And So it Ends

Well I guess I never got around to talking about SupperClub (an enjoyable evening despite turning expensive at a renowned place where we leaned back on white bed/couches while dining, watching a former-he play violin, getting massages, and "flying" with a man in a prom dress and wings singing that he could teach us to be better people), and didn't even mention our spontaneous trip the the US Embassy, courtesy of Tom's marine friend, but as I write my final post concerning this amazing trip from my bedroom in Virginia I've decided there are more important things to discuss.

Erin and Alyssa left Thursday (as opposed to the Friday-or-later departure most of us shared), so we made a nice little pasta dinner and had Jeff over for a second. Hannah was moving into our place after we left so she and Carly came over, and though Hannah, Meghan, and I had Claudio's paper the next day, we went for one last drink across the street with Erin and then were lured into yet another night at the Abbey.

Friday were the dreaded Emperor's and Archeology finals, and though we were all ready to go let off some steam and enjoy our final night together, the truth was that there was considerable packing yet to be done. After that Meghan and I headed back into the center one last time, and got one last dinner with Hannah, Jeff, and Dan at il Baffetto, the delightful pizza place right across from (where else?) Abbey. Hannah tried to treat us all courtesy of Daddy Heller, but alas they did not take cards. It's the thought that counts, dear;). Went and met up at Abbey afterwards, and savored every last moment, sharing hugs and memories until they were ready to close. Carly had Daygum and caramels (as well as a really thoughtful note) for all of us, crazy numbers of pictures were taken, and then it was time to go.



As we were walking out, Meghan and I on a whim decided to walk through our dear Piazza Navona one last time, and who do we come across but some of our male friends, who were on their way to check out the Pantheon and Trevi Fountain one last time. Obviously we accompanied them, which was a very nice conclusion to our final night, and then it was really time for the goodbyes.

By the time we made it back and took care of the last bit of our packing, there was only about an hour for sleeping before I had to get ready to go to the airport. My bags were heavy and incredibly cumbersome, and were it not for a nice Filipino man named Alex who came to my assistance on my way from Piramide to the Ostiense train station I think all might have been lost. My flights were just fine (a little delayed leaving JFK, but nothing serious), and here I sit.

It's so strange to be home, because I feel like such little time has passed here. I feel like almost nothing has changed; I feel like it should be the end of summer and I should be getting ready to enter my fall semester again. I look at pictures from the trip and already it seems like a whole different lifetime... and what a fantastic lifetime it was. I miss you all so much already, and can't wait for the day, whenever that may be, that we meet again. You have touched my life in so many ways and I'm thankful for every one of you. Thank you so much for sharing this amazing experience with me, and while Carly was nice and personal with her handwritten notes, you all know how I love the internet so I'll give you each your own little blurb here.

Meghan: My dear little roommate, my partner in crime, I am so fortunate to have shared half of a living room with you all semester. We were so similar in so many ways, and always succeeded in convincing the other to go out and partake in bad decisions, or simply stay in and partake in bad decisions such as the breaking of strainers or the learning of the Soulja Boy dance. I never thought I'd find someone who enjoyed late-night running as much as I did, and I think all of our Piramide workout sessions definitely helped to burn off all those pizza calories. I'm going to miss you so much, and really want to come to Cali soon! Make sure Santa Clara's ready for the disaster that will ensue.

Erin: Mine and Meghan's sometimes roommate, always popping your head in when things were getting boring, I'm pretty sure things would have completely unraveled on more than one occasion without your "OCD"-ness and keeping things under control. Thanks for always looking out for us, for offering advice, for keeping things in perspective. Hopefully I can find someone at UVA next semester with your wisdom, but I doubt it. I'm glad I could be there for you finally learning to cook, and I hope you wow everyone at U of I with your amazing pasta preparing abilities. I love Chicago so I'll be damned if I don't see you sometime in the near future.

Alyssa: The fourth of our foursome... we didn't spend as much time together as I would have liked but we did have our moments, from the first night (your birthday!) stealing toilet paper from the boys and relying on you entirely to find a taxi for us (thanks to that nice garbage man), to having an old man tell us we were ugly (and responding by telling him we had AIDS too), to me totally crashing your and Amaechi's night at Gilda (you'll never get those 10 minutes of your life back that we had to sit drinking water in the bar across the street... oops). I hope you're feeling better, and I hope someday you succeed in securing the life in Rome you want so dearly!

Carly: How does the baby of the group become the most responsible? Words couldn't describe how happy Meghan and I were that you were coming to Barcelona, not only because you're a blast, but because our flight back home was sure to go smoothly! And then who would we have had to suggest piercing sessions, or to say hilarious things like, "It was on mah bed, so Ah took it!"? You were always down to have a good time, and on top of that always made sure everyone else was, and you always were looking out for everyone as well. So many roles to fill, and you did it splendidly. Again, love Chicago, plan on seeing me around.

Hannah: Every group needs its good Jew girl to make latkes for them during Hannah-kuh, and I'm glad ours got to be you. Every group also needs its girl to make absolutely inappropriate but hilarious comments every 5 minutes or so, and again, glad it was you. From that night at Random Bar playing 10 fingers (where you got to be the first to make use of our greatly-utilized couches) to watching Madonna at our bar and hitting up Abbey despite massive paper writing to do (when, coincidentally, you also slept on our couch. Or Erin's bed. Whatevs), you definitely always added a new element to the group, and one that none of us would ever have opted to do without! I'm so glad you didn't get traded for camels in Tunisia, and I personally think Jersey's just fine as a state, so I bet I could even arrange a visit there. (Virginia's nice too... PS... any of you are welcome and encouraged to come see me too!)

Kathleen: I really just need to stop commenting on how funny people are, because as I get to each new person I realize that you're all... well... funny. I think I might have gotten my first appreciation of this that night you ran gung-ho into the Mediterranean (for privacy purposes I'll leave out the humorous details... everyone who knows knows), and then the next day commented on how you were the only one to fall forward jumping off the cliff. I correctly ascertained from that point that you would definitely make any evening more interesting, but on top of that you were also such a great asset to Maurizio's classes with your knowledge of art and all that. I have a lot of friends in NYC, so next time I'm there I'm gonna need someone to show me around Brooklyn:).

Kathryn: I feel like I didn't really get to know you that well til the end of the trip, but I'm really glad I did. We had a great time at Chianti, just chilling and relaxing... and eating... a lot... and it was great having a fellow vegetarian in the group! And as much as you hated it then, I hope you can laugh now at the awfulness we witnessed as you stumbled through the train after Cinque Terre with your cankles. After being around all of us uncultured wine bingers I hope you have a new appreciation for being the classy wine lady back home, where I will certainly see you since I can't think of a good reason NOT to go to Santa Clara after meeting all you fine Californians.

Kelly: I've always wanted to know a professional jazz vocalist, and now I can say that I do. We could always count on you to keep crazy Claudio in check (well, make an effort in any case... homeboy's out of control), or to participate when no one else could in response to Daria's confusing Italian ramblings. Congrats on living the dream and scoring an Italian chap, and hope you got to curl up with a book in front of a fire in Montana just like you always wanted.

Dan: Ohhhhh Daniel. Mr. Drama himself. But you know what, we love you for it, and without you, what would we had to toast to at the Holiday Bonanzaaaaa? And whose pants would I have gotten to shove a beer up at the pub crawl? Or have call me out on my statement liking myself and pub crawl love to bumblebees? Or teach me about "moosey moosey moosey" (which, by the way, my dad has a habit of saying to my dog Moose)? Or take 7 euro scotch to the face with? Or cook me quesadillas? Or... ok well you get it. Bottom line, I've had a great time with you this semester, see you in Cali.

Ben [Curly]: So you don't keep the kitchen clean, you threw garbage under the funiculare in Naples, and tact certainly isn't your forte, but I've definitely had my share of good times with you this semester. You always had insightful contributions in class or an argument to make, you always wanted to keep thing interesting and I wish I had taken the initiative to interact with Italians like you did. Spicing up our hike in Cinque Terre with early morning limoncello and prosecco was fun, and while I think everyone would have loved to see you actually try to chug the garum in Naples, making you sweat over it was fun too. And... who could forget Colin's t-shirt? Anyway, have fun in hippie-ville, it's been real.

[Other]/[Regular] Ben: The one who gave me the affectionate title of "Affordable" on Day 1 (don't worry, your royalties are in the mail)... it's always seemed such an enigma that we could have ultimately bonded so well over music when you look upon mine with such disdain. I'm glad you were able to look past that and maintain a friendship... taking awesome photos while lost in Cinque Terre, the million rides we don't remember at Oktoberfest, our 5 minute music excursion that took us an hour to get to, our third-try's-a-charm trip to Perugia... Well, we both know DC's not that far, and I do still need my pictures.

Jeff: El Jefe... my (and everyone else's) newly adopted "big brother"... I've really enjoyed getting to know you this semester, and especially these last few weeks. Always there if we were in a bind, always there to spice up the night with a few rounds of shots, always enthusiastic on the dance floor, you really just always tried to ensure everyone was having as much fun as you were. I don't think anyone will forget the "Jeff laugh," or doing the cowboy dance with you at Oktoberfest, and personally I still just am so appreciative of your help in Barcelona! I've never been to Boise, I hear it's beautiful, but if I don't work that into my travel schedule in the near future, Virginia has a lot to offer too:).

[Piccolo] Scott: You broke my glass table and terrified my roommate, I accompanied you to buy extravagant Prada purchases, you blew us all away by showing up on that beach in Positano (and immediately hitting the bar)... and this was all in the first week! But you know what, I love you for all of those things, and for so many other things we went through together (unfortunately concluding with a few bottles and some Marie Antoinette). I really would like to get together over break and I'm going to call you soon.

Pete: Well, I feel like I didn't see you a whole lot, but I did convince you to come try some latkes and I did almost break your nose when I lived up to my promise of kissing you goodbye-- on the lips. I guess maybe we scared you away a little (I mean, I don't blame you), but it was fun explaining to you how artists were crazy and listening to you bash the Rothko exhibit. Tell Long Island I said hey, and enjoy your Ralph Lauren ad campaign.

Big Scott and Tom: I'm really sorry to do this to you guys, but you really are the "Big Guys" to me. I pretty much laugh at everything you say or do, how you both act like you don't care about anything (but I think you're really just covering a soft interior), how you're both so Chicago, how I could always turn to you for a smoke... I mean, individually, Tom I forgive you for commandeering an entire pack at the embassy, and Scott, you WOULD get lost at Argentina on the way to Scholar's from your place. So perfect. On behalf of everyone, thank you for the insane amounts of drinks you guys both covered... whether you tried to make it apparent or so I think maybe you liked us a little bit after all. You promised you'd never see me again, but I do plan on hitting you up when I'm in Chicago.

Brendon: You were the seemingly quiet alternative artist in the corner who hung out at rock clubs and took smoke breaks with the Big Guys, so I guess I probably always had a little crush on you for that. Thanks for walking me back from the rock club that time and sharing your cigarettes. Good luck with all your artistic pursuits, maybe I'll see you in Rolling Stone someday.

Katy, Manon, Omar, and Morgan: Again, sorry to lump you all into one category, but you guys kind of came in one awesome design-kids package! I didn't get to hang out with you guys as much most of the kids, but when I did it was always a good time. Katy-- I've always really respected how you made the huge huge decision to come out to Italy from Iowa, and I'm so glad you did. It seems like you are too, and good luck with all your future happenings in Europe. Manon-- you were always hilarious in Italian and I'm glad we got to introduce you to your first Thanksgiving! If you're interested in another I'm sure any of us would be more than happy to host you in the States. Omar and Morgan (just realized I'm not actually friends with her on facebook and she probably won't ever see this... oh well), same goes for you! It's been great knowing you guys this semester.

Alright... I think I got everyone... if not that's really embarrassing. Thanks again for everything, I love you all. And maybe it's corny but I wrote a song on the plane (while in the process of drinking my airplane bottles) and here it is...

i crack the plastic on the case of five small bottles i bought.
they will be empty before the hour's done.
to go from twenty good companions to this stale air seems wrong,
and though it's crowded, i feel like i have no one.

i'll cross some mountains and an ocean and i'll sleep (hopefully)
and then i'll land and set my watch back six hours.
and wish it made a difference and that it was four months
so i could relive that part of my life that time's devoured.

our last night at the abbey was a sight to behold
as we clung to each other til the lights came on.
i was called a little sister and i was called a friend,
tell me how can those people be gone?

well we knew that in that moment that that moment was our last,
as we were to disperse across a large foreign nation.
in that outlet of emotion, though my heart it felt sad,
my eyes offered no indication.