25 Nov. 2005
Clermont, Florida

A couple of days before I left for my year in Italy, my mom gave me a present. It was a small box with marbles in it. “Strange,” I remember thinking to myself, yet knowing that there would be some secret meaning to what was inside. And there was. My mom explained to me, through her tears and mine, there were 52 marbles in the box -- one for every week in a year, the amount of time that I would be away in Italy. “Each week, take one out.” she told me, “This way, if you ever get homesick, you can see that there aren’t that many left. But as you begin to form a life there,” she went on, “they will also remind you that your time there is precious and that it will go by so very fast.”

And, in fact, she was right. The marbles have all been gone through, each week spent and used up, and an empty box now remains, replaced with weeks of memories that I will never forget. And, alas, my year in Italy has come to a beautiful end.

It was a bit surreal – the end of a year such as the one that I have just experienced. You can’t really just say goodbye to something like that, especially when there are very dear friends, a second family, relatives, and unforgettable moments involved. It was so very strange to me and I don’t think it really hit me until I was actually on the plane home and began, I am sure to the dismay of those next to me, to ball my eyes out.

There was a party. A surprise going away party that I simply must share because even now it brings such a flattering and humbling feeling to my heart. It was the Sunday before I left and Federico and Paola had asked me to watch the girls because they had a dinner with a patient of theirs. “Fine,” I thought, “more time to spend with the girls before I leave.” But it was when they left and the girls started acting a bit strange that I got a bit suspicious. They wanted to play princesses (which is normal) but instead of dressing up in the play clothes, they wanted to dress up in real clothes, pulling out my short, strapless black dress for me to wear along with my black heels. At first I almost objected, but thought, "who cares," and put the thing on. They proceeded to find outfits for themselves and then we played and danced and had fun together.
By 9:30pm, though, I was about to call it quits and make them go and get ready for bed when Bea peeped her head out the balcony window and said, “Laura, do you hear something?” I looked at her strangely, thinking, “Are they planning some kind of party outside on a cold night in the dark? Surely not.” I slowly made my way out onto the balcony (black dress and all) where I heard voices singing a beautiful classic Italian song that talks about someone they love leaving. And I looked below out into the small courtyard below me and there were all of the people I know in Italy, standing there looking up at me, holding small candles in their hands and singing to me….singing to me….I just stood there. I didn’t cry, I didn’t shout, I didn’t do anything for a few moments because it was something that was simply amazing and so unexpected and so beautiful and wonderful and flattering and humbling all at the same time.

I have a lot of different groups of friends in Italy, as I have told you about…friends from church, fellow babysitters, family friends, relatives, train friends, school friends…but not all of them have ever met in the same place before. For this to happen was simply something that I cannot describe. Finally I started shouting to them all that I couldn’t believe it, and they continued to sing with their candles until the song was about over and then they all made their way upstairs and we had drinks and dessert and music and presents!! Presents?! Guys, it was something so surreal and so amazing, wow, it made it that much harder to leave, to see all these beautiful faces that I had come to love so very much over my year there. It was such a lovely and incredible night. To think of how much work Paola and Federico had put into it made it even more of a huge deal. Then, of course, Laura had to have “share time” with everyone and tell everyone what they meant to me, and that was really nice to be able to just let these people know how special they were and what they meant to me and my time there. I will never ever forget such a night.

The babysitter crew and I had another official farewell, we dressed up and went out for drinks and just talked and remembered. It was a really nice ending.

My final night with my precious Balzola family, we went to a pizzeria and had good family time with lots of laughs and then lots of tears too. Like I have said before, its so incredibly wonderful when you truly feel like you are apart of a family. Yes, of course it took time…but a year is quite a while and it was a gift and something so beautiful that I was apart of, I count myself so very lucky. The next day I left midmorning and Paola and Federico let the girls skip school so they could come to the airport with Paola and I. I left from Milan so it was a nice 2 hour drive there, we checked in, we had a coffee and some juice and then we cried and let the tears come because it just feels better when you do! Even Paola couldn’t hold them back and she had told herself she was going to. Ahh, it was bittersweet, but I would not have wanted it any other way. It was then that I left, and went down to security that I realized I had a bit farther to go to my gate than I thought. I actually started running when I heard my name being called over the intercom in the Milan airport that I needed to come and board my plane…um, yeah, maybe we shouldn’t have had that coffee after all…I made it, however, all 4 carryon pieces, teary faced and all…not sure how, but I did….

And what can I say? It was a year that I will truly never forget…well, how could I? But even though it will always be described as, “Yeah, I spent a year in Italy…” to me it will always be so much more than that that I won’t really be able to explain to many people. It was an experience, a life, really. And though I wish so very much that I could make you all understand it 100 percent, it will always be a part of me, and that is a comfort. How blessed I have truly been. I think back now to about two years ago as a senior in college -- stressing over the decision of what to do when I graduated -- moving to Italy to be a nanny being one of the options, though a bit “out there.” Thank God for such confirmations to go! It’s so very strange to think back … that should give me some hope for the next step, ha, which continues to be a mystery!

And then, after the 10-hour traveling day, after the long flight and running and the long walk off of the plane, there were smiling faces of my beautiful parents and aunt. There was a Welcome Home balloon and there was this crazy moment that I had imagined in my mind for almost an entire year … walking off that plane and into my parents arms after such a long time away --after such a year! It was as great as I had imagined it. The homecoming to beautiful Florida and my much-missed family at home was one that I was honestly a bit nervous about. I didn’t want to go through some terrible culture shock and be that annoying girl who can never shut up about how things are done in Italy. Praise the Lord, the transition of being back in the US of A has been a smooth one so far. Being able to be with my family 24/7 after an entire year of nothing has been so wonderful. Being able to go to John’s games, to the grocery store with my mom, or just to have a meaningful conversation with my dad (we’re not the best with the phone …) has been something so great and something that we all needed after a year away. My parents just moved into a house that they have been renovating for the past year, it’s right on the lake and is absolutely beautiful! That has been so fun to be apart of and amazing to come home to! It’s such a blessing when you know that you have friends for life no matter how little you talk to them or see them. I am blessed with quite a few of these and seeing them after a year, a few emails and a few phone conversations has been so wonderful too … something I have been looking forward to for such a long time.

And so now, to the question I know each of you are wondering about the 24-year-old who just moved back in with her parents …“So, what exactly are you going to do now, Laura?” Yeah, yeah, I'm getting to that.

Right now I am in a bit of a holding area. As most of you know, the 2006 Winter Olympics are going to be in Torino (where I lived in Italy) in February 2006. While I was there, I was thinking how sad it would be to be here in Florida, watching the Olympic Games take place in my beloved city only a few months after I had left … so I got a job with them! It was a long process that started back in February of this year, but through a few friends I became aware of the broadcast division of the Olympics (called Tobo) … I saw on their website that they hire students/young people for jobs such as drivers, cameramen, logistics, stuff like that. Sweet!
Then I saw a position called a Liaison Officer. The thing about this position is that you have to be fluent in English (no problem there, I hope). The other great thing is that it is more people-oriented. Anyway, I applied for this position and got accepted to go to the week training program required to even be considered for the job. I took a week off of work (nannying) and went to the intense week of training, interviewed and finally (a few months later) found out that I had gotten the job!! (Now, I’m not the only one, don’t get too excited!) So, basically, I will be a liaison between the Broadcast division of the Olympics (Tobo) and all of the journalists/broadcasters who come from all over the world to cover them … I will be working specifically at the ice skating venue which is where I requested! It’s a big job and I am really so excited about it! Not only will it be an incredible experience, but hopefully I will be able to at least meet some people or make some connections with people who can steer me in the right direction career-wise (since NBC basically runs the Olympics), that is, if Katie Couric doesn’t just hire me on the spot … ha, keep dreaming, Laura. Another awesome thing is that I am actually getting paid pretty well for it, which I wasn’t expecting at all! And since we all know that Laura isn’t the best money saver (since I haven’t actually gotten into the whole salary job situation yet), this is a really good thing!

All that to say, that right now, I am in a bit of a holding period, which is really nice because I get to just hang out with the family and be home. I have a part-time job working in an office close to my house, am trying to continue to cook Italian for the fam, see old friends, and seriously do some research on what exactly I am going to do about a real job/career (what?) come March when I get back from Italy.

The fact that I get to go back to Italy so soon made it that much easier for us to say goodbye …knowing that I get to return just three months after I left was really nice. I will go back the beginning of February and come home the middle of March, working the Olympics in between and seeing everyone before and after they take place! I will stay with the Balzolas, which they insisted upon, and become roommates with their new nanny who I am dying to meet after we became friends over the phone and email before I left.

So, that’s the situation … I'm really excited to see what the next six months hold … after February, I really have no idea at this point where I will be and I have found that though this can be really pretty stressful and scary, it can also be so awesome at the same time. It forces me to simply trust in the Lord and His timing and His plan. I surly don’t have a plan right now, so I literally have no other choice but to trust that His will unfold -- and sometimes I need these extremities to allow me to NOT be in control.

And, so that’s that. My year was simply unexplainable, though I have tried my best to make you feel like you were there with me. It was simply wonderful and a time that continued to grow me and shape me, which is quite exciting to think about.

Thanks for taking the journey with me, and thanks for being so excited as if you were really here, experiencing each moment. I truly appreciate it, your kind words and your willingness to read and listen to a really excited and babbly girl. You guys are the best.

For now, the marbles are done. The box is empty … but my memories are so very full.

Random things I missed about America:

• The convenience of 24-hour service
• Good customer service
• Jamoca milkshakes from Arby’s
• Thanksgiving
• Pick-up trucks
• American pride
• Rap music
• Southern accents
• Starbucks
• Baseball
• Baseball hats
• Free refills with ice
• Reading the newspaper (in English)
• Driving my car
• Dick Clark on New Year’s
• Medicine that works really well (so maybe we have a high tolerance)
• Our neighbors
• The smell of fresh cut lawn
• Mexican food
• Genuine friendliness
• Hugs
• Cheap contact solution
• Going to the movies (in English)
• The amazing convenience of SuperTarget
• church

Random things I will miss about Italy:

• coffee and cappuccino
• the Italian language
• the hometown feel in a big city
• going out for aperitivo (appetizers instead of a meal)
• pizza, pasta, bread, chocolate…food in general
• hanging clothes out to dry
• walking in the city center
• the buildings
• history everywhere you look
• the markets
• loud talking & hand gestures
• the ability to hop on a train and go anywhere
• the ability to go shopping in Milan for the day (what?)
• kissing on both cheeks when greeting anyone
• feeling like you are in a movie
• soccer and soccer fans
• the music
• the beautiful surroundings
• the superstitions (don’t get caught in a breeze, you’ll catch a cold…)
• scooters
• old balconies
• cheese
• tiny grocery stores one block away
• parties with family friends that last all night
• Italian movies
• The International church