12/10 - 12/15: Last Week in Florence and Homeward Bound!

Monday, December 10:
Gail's class this morning was basically a giant review session. We got a list of questions for our final and walked through the type of information we'll be expected to present (and how, for those of us who have never taken an art history final before), and spent almost 3 hours going through any last minute questions we had or information we wanted to go over one last time. After class, I ate and wrote the rest of my paper for Jodie (I believe the phrase I used in person was "writing like a madwoman," though I hope it's more organized than that). I'm also supposed to do my final presentation in Jodie's class tomorrow, so that powerpoint went on my to-do list. We also had our last group meeting this afternoon, where we talked about "reverse culture shock" and how to transition back to our home campuses and life in the States. (Edit: If you're a student currently studying abroad, take a look at the information on reverse culture shock that I've linked. The transition home is different for everyone, but it's important to know that resources are out there.) After the meeting, a few of us met with Sarah K. for a brief choir rehearsal. We have a big farewell dinner that all our host families are invited to attend and we'll be singing some Italian (and American) Christmas carols for them! Isa and I have also decided to do a duet, so we practiced that as well. Back at the apartment, I edited and wrote more of my Medici paper and then started on the two powerpoints I have to make for my presentations tomorrow, one for my gender class, one for my Medici class. Dinner is pasta, pork chops, leftover polenta, sauted kale, really really good bread, and kiwi (which I'm kind of surprised is still in season?). After dinner I powered through my powerpoints, finishing at a pretty reasonable time. The word used in my journal to describe this experience was "bam."

Tuesday, December 11:
I started my day with some gelato sticks the moment I got off the bus. I figured I needed something to fortify myself before presentations started. We got our papers back in my gender class and I did quite well, which was great, because I had never worked with Italian renaissance poetry before (and generally avoid poetry analysis anyway). I was up second for presentations (a good position in which to be, in my opinion) and that too went well. I got a good response and the atmosphere we had going in class got me nice and relaxed. Since we all had such diverse subject material, I never felt bored. We had written about things that genuinely interested us (which always helps), and we all laughed at each others jokes, so that was great. After class, Jodie brought the whole group cookies to "help us study" and I finally finished that Medici paper. I ended up having a moment of clarity while on the bus this morning and rewrote a section of the paper, but I think it helped a lot! After lunch, it was time for Medici class presentations, where I am again second. The atmosphere during these presentations was totally different than in Gender. It's a larger class, so that changed things a little, but it also felt like half the group wasn't paying attention or didn't care what anyone was saying. That was kind of a bummer.

After class, Sarah and I went to Palazzo Vecchio for a feminism conference where our host mom was speaking. Anna's been excited and talking about this event for about three weeks now and we wanted to go support her -- she thinks this is the sweetest thing ever :) From what we've learned during dinners, she's speaking about a conference she attended in southern Italy and is reporting on what that group has been doing. From what Sarah and I could understand, it was interesting, but we can only pick out a few words and people were so passionate that they were speaking much more quickly than our brains can handle. At one point, we thought there was going to be a throw down between two of the women in attendance, but it turns out they were actually agreeing with each other. We compared it to a foreign film where you don't know the premise and realize five seconds into the movie that there are no subtitles. We ducked out after two hours, waving to Anna and hoping that she'd explain things when she got home. Dinner at the apartment was vegetable soup, frittatas, ricotta, kiwis, and walnuts. Anna got home about halfway through the meal and did indeed explain things for us! The women at the conference had talked about women in the workplace and the recent strikes, the conference Anna attended at Paestum, the state of politics in Florence, and war. It's homework time after dinner, but I took a quick break to check my email and discovered that A. I got the Admissions internship for this spring, and B. that the apartment situation on campus has been figured out! It's a good night.

Wednesday, December 12:
My morning was entirely devoted to studying for Gail's final. When I finally went in to Linguaviva, I returned ALL of my library books (final count: 11) and then Gretchen and I celebrated the end of the semester by getting kebabs for lunch. Gail's final is right after lunch and, man oh man, did I feel exhausted afterwards, mentally and physically. Once everyone finished, we got our final papers back. This class really challenged me and I feel like I've worked super hard in it! Gretchen and I went back to the Christmas market (yeah, it's still up) and then the Galileo Museum after class is officially over and buy some last minute Christmas presents. After that, it's off to grab some gelato and then to Cecil Studios for the student art show! All of my friends have easels up and it's so cool to see the culmination of their work this semester. Dinner back at the apartment is pasta, homemade fish sticks, broccoli, and kiwi, after which I studied for Sarah K.'s gender final tomorrow and EMAILED MY MEDICI PAPER TO JODIE AND DON'T HAVE TO THINK ABOUT IT ANYMORE. Phew.

Thursday, December 13:
Today's the last day of classes! I got to Linguaviva early, to do some last minute studying and then take the gender final, after which, it's time for round two of the presentations (we had to split each class into two days of presentations). This time, we have the added fun of a faulty projector! How exciting. After that, it's time for a quick lunch, another choir rehearsal, and then (since everyone else is studying and I'm finished with all my papers, finals, and presentations) gelato. My favorite time of day. During the second round of Medici presentations, Jodie serves us Pannetone, a traditional Italian Christmas cake. It's delicious and tastes like a hot cross bun without the icing. While eating and between listening to presentations, Megan and I realize that we will miss this food. Every situation in Italy calls for food and I am definitely ok with that. After the presentations are over, Sarah and I rush back to the apartment to change and drop things off before heading back out for tonight's farewell dinner. We also placated Nonna (though we're not sure how), who was ranting about something when we walked into the apartment. We take the bus back to the train station and then walk with a small group to Rotunda, the restaurant that's hosting tonight's dinner. We finally got to meet the host families that everyone has talked so much about this semester (some classmates were disappointed that Nonna wasn't joining us) before sitting down to dinner. Let me tell you, dinner was amazing. We started with this souffle, moved to lasagna and salad, and then had this pannacotta cake-thing for dessert. And the wine. Yum. Once everyone was done and our places had been cleared, it was mini-recital time. Maggie sang an Italian song she had learned in the States, Isa and I sang The First Noel, and then a group of us sang Deck the Hall, an Italian Christmas song, The Christmas Song (you know, chestnuts roasting on an open fire), and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. Anna is beyond pleased that we sang for everyone. We took some group photos (I've included one below) and then a number of us went out to the good old Irish Pub for our last night together.

Sarah, Anna, and me at Rotunda.

Friday, December 14:
What did I do this morning? I packed. Like a fiend. Then in the afternoon, I took the bus down to Linguaviva to say hi to the people who were still working on their papers, and then climb the Duomo! Kara, Lauren, Chelsea, Isa, Merisa, and I all walked to the Duomo and bought tickets to climb up and see the city from the top of Brunelleschi's dome. There was, strangely enough, no line, so we were able to walk right in and start climbing. We had awesome views the whole way up, inside and out, and I'm glad we waited until the end of the semester to do this. Waiting until the end meant that we could all recognize buildings and places we'd been throughout these last four months. That was cool.

Time for my last picture in front of the Duomo.

Inside, at dome level!

Halfway up!

(L to R) Isa, me, and Kara, enjoying the view.

The Duomo's so big, you can't even see the Baptistry.

That brown dome marks San Lorenzo and the Medici chapel.

The really tall pointy tower? Palazzo Vecchio!

See that nice white facade way out there? Santa Croce.

This is the photo I sent to my parents. I'm sure they missed me.

(L to R) Me, Kara, Isa, Lauren, Chelsea, and Merisa.

Climbing back down means more dome frescoes! 

 Back at Linguaviva, I printed out my boarding pass for tomorrow's flight home and then headed to one of my favorite gelato shops with Kara and Isa for our last gelato.

THIS PLACE.

Kara rightly thought that we needed to document
my successful completion of the gelato project.

Then it was back to the apartment to finish my packing. It was a tight squeeze, but everything's going to fit and hopefully nothing will break. That's the goal. Anna's taking care of calling one of the taxi companies to get me to the airport tomorrow morning (which is very nice of her) and then our final dinner is ready. We had riso, chicken, salad, bread, mandarin oranges, walnuts, and, as a special treat, almond brittle candy. We also made sure to take a few pictures together.

Sarah, Anna, me, and Nonna (plus, Teo sniffing around on the left).

After dinner, since packing didn't take nearly as long as either Sarah or I thought it would, we met up with Cathy, Maggie, and Caitlyn for one last "last gelato ever." One can never have enough last gelato. Then it's bedtime, because I have to be at the airport by 7:30 tomorrow!

Saturday, December 15:
My last view of the streets of Florence whizzed by. Literally. My taxi driver decided that 70 kph down quiet, sleepy Florentine streets meant "let's go 100 kph!!!" Thank God for seatbelts. When I got the airport and unloaded my things, I had quite the long line ahead of me. It appeared that everyone who has ever visited Florence ever wanted to be on my flight. I started freaking out a little bit, watching people have to throw things away to make the baggage weight, but my check in agent was the nicest person ever and didn't charge me when one of my bags came in overweight (the other one was exactly the same amount underweight, so I'm assuming it evens out?). Before and after the short flight to Zurich, I hung out with Kara and it was so wonderful to have someone to talk to! We weren't seated next to each other on either flight though, so that was a bummer. On the flight from Zurich to Chicago, I was seated in the very last row of the plane (but on an aisle, so that was nice). Swiss Air served us a crap ton of food (all of which was pretty good) and I did my best to stay up for the majority of the flight. My flight was scheduled to land in the late afternoon, so I was trying to stay up so I could go to bed at a decent time. I read most of a book I'd packed and watched ALL OF THE MOVIES. Well, not all, just 2 movies and 4 tv shows. And napped. Kinda. When we landed in Chicago, I got in line to go through customs, which moved pretty quickly, despite the long line. I was able to grab my bags without a problem, said goodbye to Kara, and then headed out into the international arrivals terminal to find my family! Best part: the moment I found them, my brother handed me a chai latte. Glorious. Once we made the hour drive home, I opened my suitcases enough to find that nothing had been broken, before being served a homemade bacon cheeseburger. Happiness, thy name is bacon. By the time I went to bed, it was 8:30pm Central Standard Time, and 3:30am Florence time. It's been a long trip, and I am loopy tired, but home, safe and sound.