I never knew that this day would come. Well, that's actually false. I knew that this day would come but hoped that it wouldn't. But here it is, May 25th, 2016, the day of departure.
My host father Maurizio goes to work early, so this morning, I woke up early just to say my final goodbyes to him. Then, I said goodbye to my host grandmother who stayed home. She cried, which in turn made me cry, and it was a mess. After that, I said goodbye to my host brother Andrea who was rather indifferent about not seeing me again...? And finally, I said arrivederci to my host mother Maria Grazia as she dropped me off at the train station and went off to work.
As we did our last roll call on the bus to Rome airport, we said goodbye to our fellow teachers, who truly made this experience a blast. Once we arrived at Fiumicino airport, I did my last "siamo in arrivo a?" act. We went through check-in (which by the way was all in Italian - very proud), and we went to the gate.
As I am waiting for the take-off, I take the last glance at this country of which I had no idea 9 months ago. I try to take everything in, from simple signs and directions to Italian gestures. I don't want to leave this place, but I know that if I don't, I will take this experience for granted. Only when something goes away will one realize its true worth.
So I guess I am ready for the journey back. Next stop: Boston.