The End

It took me way longer to write this post than I originally thought/hoped. Being home over break, unpacking, repacking, moving in, seeing friends and getting ready for LMU kept me a lot busier than I thought. Now I FINALLY have the time to take a minute and wrap up my blog :( I really did enjoy blogging this whole semester. I know that every time I go back to read the entries I will have nothing, but fond memories to make me feel like I am really there again.

Our last days in Gallo were filled with goodbyes and moving out. On our last night there everyone in Gallo came into our room, and we talked for a few hours just to try an put off what no one wanted to do…..say goodbye to each other and this wonderful semester we all shared together. Not gonna lie…….I cried……a lot. I really made some fantastic friendships through this semester, but I am lucky that two of my roomies live close and that I am able to visit everyone in Spokane! We went to bed that night and I got up at 9am the next day to leave for the airport and be there by 10am for my 1pm flight.

Both of my suitcases were full to the BRIM! Exactly 50lbs each! I said my goodbye to Massimo and then my roomies Nan and Kara were still around, so they each grabbed a bag and walked me downstairs to my taxi. I just about lost it again when getting into my taxi. Supes sad. Just picture it…. a young girl, alone, two suitcases, saying goodbye to two of her best friends, the building she lived for the past 3 months, and about to drive out of the city of Florence. Pretty sad sight…but then I remembered I was holding my purple pillow (which everyone in Gallo made fun of) and I then held it up and waved purple at them so we all started to crack up!

            I arrived at the Florence airport literally the EXACT same time as Ali. My taxi pulled up and hers was right behind mine! Perfect timing. We walked into the Florence airport (which is rather small) and obviously it was ABSOLUTELY packed. Every study abroad student was leaving on December 17^th. The airport was a zoo.  I did run into a few familiar faces from the GIF program too, so that was nice. There were so many different lines; to check bags, get boarding passes, and pay for over weight bags. Kids were being like rushed around, lots of people having close calls of missing their flights and that kind of stuff. Good thing Ali and I got there when we did, because we for sure gave ourselves enough time to not make any close calls or feel rushed and panicked. We were also very lucky that there was no snow in Munich, because snow in other places of Germany caused several delays and cancellations.

We then boarded our first flight Florence to Munich. We didn’t sit by each other because it was just a short 2 hour one. Then we landed in Munich and that airport was great, lemme tell you! It was huge, clean, and organized! We had enough time to sit and have some lunch and that was where I spent the last of my euro….wah! :( We then boarded that long flight from Munich to SFO. Ali and I had separate seats, but the girl next to me was nice enough to switch so that was awesome. On that flight we got two meals….one of course had to be a pasta dish, so that was grrreeeaaattttt (aka I’m so sick of eating this every day twice a day for the past 3 months!). Ali and I both watched Crazy, Stupid, Love and then I napped on and off and watched some other shows. As much as I always dread that terribly long flight, it wasn’t really that bad. We then landed in SFO, did customs (which were really easy), got our bags and were reunited with our families! SO GOOD TO BE HOME!

Break was filled with jet lag, no pasta, my wonderful bed, great food, and being home. It was everything I was looking forward to and then some, although I do wish it could have been longer, those 3 weeks just flew by! Seeing everyone was great and I always got the constant question of, “How was Florence?!” Honestly it’s just too much of an open-ended question to answer. As cheesy as it sounds I really can’t begin to describe it.

This semester has been the best experience of my life…not even kidding….I’m sure when I get married or have kids those things will surpass it, but as of now hands down it’s Florence. When I initially applied for the semester abroad, I wasn’t sure I could handle it. There were just so many unknowns. I didn’t have any close friends going AND I would be away from home for 3 months…something I have never done before and wasn’t really sure I could actually do it. I was so nervous about it all and really wondered if I could handle it. Here I am now, I DID IT…. and loved absolutely every single minute of it. I cannot say enough good things about Florence, my travels, the people I met, my pensione, and the Gonzaga in Florence program. I want anyone and everyone I know to study abroad through that program! I learned so much about myself and about the world around me. I would give anything to relive it all again. Being back at LMU now is great, but it feels like Florence never happened, like it was all just a dream. Opening tour seems like ages ago, and all that’s left of the abroad experience are the pictures, inside jokes, memories and watching the students that stayed for the whole year continue to live the dream via Facebook. Could I have done a year you ask? If nothing changed and I was with the same people and it was mandatory for all of us to stay for the year then YES, I really would have. But that’s life, things change, we change, and its now time for me to close this chapter….or should I say end the blog….on what was the most spectacular chapter in my life. Goodbye Gonzaga in Florence. I miss you everyday and always will. You changed my life for the better and provided me with 3 months of love and happiness. I am forever grateful. You’re unreal.

Ciao Firenze!

Al