At this point, I've been back in the grand old U.S. of A. for a little over a month. Wow! In that time, I've continued to answer "si" instead of "yes" when people ask me simple questions; am considering joining a support group, as I am, in the words of my ACM friends, trying to quit my gelato habit cold turkey; and I've moved back to Cedar Rapids for my final semester at Coe.
The transition to being back in the US has been weird. I went to a movie with a few friends days after I got back and legitimately asked the girl at the concession stand what she had handed me when I got a dollar back in change. I was expecting a euro, I think. I was jet-lagged for a couple days, but got over it surprisingly quickly. The hardest part so far, have been the questions people ask about my semester. There's so much I want to tell them and share with them, but I'm having trouble putting it into words. The worst question is "so, was it totally life-changing?" Well... yes. But I can't describe it. I don't feel inherently different, but I'm definitely not the same person I was when I left in August. I keep coming back to the reverse cultural shock materials we were given at Linguaviva and the websites that exist to help students transition back to being at home. Those are helping me a lot, simply because it's nice to know that I'm not the first person to feel like I can't describe my experiences in Italy or "how they've changed me." It's totally natural and that's really comforting. I think being back at Coe, with others who have just gotten back from a semester abroad (especially knowing that Gretchen and I can meet up and talk whenever we want) will help.
As usual, I have a very full schedule this coming semester, with classes (and the homework that accompanies each class), clubs and organizations, the Writing Center, an internship, and theater. All that running around leaves hardly any time for hanging out with my friends -- most of whom I haven't seen since last spring! It's also making me realize how easy I had it last semester in Italy. I was only taking four classes (which is a smaller course load than I've ever taken in my entire college career) and I had most Fridays off! I was able to travel and I had no club or extracurricular obligations. I managed to keep myself busy, of course, but it's definitely going to be an adjustment now that I'm back to campus.
I'll post a photojournal of senior year and then in May (which seems like the distant future) I'll share my May Term adventures -- a trip to Greece!
One thing's for sure: I had a great time in Italy and, because this trip confirmed even further that I have been bitten by the travel-bug, I'm positive that my travels are far from over.
