Mid June - Mid July (The End of the Journey)

Well it's over now and I cant believe that I'm home for good most of the time. But allow me to work my way through my story.

In my last amount of time in Italy I made an attempt to try and do all the things that I could. One of the first things I did was a day trip to Naples, or more specifically to Capri with my Uncle Mike, Aunt Estelle and cousin Kailia and I have to say it was gorgeous! That entire island is completely breath taking and it's no wonder it has been a vacation stop for thousands of years now. The entire day was incredible and wont be one i forget anytime soon. Plus it was always nice to see family. =) We started the day in one of the boats famously from Capri and it was unbelievably cute. We sailed around the entire island and it was just unreal. Then we took the above ground subway tram thingy up to the main town where we walked around really fast before going for a great lunch and then getting a cab to the upper town where we took a chairlift to the highest point on the island and saw some amazing views! It was amazing! And that evening i returned to my Italian family which made going to visit my family and speaking in English like a vacation instead of being in a more normal situation. Then I also took a day trip to the city of Bari to spend the day with some of my exchange student friends and had a really great time and spent a lot of time with one girl that I didn't really would think of as a friend if not for that day which makes me happy. And then over my final weekend I spent both days going to the beach. On the second of those days (also known as July 4th in America) I met up with one of my exchange student friends Joyce who I'd thought I would be staying with before my move and we had an amazing day. We spent the morning in the water and then the early afternoon just hanging out (and searching for ANY place to accept a debit card so we could eat) and then the late afternoon by the pool and walking around and as the sun set we toured the cute little town where the beach was. It was an all around wonderful day and even though it was lacking fireworks it was still pretty cool.

Then on the night before my last in Potenza my local AFS chapter asked me and the other girl, Andrea from Mexico, to come to a final dinner and also to meet the 2 students who were doing the summer program with AFS. And so I went for a little and then AFS presented both Andrea and I with golden plaques that said "Brianna Ireland championed Italian culture and friendship 2010." It was so sweet and kind and I didn't expect it at all. I know I had a tough year, but it was so worth it and I don't regret it and even something as small as this made me feel like I was actually appreciated there.

And then came the day of leaving! AHHHH! My host dad fought with AFS to be allowed to take me to Rome instead of me taking a bus that departs from an hour and a half in the opposite direction of Rome and finally won. So we left Potenza on Wednesday taking all my stuff with me and drove to Rome for the night. That evening we did a speeding fast tour of pretty much all the major sites in ancient Rome including the Trevi Fountain and many others. When we went to the Trevi my host dad gave me a coin and said that I had to make a wish. "I'm not going to tell you what you have to wish for...BUT you DO have to return to Italy some day." Then we went to dinner and then to get my final gelato in Italy and then we passed the Spanish steps right as Spain won the semi-finals taking them to the finals in the World Cup against Germany. And since Italy was long out of the running, most Italians were in support of Spain so there was a LOT of celebrating. And as we climbed the stairs I noticed this group of teens sitting down rather depressed and as I got closer I saw that they had German flags painted on their cheeks. That poor school from Germany....

The next morning we left the hotel early and got one of the bus pass things like you can get in NYC that go to all the tourist spots and we did a drive around. The only place we got off at was the Vatican and in theory we were only going to spend 15 minutes there but that didn't happen. Just the line was that long. Then since both my sister and I had straps instead of sleeves my dad had to go buy us scarfs to put over ourself. Then we did a quick tour inside before waiting in another even longer line to go to the very top. After waiting in the line we had to pay money for the elevator half way up and then climb 300 some killer stairs in killer heat the rest of the way up. But it WAS a great view...then back down. Then we finished the bus tour and stopped for lunch and a tad of shopping before taking that final drive to the airport hotel.

AFS has us say goodbye to our families outside and then we would take our stuff ALONE down a ramp and could not see them again. I wasn't going to cry, but then both my dad and sister did and they gave me a card saying how I made an impact on their lives and all and suddenly I was crying. And then I went down that dreaded ramp and was forced to leave all of my stuff before climbing up the inner hotel to where the other students were meeting. The whole night was fun and adventurous and just plain great. Few people slept at all and even fewer slept in rooms. Most of us were down in the main lounge for most of the night. The only time I even went to my room was for a quick shower because of all the humidity. Other than that, I had no interest in doing anything but spend the last few moments I could with friends. And then came the bus taking us Americans to the airport at a few after 6 and I cannot lie about how hard I cried. I cried buckets! I had one of my most amazing friends from Iceland walk with me to each goodbye and when my crying got too intense she would hold me until I calmed enough to move on the next one. I wont ever know if I said goodbye to everyone because AFS literally yanked us away from the group and forced us outside where we all cried a bit more and then went to the airport.

Once I got to the airport it got better but it was still weird. I somehow managed to check 3 bags all well over 20 pounds and the biggest at about 45 for free (traveling domestically in America however it cost me a lot more...thats just wrong) and then we got onto that plane. It was pretty surreal: flying home. And then suddenly we were in America again. And before we even made it through customs we all felt weird. Talking to strangers in English was just odd as above all speaking to strangers had become something we would do in Italian and from there everything else just continued down that track of weirdness.

I walked out of customs a head of most of the students because I was helping a friend and suddenly I heard a loud scream calling my name from my mommy. But I didn't respond as I should have. I still dont really understand why. I mean I was THRILLED to see her and my brother but I think going up to hug them meant that it was really really really over. There wasn't anymore to it. So I held back a little. I waited to say goodbyes to my American friends as they came through cause I couldn't cross the line to domestic travel with them and they couldn't go to where my mom and brother were with me. And after I said my final goodbye I turned to my mom and bro and gave them big hugs and it felt suddenly right. I think every exchange student is afraid of what that hug is going to be like. After so long, after so much, after it all. But once I was in my mommy's arms again it all just felt so perfectly right that it shocked even me. Yes that did mean that the year was really totally over but that didn't matter as much because I knew I still had my family.

Then we met up with my Uncle Fred and we all drove to my grandpa's house, stopping for some Italian food on the way. (the restaurant was actually really good and it had a map on the wall that showed both of my 2 good host towns but happened to cut off just slightly before my fist bad one...) and once I got to my grandpa's I barely said hello before crawling into bed for lack of sleep. Accounting for time differences, I'd been awake for about 40 some hours during some of the most intense hours of my life.

And so we spent a few days at my grandpa's house which is the perfect place to just sit back and relax in a calm environment. And catch up on sleep as adjustments are made. It's quiet and out of the way and a very serene color of green. But for many reasons on can't stay there for really too long and so the next Wednesday we drove to the airport and from there we began the final leg of my very long journey.

And then I was suddenly back home in New Mexico with all of my friends and my family. And it's like it's almost the same but different and weird but at times in a good way and at times in a bad way. I don't really have words for it yet. I don't know that I ever will. But if I do ever find such words another blog will be coming your way, My emotions are all mixed up and I don't really know what to make of them yet. I cant promised that there will be another blog entry because I honestly don't know. If the words ever come to me, be it tomorrow or a week from now or a month or a year or who knows when, i promise to pick up my creative pen and send out however many more it takes.

Until that day, thank you for putting up with such horrible grammar that I am SURE I used many times but I have once again failed to edit. "I hope I haven't bored you."