Feels Good to Be Back

Ciao tutti!

It's been a couple years since my last post, but I'm going to try and pick it back up for my next couple of months in Italia. For the few of you reading this, I am sure you already know that I am spending the summer in Italy! I like to think of my trip as being split into four different sections:

Part 1: Return to the Original Home ft. Aosta, Italy
Part 2: Scope Out the Future Home ft. Bologna, Italy
Part 3: Five Days in Paradise ft. Firenze, Italy
Part 4: Au Pair Life ft. Pescara, Italy

So far I have completed Parts 1 and 2 and half of Part 3. I'll give y'all a little update on each.

Part 1: Return to the Original Home
As y'all know, I spent 6 months in Valle d'Aosta during my junior year of high school. It was quite the experience and I'm glad I made lasting relationships with friends and family so that I can return whenever possible. Going back to Aosta (although I was just there last summer) always brings back so many memories. It amazes me that in a span of a couple hours I can sync perfectly back into my life that I left 2 years ago. My family, the Ciuci's, were great as always. Note: I was going to say "we're great hosts as always", but at this point they can't be considered hosts - just family. My time in Aosta was well spent...between going to the Terme (Google Pre Sant Didier Terme - it's pretty great),  hiking the Alps, visiting friends, visiting my old school, hosting 4 guys from Sweden, making homemade focaccia, getting to know the Ciuci's current exchange student (Ivan from Russia) and every conversation in between, I can't think of a single moment that in which I wasn't enjoying myself and my company. The only thing I can complain about is that my stay was too short. The days flew by. I found myself choking back tears as I sat on the train and watched the Valley shrink away - an exact replica of the situation I was in July of 2012 on my original departure from Aosta. On a positive note, I like to remind myself that I've been fortunate enough to make the trip back twice and that I will make it back again (right, Dad?!?)

Part 2: Scope Out the Future Home
M next stop was Bologna, Italy. Bologna is home to the oldest university in Europe - founded in 1088 - wow. It is also where I (hopefully) will be spending a semester of my junior year studying! Although I had a few exchange friends that were placed in Bologna, I never actually went to check out the city. So, seeing as I might spend a solid 6 months of my college life there, I figured I should take the opportunity to scope out the Emilia-Romagnan city. I stayed in a hostel that was a short walk away from both the historical downtown area and the main university area. It is easy to see that Bologna is a student's city, which I love. There are young people everywhere and at night they all gather in piazzas with a beer or bottle of wine and simply enjoy each others company. I chose a great hostel as well because I met new and great people every night! The first night I started talking to two Spaniards and an Italian. There was no 1 common language, but we all understood at least a little bit of all 3 languages so we had this strange English-Italian-Spanish mix going on. The second day I returned to the hostel after a walk (and, admittedly, a gelato) to find a girl from North Carolina! What are the chances. She went to Meredith undergrad, Duke grad (boo), and lived in Italy on and off throughout. To top it all off, she is now engaged to an Italian - a situation that I am 100% sure scares my parents to no end. Anyhow, I grabbed dinner with Sam (from NC) and her friend Megan (from NY) who has lived in Bologna for the past 3 years. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to stories from their Fulbright scholar days as well as their current lives and future plans. They kept telling me I was "getting a glimpse into my years to come" - I'm sure y'all love that one don't ya Dad and Mom? My last night in Bologna I went out with a guy from Australia and a girl from Denmark. They were so much fun and we got along really well. I wouldn't say that Bologna is one of the prettiest cities in Italy, but I do think I can see myself living there for a bit in a couple years and I'm glad I took a few days to check it out.

Part 3: Five Days in Paradise
And now we're caught up to where I am now. As you can tell by my little title and references, I am in love with Florence. I don't know exactly why - I mean its beautiful, the perfect size, full of interesting people and good food....but I still can't figure out why I'm so obsessed. I'm thinking about taking a day trip to Sienna/a vineyard tomorrow to see something new and maybe meet some more people.

 On Tuesday I head into Part 3: Au Pair Life. I'm so so excited to meet the family I will be working for until the beginning of August. I don't want to jinx myself, but I have a feeling the rest of my summer is going to be great! Busy with three kids, without a doubt, but great.

I'll try my best to update you all soon!
Baci,
Emma