Day 100
Today marks my 100th day abroad, and while it should be a milestone and a day of excitement, instead all I feel is dread: its a day of panic trying to realize how I can fit in everything I have yet to do and everything I want to do again in the next 6 days.
The day started bright and early (as I predict all my mornings for the next week will. Who needs sleep when you are 6 days away from leaving these friends and this beautiful city?) and I headed off to Tivoli with the only 3 friends I have who have not explored this area yet. Tivoli (or its surrounding countryside) is one of the places you went when you were an imperial emperor and wanted to build a countryside getaway. So off we went to explore Hadrian's Villa. We explored the villa, imitated Classical poses on ancient column pedestals, and shared a bottle of wine. It was a lovely morning.
We would have continued on to the other major estate in the area (Villa d'Este) except for the farewell party the administration had planned for us back at the convent. So we hightailed it back to Rome to get back for the one of the few drinking and mingling parties allowed on the nun's grounds.
The highlight of the party was a slideshow composed of pictures the students had sent to the resident director over the past week. It was lovely and nostalgic and made me so incredibly sad to think that I will be leaving in less than a weeks time. There were tears in my eyes by the end. I honestly have never been so regretful to move on from somewhere: leaving my childhood friends at 8th grade graduation, saying good-bye to my high school friends after senior year, nothing could hold a candlestick to the frustration I have now. Yes, leaving the city is part of it, but I know, one way or another, I will come back to Rome. However, the real issue I face is leaving the people. My semester has been incredible (amazing, phenomenal, out of this world, and a thousand other adjectives), and it truly is the people who have made it that way. They shared my fascination with ancient culture, art, landscape, travel. If I wanted to do something I had a friend who would follow me there. And those few times that I couldn't find someone to do something with were just as memorable: those times I learned to live on my own, and I want to thank my friends for that as much as anything else.
So I say to you: Ali, Bridget, and Hannah; Shruti, Christina, and Annie; Bismar and Mark and Gabby; Sarai, Kelly, Hillary, and Erin; Courtney, James, Callie, and Emily; and everyone else; We started strangers, but I won't forget you or the times we had together. We absolutely made something out of nothing: you made my semester unforgettable, it wouldn't be the same without you and I wouldn't trade it for the world.
Ciao,
J
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