Submitted by Kristina Demou on the 2017 spring semester program in Rome, Italy…
It’s hard to believe that my semester abroad has come to an end. This week, I walked around my Rome and took everything in one last time. I took plenty of photos to remember the city by and I visited all my favorite sites and food spots. Although I am looking forward to going home to my friends and family, I know I will miss it here so much. This semester gave me so many firsts, so many adventures and so many memories. I learned a lot about the world and about myself and I definitely caught the travel bug. I promised myself that I would bring back that sense of wonder and desire to explore and keep adventuring at home.
Now moving forward, I have to prepare for what I am sure will be a bit of a shock when I get home. Tomorrow, I’m just focusing on my flight and getting there safely, but once I’ve returned, I know it will take some adjusting. I am curious to see what I perceive differently now. Things I was used to when they were all I knew, will I now fall comfortably back into those routines? Or will I wonder why things are that way and compare them to how they were here in Europe? I know when I first got here, I was constantly comparing everything to how it was back home in America. So I guess I’m equal parts wary and excited to see what comparisons I make once I get back home.
Overall, reflecting back on all this semester has given me, all I can feel is gratitude. To my family for letting me take this big leap and adventure on my own; to my friends for keeping me connected and healing my occasional homesickness; to all of the people I met while on this journey that have made my life so much better and brighter. I was privileged to feel a happiness here that I haven’t quite felt before and I want to hold onto that feeling even after I leave. Now that I know what’s out there, I want to keep seeing more. I’m sad to say good-bye to this journey, but the good thing about “ciao” in Italian is – it means hello and good-bye. So, this might be a “good-bye” to this adventure, but it’s also just a “hello” to a new one!