Un anno fa...
One year ago...
One year ago today I walked into Newark airport with two suitcases and a backpack (...tear) packed with four-months of my life. One year ago today I had never left the United States before. One year ago today I had never uttered a word of Italian. One year ago today I had never lived in a city. One year ago today I hated red wine and seafood. One year ago today I had yet to meet the most incredible group of people. And one year ago today my entire life changed.
The past year has flown. To me, most days still feel like I "just got back." I still feel the urge to look through pictures, read an entry out of my journal, or reminisce with my roommates about that time Meg put balsamic vinegar in our late-night pasta. Yet, here I am about to graduate with no knowledge of when I'll return to Florence.
What I'm certain of, is that four short months in that city have shaped the soon-to-be adult that I've become. I grew up while I was over there. It pushed me out of the comfort of Clemson, the comfort of the English language, and the comfort of having my closest friends and family nearby. But in Florence, I learned how to explore. I remember second full day in Florence, my advisor Laura gave me directions to the U.S. Consulate, so that I could file my theft with them. I got there, and was greeted by a swarm of Italian cops who would not let me set foot near the U.S. Consulate. I told them my problem, and they would not help me. I could barely understand a word they were saying. All I knew was that they were not letting me near that Consulate. It took me nearly 45 minutes to get home (which I later learned should have been a 10 minute walk). I had to stop and ask four different people for directions. I don't even think I had a single phone number stored in my phone yet besides my mom and Laura. In situations like that, you don't have time to be stressy or anxious. You just have to find your way home. So that's what I did. And silly, overwhelming, first-week experiences like that are what make you prove to yourself that you can do this. You can live on your own in a foreign city. It's an entirely new sense of independence.
If you followed this blog, you know it wasn't long until I found my directional grasp on the city. I became Momma TarTar the walking MapQuest to my roommates. And oh, my roommates. Never in my life had I lived with such diverse personalities. Yet despite our differences, we clicked (clearly, I am leaving Rancid Amy out of this generalization). We sat around the kitchen table and shared our lives via Facebook pictures with each other. We let each other in when we were too intoxicated to figure out how to unlock our giant door. We did our school work together while drinking wine. We picked out each other's clothes (...well, Jacqueline picked out our clothes). We put the pieces together when one of us came out of our rooms in the morning and yelled "WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT?" We stood by each other when laundry racks went angrily crashing to the floor. And on our last night we sat together, cuddled on Meg & Jacquelines beds with a bottle of classy champagne until we had to go our separate ways.
If you had told me one year ago that I was going to come back from Florence with a new perspective on life and friends that I will have an incomparable bond with for the rest of my life, I might not have believed you. I thought I was just going to see the sights, drink the wine, and "study abroad" like every college kid is supposed to. But really, I went there to find a piece of myself that I didn't know existed.
I'll be forever grateful that I had the opportunity to study in Florence. Grazie to everyone who made my experience what it was!
