The end is here

Hello, from sunny South Carolina,

Yes, I am stateside once again, trying desperately to revert back to East Coast time and see as many family members and friends that I can before I head down to Charleston for the summer.

My trip... how could I possibly attempt to sum it up for you? I have seen beauty in a way I couldn't have dreamed up. The landscape. The hillside towns. The art. I've experienced love and compassion from complete strangers these last few months. The town of Cortona opened their hundreds of arms and took all of us students in. I am sure that I was loved by people who didn't even know my name ... they didn't have to know. They have enough compassion to spread around to even me. I've been satisfied, full of wine and pasta and wild boar and chocolate. I laughed with friends over a cup of coffee for hours, though I can't quite remember what was said. That wasn't important, but I built new friendships, strong friendships. I already miss them.

My train ride from Cortona to the airport in Rome was bittersweet. The scenery never ceases to amaze me. I can sit at the window and watch every mile go by, glued to the glass. But this last train ride wasn't quite the same. I was saying good-bye to Cortona and its people and Tuscany and Italy. Good-bye gelato and Piazza Signorelli. Good-bye sunrises over the lake and sunsets behind the mountain. Good-bye to the slow pace of Italian living, the warm embraces from neighbors. I arrived in Rome pretty sad, to say the least. I climbed into my hotel bed early, because I was leaving early the next morning to fly to London, then Chicago, then home to Charlotte. I arrived 21 hours after leaving my hotel room, exhausted, but so happy to be hugging my familiy once again. As loving as the Italian families were to me, there is no place like home. No hug like your dad's hug and no kiss like your momma's kiss. It's good to be home. I love Italy, and am sad to leave, but home is home.