Pronti? Mai.

Hey Friends,

So, my post today is a bit more somber than previous entries. The reason being that I had to say goodbye tonight to one of my best friends here in Rome. It's a long, complicated story, but my friend, Clementina, had to leave early from our program in Rome to head back to Venezuela, where she lives.

It's amazing how time has flown here. We were reminiscing at dinner tonight about all our memories here and how everything now is routine and common, whereas it definitely didn't start off that way.

I remember the first day of school like it was yesterday. I walked downstairs in our building and saw four people sitting at a table together, looking very shy and quiet. I sat next to a blonde girl, Isabella (who is now one of my closest friends here), and Clementina, Demetri, & JonCarlo. We asked each other normal questions, "how long are you here for?", "what level of Italian are you?", "are we in the same class?"...etc. I destinctly remember Clementina's response to 'how long are you here for?' because she said, "six months. But I know I won't last that long".

You see, Clemen is only 18. And in my mind, going to college is hard enough at that age. Imagine going across the world, to another country where you don't speak the language and having to live on your own. Not exactly the easiest thing to do at the volunerable age of 18. So, I understood as her homesickness was stronger than the others. However, it only made our bond stronger (between all of us girls, really) as we supported each other and leaned on one another when family and friends were time zones away.

Throughout the months, Clementina and I went on many of the school trips together (Siena, San Giovanni, Pompei, Napoli..), shared our passion for high-end fashion (which is, of course, dangerous in Rome ;), laughed about boys, cried about boys, had each others backs when people let us down, and had, not to mention, the four to seven hours of class together everyday. So, inevitably, we became really close friends.

Never in my life would I think that one of my best friends would reside in Venezuela. It's such an odd idea, but just another one of life's surprises. Never did I think that any of my close friends in life would be from any further than Canada. But, in fact, the hardest part about my experience here isn't the language, but meeting amazing people from all over the world, building the strongest of friendships, and then leaving them & having to keep such huge distances' between us for the rest of our lives.

The friendships here are unlike any I've experienced. It's like kindergarden, or first grade.. you all cry when your mom leaves you with these strange people, but then you look around the room and see that each person is feeling the same things you are and before you know it, you've formed some of the strongest bonds of friendship you'll ever know. And it's like that all over again, but this time you're aware it's happening, and especially aware that you won't be sharing the next 12 years with these people.

Despite the coming goodbyes, I am so grateful that I have met such amazing people here. And I'm very lucky that I still have another month and a half left to continue creating great memories. It's also taken me this experience of Clementina leaving early, to appreciate the moments shared, and savor the moments left.

So, Clementina, I will miss you beyond belief. But, it's not goodbye, it's see you later..

And as the wise Emily Dickinson once said,

"That is will never come again is what makes life so sweet."

Words to live by..

Buena Serata,

Kate