Last Post

I'm sitting here on my last day, running on 4 hours of sleep and with a ridiculous amount of caffeine in my system- 4 pages to go on a paper that I have to get done today with a final exam at 2. I don't know how I'm going to pull it off, but I will somehow. Looking back, I can remember so clearly getting on that plane to leave to come to Italy, not really knowing what was going to come next. I remember being so homesick and jetlagged the first couple of weeks, but now Bologna has become like home. Everything that passed in between just seems like a dream that I never wanted to wake up from- this semester has not been real life. But, time marches on. It's funny, just when you finally think you're settled in somewhere life tends to throw you a curve. I didn't come to Europe to "find myself" or any of those cliches that people love to throw around when they travel here. The only reason I decided to come was to escape Dickinson after I tore up my knee, knowing that it would be tough to stick around Carlisle for very long without football. Well, I think I did end up inadvertently "finding myself," as ridiculous as that sounds to actually write down. I don't know whether it was being here in Europe or just the fact that I was basically living totally independent for the first time. Probably a little bit of both to be honest, but I feel like I have a much better understanding of who I actually am. I loved it here, every last day, even if it was just a lazy day around the apartment. I'm really considering taking the Foreign Services exam when I graduate next year. I know that would probably come as a blow to my family, but I've always wanted to lead an interesting life and look back and say I was never afraid of an adventure. It'd be better to go for something like that than to always sit back in a regular 9 to 5 selling Product X and wonder what was on the other side. Didn't have one bad trip, hardly met any people I didn't like, and I'm telling you the food was absolutely amazing. The difference between Europe and the States is like the difference between your local Mom and Pop store and Wal-Mart. Do I miss America? Yeah. Am I ready to go back? Absolutely not. But, tomorrow I will be on that plane because that's life. I've met some great people here. Guys like Sebastian, Gomes, Andre and a lot of others all have a place to stay if they ever decide to visit America, and if I in fact have a place and don't have to resort to Plan D (living as a homeless man on a beach somewhere). Then of course are the Via Boldrini guys...Den, Manuel, Luca, Juan- we've had a lot of great times just hanging out almost every single day. Kids are absolutely insane. Finally, Umberto. Might get in trouble for this, but dude probably lived in our apartment for a solid month when he had nowhere else to go. I learned so freaking much Italian from him- first just trying to figure out what the hell he was saying to me, then being able to understand without responding, and finally being able to communicate, not always perfectly, but you could lock me in a room with him for an hour or two and I would understand about 80-90% of it. He's trying to visit America this year...I don't think he really understands that Animal House probably isn't the best representation of Dickinson College. Kid's become one of my better friends in the few months that I've been here...and that's saying a lot considering that I didn't even like those guys too much at first- couldn't get past all the differences in the beginning. We Americanized those kids a lot- Manuel's like a professional beer pong player now, although I can honestly say I didn't play one game of that the whole semester. I'm going to miss em, that's for sure. A lot of situations came up where the culture or language barrier ended up with some pretty hilarious stuff happening. I hope I get to see those guys again at some point. Bologna- I remember being like what the hell is this place when I first registered, but 2 years of suffering through Pagano classes and putting on a play last semester meant I wasn't going anywhere but Italy. This place is an absolute hidden gem. So many young people, so much to do, and it's just a beautiful medieval place where you just get this unbelievable sense of history. It feels like living in a museum, to be honest, but one with 100,000 college kids running wild. I don't even wanna talk about the food because it'll make me tear up, but seriously some of the best food I've ever eaten. After this trip I don't know how I'll ever be able to eat a regular piece of ham again, not to mention drink a Natty (thanks Munich), and you can forget about spaghetti and meatballs- that's like an abomination to me at this point. Pizza gets a free pass surprisingly. I am also proud to report that I've gone the entire semester without using the bidet once, something that all my other roommates can't even claim. So that's it I guess. You won't be getting some blog out of Charleston, WV this summer- but I'm glad I have a job that's making me travel so I can get the Italy bug out of my system a lot faster. I love this place...absolutely love it. In fact, tuition at the university is so cheap (1,000 euros a year) that if I ever decide to get a full time MBA this place will be on my short list. I regret never traveling before this so much. I got a late start, but at least I know now. Funny thing is, I never woulda realized what I was missing out on otherwise...if I had never busted up my knee. It's just another one of those times that you say things happen for a reason. I'm not sure if I would trade this experience for a chance to be flyin around with Fink and Sully next season, but it's been a lot closer than I ever would have imagined. Hands down best time of my life, undisputed, and it's not even close. That all being said, I got a paper to finish and an exam to "study" for. See ya when I see ya Bologna, and Dtown, as always, you have 36 hours to alert the proper authorities.

Mike