It's the end of the world as we know it...

And I don't really feel fine. Now I must be honest, there were times during finals when I would have gladly taken the next available flight back to the U.S. but that was a gut reaction to flee finals, not Rome! So while I am still VERY excited to get home and eventually back to Houston... I am greatly saddened to leave. The fact that I have packed up most of my things and have a cab coming at 6:45 tomorrow morning is entirely surreal. I'm not ready to leave, because I don't know how to let this experience end.

The last few days have been busy. I finished my finals on Wednesday and although they were tough I think they'll turn out okay. Thursday was a day of recovery and in the evening since everyone had finished finals it was a night of celebration. A few of us had a very relaxed time at a Birreria. On Friday, Rachel and I wandered around the city, doing last minute "Rome" things. We went to Giolitti's for the best gelato in town, walked past a couple obelisks, and each threw a coin into Trevi Fountain. Friday night was the "Farewell Dinner" with (as to be expected) amazing food and everyone together for one last time. After dinner there was a slideshow put together from a bunch of student photos. The guy who made it spent a lot of time on it and the end result is amazing. It really encapsulated the semester. I took a couple pictures from it for this post and if anyone wants to see what my abroad experience was really like (with a bunch of inside jokes) ask me to show you the slide show. After that everyone went to the wine bar in our neighborhood where we tend to go. It was crowded with all of us there at once, but so worth it to have everyone in one place.

A lot of people left this morning, with the rest of us leaving either tomorrow morning or later in the week. A few people are traveling before returning to the U.S. It's hard to watch people go, and the thought of leaving tomorrow makes me tear up a little bit.

Here are a few things I'm going to miss about Rome and my program:

The 44 & 75 buses
The breakfast/lunch/dinner bell
Speaking (poor) Italian and having people understand me
Umbrella Pines
Nerdy Inside Jokes (Lambda!)
Walking to the Roman Forum for class
The fantastic drinking water
Gelato!
Seeing the Colosseum out of a bus window
People watching at a bar (again bar = cafe) with a delicious cappucino

Now on a positive note, some things I'm excited to return to the U.S. for:

Sushi, Tex-Mex, and Chicken Kitchen
Driving
Hanging out in Borders with a Coffee beverage
Going to Target to buy contact solution and leaving with some apples and a new skirt
Getting voicemail messages (a.k.a. having people call me)

I am very very excited to have my cell phone back. I used Skype a little bit to make some calls but it's so cumbersome to have to call from a computer and the time change always made things so tricky. Plus not receiving calls is kind of sad.

Now for some final photos:

This is a pic from Halloween. My costume is my hair, that's about it.

This is a tree in Campania (somewhere...) that is actually growing upside down into a cave. Eric is hiding(?) in it.

Me inside the Colosseum. See, I was in Rome!

This is Lauren being attacked by a pigeon in Venice. To the pigeon's credit she is purposefully feeding it.

The Centristi "trying" to move a giant stone drum.

Our terrific professors posing on a rock.

ICCS Fall '06

Alright well it's time for me to get more things together and eventually have dinner. I'll be leaving for the airport in about 12 hours, which is kind of terrifying. This will be my last post since this is called "Emily in Rome." Thanks to anyone reading and especially anyone commenting. You all lit up my days with your words.