Goodbye JFRC

Last night was my last night at the JFRC. I can't believe I spent most of it studying. It still feels unreal. I woke up this morning, showered, and sprinted down to the library already 20 minutes late for my 7am goal to start studying. I sat next to Preston which means I spent the better part of the morning joking around and drinking a cafe latte- which have begun to lose their effect. I think my body knows it's the end of the semester and is getting sick of my 18+ hour days. The exam was not as bad as I had expected, which was a blessing considereing how little I had studied. After lunch I started packing my bags. It was less like packing, and more like hastily shoving stuff into my duffle which was already bursting at the seams. My bags left Chicago with only the essentials, and were about 5 lbs underweight. I am scared to think about how overweight thay will be when I leave. I tried to enjoy my last mensa but it was difficult because I was filled with all kinds of emotions. I was relieved to be done with finals, trying to process the fact that I would never be eating mensa with these people again, and nervous for this coming weekend and the 3 weeks of traveling to follow. We joked, gossiped, and tried to avoid the inevitable fact that in only 2 hours I would be gone for good. With a stomach full of mensa and butterflies I managed to finish packing my bags, attend to some last minute details, and say my final goodbyes. I know I will be back at JFRC this Sunday but it will no longer be my home, or filled with all the people I have come to love over the past 4 months.

The car ride to Bolsona was over two hours, but well worth it. The town we are staying in is small and quite. Barbara and Giovanni seem to know everyone. The house we are staying in is at the top of a hill in the 'new' part of town. It has a great layout with a large open kitchen and living room that take up most of the ground floor. All the rest of the ground floor is made up of a small room, a bathroom, and several gardens and terraces. Upstairs there are two rooms and a bathroom. My room is plain, but it has a large, comfortable queen bed in the middle. The best part of the room is terrace which opens through two french doors adjacent to my bed. Barbara loves to garden so every terrace contains fresh, colorful flowers. There is a pink rose bush outside my window, and a small tree with large red flowers further down the terrace. That night we had an incredible meal of mozzarella di bufala e pomedore (buffalo mozzarella and tomatoes). It was by far the most Italian meal I have had in my life. It's 11pm now and I am exhausted, but excited to start the next leg of my adventures. I am off to a good night's sleep in my queen bed.

Happy Birthday Roma!

Today was the founding of Rome. There were many events going on in the city like staged gladiator battles, free entrance to certain museums, and fireworks over the Colosseum. I unfortunately was unable to participate because of finals studying. I guess it's the price you pay for writing 15 pages in one day :(

Italian Final

After a day of studying and binge eating prochuitto, oranges, and cookies I took my Italian final! Afterwards I had my last day of tutoring with Tomasso. I will miss his wonderful family. Especially his 'nonna' who is the epitome of sweet Italian grandmothers. They are a wonderful family, and I am so happy I had the chance to meet and spend time with them.

End of Semester Banquet

Tonight was the annual JFRC end of the semester banquet. It felt like high school. All of the girls had been out looking for new shoes and dresses for the occasion for weeks. We voted for superlatives. We even had a calcio (soccer) tournament the night before. People spent hours getting ready; getting their hair and nails done, painting on makeup, pouring wine into water bottles. It was like Homecoming but with a so-so group dinner component, terrible DJ, and overpriced bar. In case it wasn't obvious I wasn't a huge fan. Once the dancing started I knew I had to get out of there. I found my friend Joe who was just as uncomfortable as I with the super awkward dance floor. All I really wanted to do was spend my last few nights in Rome walking around on the beautiful cobblestones eating gelato and gazing, happy Roman drunk, at all the wonderful things I would never again get to see bathed in the yellow light of the streetlamps. We walked to the ruins of Cat Sanctuary ruins where I told Joe the story of Caesar's death on the steps of the senate. Joe and I reminisced about all the fun times we had in Rome, and reflected on what we had learned, how we would change, and what we wanted to take with us. Entranced in our conversation we stumbled across a small pastry shop where we got some delicious pastries with fresh pears (which were in season!) and walnuts. A killer combination. We ate them in front of the restaurant where the banquet was being held and watched the train wreck that was the exit of JFRC. I met up with Marija, Kieran, and Kaley outside and walked with them to Trastevere where I relaxed with a big Perroni in the middle of the piazza. I couldn't think of a better way to end one of my last nights in Rome.

Egyptian Belly Dance Performance

For the last three months I have devoted my Monday and Tuesday nights to learning the art of Egyptian belly dance. My teacher is a professional, and well known in the dance world. She taught us a belly dance, as well as a folk dance. My favorite was the fold dance because it was fun whereas the bell dance, while upbeat, told a story about unrequited love.