Goodbyes

This week has been pretty crazy. I have had exams and packing at the same time. Yet, all that was on my mind was packing. I feel like I kind of gave up on the studying for my exams, but at this point I am okay with that. I was more trying to enjoy my last couple of days in Siena with everyone. I knew that I would remember the memories from sitting on the campo or getting gelato with someone rather than doing well on a test. We were all savoring the LAST time we would get gelato from our favorite place or get our LAST slice of pizza. It’s hard to imagine that in another couple of days I won’t be walking those same streets every day and that I won’t be able to get my usual cappuccino and pastry every morning. Or that every Tuesday I volunteer after class and every Wednesday is the big market. All of these things I will definitely miss about Siena. I can’t believe how fast this semester has gone. I feel like it was just a couple of days ago that I got here. Yesterday was a very emotional day. It was the LAST day for our program. I woke up to go to Italian class where we played a card game and basically chatted with our professor. It was a great end to the semester. Then, since it was Wednesday, I went to the market and got myself a pair of boots. I have wanted to get boots this entire semester and I finally got them! I love them can’t wait to wear them! I decided it was time to go study for my art history exam, so I headed to IES and a group of us studied a bit. Once art was over, I was absolutely thrilled. I was done with exams and could go finish packing. I had a couple of hours before our group dinner started, so I headed back to my apartment and started rolling everything up to put in my suitcase. At 6:30 me, Katie, and Michelle headed out to the campo to meet the rest of the group to go to dinner. About an hour into dinner, Alana had to leave and it was the first goodbye for all of us. It was hard, but I held it together. After dinner we all took some pictures and then went to get some drinks to celebrate our time in Siena. I went to get changed since I had a dress on and it was pretty cold out. Katie and I headed over to Lindsay, Jordan, Florence, and Charlotte’s apartment to hang out before going to sleep. All of us were lying on their balcony just chatting and prolonging the time before we had to say goodbye. It didn’t hit me until a group of girls left. It was then that all the memories of the semester came forward and I remembered all the good times I had with these people. I started tearing up and it was hard to hug people, knowing that I wouldn’t be seeing them for a bit. I wouldn’t be seeing them everyday like I had been. You get to know these people and you hang out with them every day. You get used to spending a lot of time with them that when you realize that for at least a couple of months you won’t see them at all is hard. I still can’t believe it now. It will really hit me once I get home and my entire daily routine will have to change. I will start missing things about Siena and the people who made the semester great. I am so glad I was able to meet all of those people and am glad that they are now a part of my life. I know that I will now be visiting certain places in the States. Someday soon I will be seeing these people again. I made some really good, lifelong friends. They really made this experience tons of fun and I have so many good memories from this trip. It’s never easy to say goodbye, but that’s a good thing because it means you bonded with people and added some great friends to your world. I would take those goodbyes over not meeting these people any day.

Anyways today, my parents made it to Siena! Technically they arrived last night at their hotel, but they got to the center of Siena this morning. I got up to finish some packing and clean our apartment. Around 10:45ish I got a call from my dad saying that he made it to the parking garage I had told him to park in. So, I met them at the end of my road. It was great to see them! I showed them all around Siena and the life I had been living for the past 4 months. I was so happy that they could finally see the campo, eat at my favorite pizza place, have my favorite gelato, and see where I would go running. It’s nice to be able to share that with someone from home, especially my parents. They have had a great time so far in Italy. I ran into Jordan today and was happy that she got to meet my parents and vice versa. We did a lot together in Siena, and it was nice to have my parents meet someone other than my roommates from the program. It was a great day and I can’t wait to explore more with them in the next couple of days. 3 more days until I am back state side! Wow! That just seems insane to me! See everyone then! Buonanotte!