Ciao San Servolo

Well I am taking a break from packing to write this.  I had no idea how emotional today was going to be.  I am having trouble holding back tears as I place each article of clothing in my already overstuffed suitcases.  The weather is beautiful and all I want to do is lay out in the sun for my last day on the island.  But for now I am settling for Country music and packing.

Yesterday was our closing ceremony and I was one of 5 students to win an award for best student in the program.  I keep laughing it off because it does seem like a somewhat juvenile tradition, but I am really grateful for it.  I received a really cool calendar of Venice and 2 books about it.  We also had a school sponsored dance last night, which was really fun, but a bit bittersweet.

I have done such a good job up until now not thinking about leaving this sinking fish shaped city.  I have no regrets, I have been living life to the fullest: learning, laughing, making friends, and appreciating everything I can.  I just hope that I can bring what I have learned here with me.  I have grown a lot since I've been here: mentally, emotionally, and a little bit side-to-side....  But I also realize I have a great deal more to learn, and part of me wishes I could do it here.

Although I know it will never be the same as it was this semester, I have always had trouble with good byes.  I vividly remember in Kindergarten when my mom came to pick me up from my friend Cara's house, screaming that I didn't want to leave and crying and holding onto the banister (I was a lovely child).  But the kicker is that Cara lived a block away and was in my Kindergarten class.

I hope I have grown up a bit since then, but this good bye is by definition a bit more challenging.  I do not know when I am going to see all these people again: probably not all in one place ever again.  I have made friends from as far away as Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Japan, and Germany.  And I am going to miss every single one of them.  But with you, reader, as my witness, I promise to see them all again at least once.  And I swear that I will come back to Venice again.  I will sigh once more when I see the grand canal.  So as the Italians say, "Ciao San Servolo." It means goodbye, but it also means Hello.

<3 Allison the (almost) Venetian