Done with school and almost with the year!

Wow, somehow I've arrived here and I only have two days left in Italy! Sorry again that I've been so slow with the blogging... but for whatever reason I've just been less motivated. So I'll try my best to catch you up in a sort of brief way.

From where I left off, in mid-May I was able to spend a few days in the Tuscan countryside with my grandparents, which was great. For the second week of their stay, they rented a house in a small town called Lucciana, with their friends Rhonda and David. The house itself was great and had a view, and during my time there we went to Volterra, Chianti (all over the region), and Montalcino, where the famous red wine Brunello is made. It was such a luxury to be able to do all these things that are much harder without the use of a car, even when the Tuscan countryside has been so close all year. All the towns were beautiful and quaint, and we had some lovely nights in Casole d'Elsa, which is near Lucciana. Another thanks to my grandfather for driving me and us all around in the rental car! :-)

The weekend after my time in Tuscany with my grandparents, Eva and I went to Viareggio because she wanted to go to the beach. We ended up walking for a verrrryyy long time to get to the free access beach (as opposed to paying for access) but it was worth it when we got there. We spent a good couple hours on the beach, ate our snacks that we'd bought at the supermarket, and went in the water. Even compared to two weeks prior, the water temperature was definitely warmer and it was really nice to spend some time in the sea... and it was good to have a fun outing day with Eva.

Last Wednesday, I got two of my exams done with. I just had to officially get the grade for one subject, since I'd already done the paper and presentation. Then with the same professor I had an actual exam, and that went really well. It was a relief to have 2 out of 3 classes out of the way!

Last Saturday, I cooked for my host family once again. I made guacamole and quesadillas, and oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (or "biscotti americani"). Everything went over really well, especially the guacamole and cookies. Since some of Cristina's friends were over on a couple nights to taste the cookies, I got multiple recipe requests! Lisa also helped me cook a little and that was fun.

Today was my "Storia del Risorgimento" (history of Italian unification) exam. I'd also written a paper for that class, so part of the work was already done. The worst part of the whole thing was having to wait about 2 hours while others went, getting more nervous and just wanting to get it over with! (Most exams here are oral, so you go in one or two at a time.) I also ended up getting tested by my professor's assistant, and assistants have a reputation for being more difficult about exams, but mine went fine anyway. And with that, I've officially finished all my school here in Italy! It's a big relief and feels really good.

It's been strange, exciting, and slightly sad to process the fact that my time here is coming to an end. For a lot of this year, I've been really looking forward to going home, and I still am. I've come to appreciate home (the people and other things) in my time here, so I am looking forward to being there. Nine months is a long time! And as great as Italy is, it's never stopped being another country, and it could never be as much of a "comfort zone" for me as the US is.

I also have a lot to look forward to in the next chapter of my life. This summer I'm blessed to be going on some great vacations with family, I'll be planning my wedding and enjoying being home.
Then, I'll be going back to Georgetown for my last year. After a year here in Florence, I appreciate Georgetown more than ever before! And I'll be living with four amazing friends in an apartment! And of course, after that, I'm getting married which is obviously really exciting... I've reflected many times on all the blessings waiting for me.

At the same time, departure actually arriving is making me face some sad good-byes - my host family, Eva, Lucia, and the things I like about Florence in general. These good-byes have an added dimension that it's not clear when or if I will see these people again, which makes it a bit harder. Either way, I am just trying to soak things up as best I can so I can look back and know I appreciated everything here while I was still here. For example, I had gelato yesterday, today, and haven't ruled it out for tomorrow!

Pretty soon I am going to do another post in the form of two lists - things I will and will not miss about Florence/Italy. I think it will be a good reflection on my time here and hopefully it will be kind of funny too! And as for this blog in the future, I may post once or twice after I get home, but I created the blog for my year abroad, so I will probably stop posting sometime during the summer as I move on past the experience. In the meantime though, stay tuned for the lists!