These four months have gone by so quickly it's unbelievable! I remember coming into my freshman year at Bucknell and thinking "I'm going to Italy junior year; God, I can't wait!" And now all of a sudden it's time to say goodbye to something that I've looked forward to for years. It's been extremely difficult to know that these months are coming to an end, but it's wonderful to also know that everything I've done this semester has been an incredible experience and I would do it all again if I had the opportunity.

The Last Supper

But wait! I still have to get through finals first. It was definitely a great choice to take my classes in Italian and I'm so glad that I took the risk in doing this. Learning from my professors lectures and readings, in addition to living with a host family, was the best and in many ways the only way to develop a good grasp of the language. Of course, there were times when it did become frustrating, especially when you're still at the stage of understanding Italian words and phrases through memorization and you have to take the extra time to translate what you are hearing into English to fully comprehend what you are hearing.

It's also very difficult to understand a thought when you are stumped on one word in a sentence. That word could be as meaningless as a filler word, but it could also mean a great deal in terms of the overall thought. Examples like this are what made it really difficult when it came time to put all of the information together to study for finals, but in the end, this was an invaluable approach to learning the language.

But enough about studying. Before I left Padova, I was sure to make a photo documentary of everything I will miss about the city; my walk to school, the University, the piazzas, my host family. It is now a Wednesday night in Padova and I'm just imagining the entire student population of the city packed into one of the three main piazzas, chatting and enjoying the famous Padova drink - Spritz! It's so unbelievable that so many people could cram into one space, but then again, that's what makes Spritz Night so fantastic.

Spritz Night!

If I want to (and I most certainly do!) I know that I can always come back, but it's sad to know that my time here will never be the same as the last four months. Living in Italy, interacting with Europeans, immersing myself in a new language and culture was an amazing experience and I wouldn't exchange it in for anything. It is sad to leave, but it's wonderful to know that, looking back on this semester, I can say that this was undoubtedly the best educational choice I could have ever made.

Salute Padova!