Last Days

I guess I'll make at least one last update before I leave! Classes are all finished, and I actually should be writing a paper right now, but I think it's time for a break. Tomorrow is officially the last day of my program here:( We'll have our final exams and then a big lunch with all of the teachers and students to celebrate!

It has been so long since I wrote a blog, I don't even know where to begin! So much has happened since February, it's almost overwhelming to think about!

Brad came out for 12 days which was a really amazing time:) We spent a weekend in Rome, a few days in Siena and Florence, and another few days on the beautiful island of Capri! It was really special for me to share this experience with someone from home and was almost a way to unite these two worlds I feel a part of right now! Not to mention I had rock hard abs by the end of his trip from laughing so much. I think that sometimes we might have too much fun together;) It was also really nice to finally have some fellowship and to get to sit and pray with somebody. That's one thing I miss a lot is the community I have in Colorado. Wow I am so blessed:)

For my Spring Break, two friends and I went to Northern Germany to stay with family friends of mine. They have two daughters my age, Nina and Tini, and their parents and mine met 25 (?) years ago in the Grand Canyon. Somehow our parents kept in touch since that random meeting while they were hiking in Arizona, and every couple of years they come out to stay with us in Colorado. So I have seen them multiple times in the States, but hadn't been to Germany to see them since I was 11 years old. It was so much fun to talk about memories and see how we've changed throughout the years. We of course did a lot of shopping, eating sausage, visiting WWII monuments, watching old videos of us growing up together and of course dancing:) Oh and I forgot eating marzipan!

As I said before, I have been teaching English to 3, 4 and 5 year olds at a kindergarten in a nearby town. It has been an eye opening experience and one that I'm going to cherish for the rest of my life. I'll never forget every Wednesday morning, walking into the classroom and all of the children stopping what they were doing to say 'good morning!' This past Wednesday was our last morning going there, and they brought us out a cut out heart with a picture we had all taken together. Then while they presented it to us, they said 'thank you!' and all of them started singing a song they had learned for us. Saying goodbye was hard, but was made better by getting attacked with kisses from the 4 and 5 year olds with whom we spent the most time with.

I spent the most of my service time at the hospital with a incredibly kind neurologist named Donatella. Most Thursdays and Fridays I went in and shadowed her while she visited patients and did some research. I learned so much about the healthcare system here in Italy through watching and talking with her and I was also gained a much better understanding of what it's means to be a doctor and a researcher in a hospital. Not only was it a really neat educational experience, but I think that it has made me more sure of what I want to pursue for my career!

It's hard to think about leaving this place where I have learned and experienced so much. This is an experience I know I'm never going to forget, and one that I feel will affect me for a long time. I'm going to miss making fun of our disgusting cat Poofo with my host sister, and laughing at the dinner table with Giulio and Gulianna. I'm going to miss running to the bus stop with Casey and Jessica because we're always late and walking on the cobble stone streets to get to school. I'm going to miss the margherita fields, Italian class with Antonella, the fun times I've had with friends here. I'm going to miss the hospital, Misericordia, and teaching English to the most precious children I've ever been around. I'm going to miss coming home and being with 'ciao tesoro! Come va? Tutto bene??' and maybe even a little bit showering in that darn bath tub with only a hand sprayer that doesn't hook up to the wall.

That being said, I think I'm ready to wrap up my time here. My family comes on Friday (eeeh so excited!!!!!!) and we're going to spend 2 weeks driving around Tuscany, up to Venice, then across to the Cinque Terre and the beach, and then we'll finish in Rome. THEN Kali comes the day they leave, and we're spending a week here in Italy and then making our way down to Greece for a week in the Mediterranean! THEN I'll fly to France to see my dear miss Kate and then Sarah will meet me in Paris and we'll spend 10 days in Provence riding bikes, hiking and visiting old French towns:) And I guess that's all! It seems like home is still far away, but I think that these next 7 weeks will fly by. I'm so excited for all of the traveling, but also I'm so excited to be home:) I miss you all a lot and I'm excited for the day when I don't have to get updates on your lives via e-mail or skype. And it's pretty much summer now, which means baseball games, barbecues, volleyball and plenty of hiking! Only 7 more weeks!