I am back in Italy after having returned to America for a week. I went to Boston from Italy, spent a few days there and then flew into LAX. It was a jam packed four days, first a viewing, then the burial and then the funeral (and on the last day, my brothers birthday) and it was exhausting. I am so so glad that I went home, because being with my family is just what I needed. I hadn't seen some of my cousins in years (which is a big deal for my very tight knit family) and my other grandparents and wonderful tante came down as well. It all finally felt real while I was back in Claremont, surrounded by grief and by memories. It was really hard, but I was lucky enough to have friends and family all around me. In fact, my best friend drove all the way from Santa Cruz just to be at the funeral. It's a week I won't ever forget, and I'm forever grateful to everyone in my family who made it happen.
That sunday, I spent almost 24 hours traveling to get back to Florence. One of the girls on my program put it really well when she asked "does it feel like you just went to space and then came back?" Yes. That's EXACTLY how it felt. There was no such thing as time and food was just an extra thing that people did to feel polite...It was a weird week getting back on track, but I'm feeling confident that I'll be able to catch up on everything and finish all my work before I go back home for real.
Which is so soon! I only have three and a half weeks left to be here!! My roommate and I have decided we have a lot to do in that time, and we're ready to get cracking. It's still kind of hard to be here, and the grief and jet lag both still hit me in exhausting waves, but I'm determined to soak up as much as I can in the time I have left. My Grammie loved to travel, and specifically loved Italy and I know that she's watching me and waiting for me to enjoy these three weeks as much as possible.
That's just my little update, love to you all from Florence!
Amy
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