2:15 am on the last night in the apartment i love so much more than i could ever put into words. it feels really strange to have all the cabinets empty, surfaces cleared off (visible), and everything packed away. we will be living out of carry-on bags for the next week. me! a week of clothing and necessities in my little lesportsac that i usually stuff to the brim just for a weekend at kelli's. tomorrow morning lexi heads back to the states, mon and i take a porta portese pit-stop (i need those 10e sandals...who was i kidding resisting them last week?) and then are off naples, followed by the amalfi coast and salerno before heading back to roma to get our luggage and kick off the second leg of our eurotrip.

but a few things about this whole living in roma business....
-studying abroad has been without a doubt one of the best decisions of my life. i wouldn't trade this experience for anything. that's super cheeseball, and i know it. but it's just true.
-strangely enough, i am overwhelmed with the urge to tell my dear old dad just how impressed i am with his english. he moved to america and taught himself how to speak, read, and write a completely foreign language, alphabet and all. after living here for 3.5 months and struggling with a language that honestly isn't THAT different from my own, and most importantly shares an alphabet, i really commend him. considering i've spent the past 21 years teasing him on an almost daily basis (albeit very lovingly), i feel pretty guilty. pa, you're the best.

that's really all i can say right now. i demanded reflections from the girls while we camped out on the balcony with wine and the ever-famous 'lady mix' for hours earlier, but i don't know just how much i can provide yet. i'm just not ready to let go. medaglie d'oro apartment 75.... we've had a damn good run.

ohhh if these walls could talk ;)

Don't think twice- it's alright.

We maaade it!! All four finals are done! I am so, so relieved. After all the anxiety, panic, and restless nights.... it's done. Even better, I feel pretty confident about them and did very well on my papers. Now it's time to play and enjoy the last few days in this magical city! But first, Mon and I have some serious planning to do. We have our overnight trains to Munich and Amsterdam booked, but that's it. I hope some sweet Italians take pity on us when we're sleeping with our luggage in an alley...or I guess we could just join the legion of people living outside of Termini.

I love it here, and wish I was coming back for the fall, but I do need some time at home. My dream scenario would involve a sweet little American vacation and a triumphant return to Roma. I miss my family, my pals, not having anxiety over store/restaurant interactions (yeah, four months, and still), EllaBella, CharChar, MY HOUSE!- my bed, the family room couch, the comf chair in the living room, the way the paint feels in the dining room, persian rugs under my feet instead of our sort of gross bedroom carpet here, the little woodland creature wonderland that is the backyard. Driving! I can't wait to get into the car and drive to the barn. Ahhh, three weeks! But until then, I'm going to enjoy Roma, southern Iiiitaly, Florence, Venice, Munich, and Amsterdam. It's adventure time!

Very good at shopping, not so great at studying

As of Wednesday night all of my papers are handed in. Finished! Finitooo! All four were grueling but I think being able to pull from personal experiences, even just jokingly to myself, for all of them helped push it along. I mean, for Myth I wrote about an Egyptian goddess... Cleopatra was my best Halloween costume ever, I'm half of Rome's royal couple, and have been treated like gold here with my word as law (don't worry, Jen, it'll end soon). BOOM! For Art History I wrote about the Pantheon..... where did a certain gang of sailors waltz into my life on probably the most serendipitous, insane night of my (then) 20 years? Ohhh! For Anthropology I did a 26 page study and dissection of PDA in Rome.... boy and I have smooched our way all around this city. My Sociology research paper was on feminism in Italy, according to region- I was obsessed with my 'Women in Religion' class last semester and have had first hand relationship experience with a traditional Southern I-talian. Now I just have to channel that energy and work ethic into my finals tomorrow-Wednesday!

On Thursday night Lexi, Mon, and I went out with the boys in San Lorenzo to a really cute little pub (not to be confused with our original 'local-a pub-a') that was entirely decorated in soccer scarves from teams all over Europe. We played into the weee hours and then were driven home by our wonderful gentlemen. What service!
Friday was absolutely gorgeous. We grabbed our books and hit Villa Borghese for some sun and studying. Saturday is a blur of trying to force myself to keep trekking through Art History, booking train tickets, and of course grocery store runs.
This morning the three of us woke up early (8:30!!) and ventured out to the gigantic Porta Portese flea market. As usual, one of us acquired a stalker on the bus. I was the oh-so-lucky one this time and enjoyed 15 minutes of leg-bumping, unrequited flirting in Arabic, intense staring, suggestive looks, and being followed off the bus. Ooooh, love connection!! However, the endless stalls of the market quickly pushed all thoughts of creepers from my mind. My super exciting purchase was a beautiful new brown, studded watch. I drooled over this watch when we were away in Riccione last month and again when I saw it in a boutique in Rome. Imagine my delight when I spotted it for a fraction of the price at Porta Portese today! After some haggling, I got it for 10euros! Being as I am very much my father's daughter, what with having a painful, Jay-Z-like watch addiction, this totally made my day!
Of course, Monica and I also got cute little leather Roma bracelets because we're lame. I got a bright blue one with a black design, too. We also got something for Jennifer (not a rock) and a jersey for my Pa. Mon also got really adorable sandals for 10e- she is ready for our Southern Italian adventure! The rest of our day was spent enjoying Roma... including falafel and kebabs from Campo, mmm.

Speaking of our adventure- plans have changed! While we were originally planning on spending 2.5 weeks traveling Venice, Poland, Germany, and Amsterdam starting on the 25th.... our love for Italy has made it impossible to leave so soon. So, new plan:
We still leave Rome on Sunday, but will keep our bags at school. We'll head down to Naples (and hopefully not get our purses stolen, as the Anti-Napoli Giampiero, Tony, and Alessio have now all told us will happen) for two days, with a day trip to Pompei. From there we are off to the incredible island of Capri! After Capri we're going to the world-renowned Amalfi Coast for even more fun in the sun and beaching like the little darlings that we are. We may hit up Sorrento, too. Then we're off to Salerno, where our pal Andrea is from! He's coming home for the weekend and ready to play tourguide, wahoooo! On Sundayy night from Salerno we will come back to our dear Roma for a few final days... :( After saying what I'm sure will be some very difficult goodbyes, we're hopping a train and heading north for 5ish days in Florence and Venice. We're taking an overnight train from Venice-Munich, spending a day in my beautiful motherland, and then taking another overnight into Amsterdam, where we'll enjoy 3 final days of Euro freedom! I hope I don't lose Mon in a drug den. The chances are really, really high (pun not intended at first, but now fabulously cheesy!!).

Thanks for being a little study break, blog! Time to get back to Anthro- I can't disappoint my man, Greggorio. Another special thanks to Rino Gaetano (rip) for singing me through finals and this blog update.

My super cute new watch, for my Mommy to see:


Miss Monica and her sandals!:

Rome.... a lifetime is not enough.

Two weeks from right now, this life will be stuffed into a suitcase. Coasters and receipts that have to double as mementos will be slipped into every available space and I know nothing will be organized, despite the fact that I will be living out of said suitcase for 2.5 weeks. I'm ridiculously sentimental and don't see anything heading towards a garbage can.

Who would want this to end? I spent today doing some of my favorite things- picnicking, tanning, and writing with my pals in Villa Borghese (with a lovely pony being grazed nearby!), cooking dinner for a visiting friend, and drinking a Caprisoka while giving a moonlit tour of Rome. It's 2am and I'm stretched out on 'megabed' alongside Mon (we're straight, we just like to cuddle. OKAY?), our massive window is open with the curtains drawn back, letting in the chill and sounds of our quiet corner of the city. I have so much work to do, but it's okay, because my time here hasn't come to a close yet. There are still fourteen more days to soak it up before it's gone.

But I guess that's what things do.... they end. It's our challenge to keep moving on and growing, even when it seems impossible. This has probably been the best time of my life and I'm sure there's great things to come for me, but not so certain this can ever be topped. That's the trouble with delirious happiness- there's nowhere to go but down. I can't ever deliberately try to top this experience. That would just be impossible and most likely disappointing. Nothing could compare to the exhilaration, constant hysterics, the intense passion, and the unadulterated freedom. I'm just very happy to have had excellent people to share it with.... even though I don't think I'll ever see some of them again after leaving here. That really does break my heart.

What will we be for those 2.5 weeks? A couple of nomads traipsing around Europe with too much baggage. I'm Rome-sick and still here. Late on Saturday nights/early Sunday mornings, the streets get meticulously scrubbed down. The smell permeates the air and makes everything feel new. It makes holding the hand I've learned so well feel like the first time, screaming to lagging counterparts down the road over the great whirrrr of the brushes becomes hysterical, lips stretch over teeth in coy smiles, piercings glisten under the streetlamps, the smell of cigarettes is drowned out. We jump over the puddles and hold each other over the slick spots. Stop to kiss because I like the way your eyes just shined when I looked at you. Glimmers in time that I want to hold onto forever, dig my nails into and carefully file away in the deep recesses of my mind. But it just can't be. Non permesso. We don't always get what we want, and that's a brutal pill to swallow. Time will erode it all, and someday I'll be in a rocking chair and wonder "What was his name...?"

I don't care about how badly I want these papers to be finished and handed in, and these finals all done. April 25th.... please take your sweet, sweet time getting here. My greatest love, my friend Roma, and I haven't quite finished yet. She wants to show me Villa Borghese in July, Via del Corso at Christmas, and go for wandering strolls down more of her winding streets. You see, we still have a lot left to teach each other. I've finally found the ponies. She finally stopped raining.

Roma....Non basta una vita <3 ........."Problem" ;)

we clung to each other like children, both scared of the life that lay in wait outside the door, eager to stay in the temporary world created by sweet whispers, raucous laughter, and gentle brushes of skin that turn to the boldest of touches.
it’s safe to share fears when your confidante speaks in another tongue. you can take a deep breath, push the cards away from your chest, stretch out our elbows, roll your shoulders. the air wont burn the throat and tightly wound muscles gain much-needed relief. the most magnificent of secrets becomes a game of whisper-down-the-lane for two. my greatest fears are repeated back to me in garbled english, the beautiful mouth they slip out of having only a small insight to the meaning. his confusion brings me a sense of catharsis, with an unfortunate trace of guilt.