so my whole idea of buying wine in the duty free shops and putting it in my duffel to take on the plane is now shot. I was looking through my plastic bags yesterday which happen to line the floor under my bed and I realized that I bought so many gifts- you better all love me when I get home.

This past week has held nothing special, just going with the flow of exams, a bit of an allergy breakout-- the weather here is beautiful and so I suffer.
I did go to eat at this amazing Perugian restaurant which happens to be the street over from my house (and I wait till the last week to go, right?) and also to the Medieval gardens which were pretty.

I am trying to eat as much pizza as possible before I leave since I am well aware that pizza ANYWHERE in the United States will not even come CLOSE to the amazing pizza we have here.

Tonight there is a goodbye dinner for us with the faculty/staff and then tomorrow I'll probably go to the ceramics show one last time-- also the free cheese festival in the underground part of the city, (how nice of a goodbye is that?!) to buy some gifts (more gifts, I know). Then at 11/12pm my roommates and I are buying a meter long pizza and probably crying around the dining room table- one last time. Liz and I are calling a taxi to take us to Piazza Italia which is where the buses are getting us at 1:30am/2am. Nice goodbye, right?

I am going to be so dead when I get home.

Speaking of home, I've finally decided that I'm ready to come home- more or less. I know that I can't stay in Italy forever, not to mention all of my funds are completely depleted. However, I can't wait to come home and spend time with my family and friends (elon and home friends) before heading off to Mexico in June (as long as everything goes well). Italy was an amazing place to study abroad, and I'm glad that I came here instead of the many other places I could have gone... especially going to Perugia over a bigger city like Rome or Florence (my funds would have been gone in February). Despite many scary instances- i.e. break ins and the like, Perugia has felt like home for the past four months and it will be weird returning to the United States--- only to go to Mexico (what am I thinking, right?). I hear culture shock is much worse upon arrival in the United States- considering I had no culture shock when I came here- I love the Italian lifestyle so much... I fear for my return to the United States- a country that I've been having a hard time feeling patriotic for lately.

How am I expected to return to a country that doesn't do what it says it will, and where so much pain and hurt is unresolved. After the VT massacre, life at Elon will be weird, and I wasn't even in the United States when it happened. I feel like so many things have happened over the past four months and even through my somewhat lame attempts to stay connected through online media sources, I can't help but feel disconnected. I know that living here in Italy has changed the way I look at things, in my opinion for the better, and I'm sure that my new (well not completely new) beliefs and ideals will be questioned.

As for Italy, I will miss it. A lot. I would like to return some day, but there are so many places to see in the world that it's hard to think about returning here right away.
Plan on another entry soon about Italy, I feel like I haven't really sat down and wrote about things I've noticed or cultural elements here and considering I only have two days left, I better write about them now.

Hope you are all doing well. Love you and see you all soon.