Excitement Building

As of today, I have less than one week until my dad comes to pick me up in Lucca, at which point we will travel for a couple of days and arrive in Roma! I am so thrilled, not only to see him and enjoy his company, but because Ive made it so far and I never thought I would. So many times over the past three weeks (since I stayed at the Italian family's home) and the two weeks before that (with Mark and Zeek), I have felt like I didnt know how I would make it through the next day, much less the weeks ahead. For someone as reliant upon social interaction as myself, its been a hard road to travel, mostly alone, and quite an accomplishment, as I look back on it now.
While I had moved away from home for college, I still lived nearby and with my very best friend, so I had never lived completely by myself until this summer. Its strange to be in a place where, when you need something like lined paper or a washer for your bike, you have no idea how to find it. Things that seem so easy (and will be, over time), and that are simple tasks at home, require a lot more thought - to talk to someone in Italian and find the words to say, but also to locate the correct type of store without a car and request the thing you need. Everything takes more thought, but I think that sometimes having to think about the very small moves we make in life does force us to feel them more. We become numb to the ease of our everyday tasks that we forget how crucial communication is and how enjoyable taking things a little slower can be. Living alone has opened my eyes to the difficulty that foreigners in the United States must have in living, where I never really thought about it much before. Its true that being an outsider is much more work!
Soon, I will be starting school and Im growing more and more excited everyday. I will have roommates again - new people to meet and befriend - and also new classes, professors, a new campus, and the eternal city of Roma! I know that Im about to embark on a grand adventure - one that I hope I will enjoy - and knowing that there is some kind of greatness ahead of me feels thrilling and scary all at the same time. Either way, here I go...