So while my countdown was supposedly to Christmas, it was more to when I come home :)

I'm home now and while it's nice being in my own bed and my own shower, it's still surreal.  I never knew coming home could feel so much like leaving home.  But I'm glad to be home for the holiday because I get to see all my family and I have an excuse to keep eating as much as I did in Italy.

So ciao Italia - see ya soon!

The Friday before I left our host parents took Dawn and I to their country houses in Montepulciano.  We got to walk around the small hill town, see the local duomo, tour the two biggest wine producers in town, and see our host dad's cantina in Chiusi.  It's where he stores the wine and olive oil that he makes for it to age - very much an Italian "man cave."

One of the wine producers we toured has been around since 1088...yup.

I'm going to miss everything.

I'm going to miss walking everywhere.

I'm going to miss having an excuse to buy a ton of stuff - "It's a present! yea...yea, it's a present"

I'm going to miss the pace of life.  The low stress, no rushing, do what you have to do, and take an hour and a half for dinner every night attitude is something I wish America had more of.

I'm going to miss late night food from Mesopotamia, the hot chocolate vending machine, and my host parents' snack drawer.

I'm going to miss Villa Rossa, like a little oasis of Syracuse and English in Florence.

This is the last...

We're not allowed to say it even though most things we do this week are for the last time.  It really hit me when my countdown, which has been giving me the days until I go home since October, started giving me the days, hours, minutes, and seconds until I touch down at JFK.

One semester is a long time, one month is a long time, but one week is nothing.  I don't even want to think about one day, or one hour as my host parents will be driving Dawn and I to the airport.  It's amazing how quickly a house can become a home and how strangers can become friends.  Leaving Antonella during my last Italian class this morning was the hardest thing I've done so far, and I know it was only the first step.

A week ago, I looked outside at the clouds and rain and wanted to be back in sunny Philadelphia or even snowy Syracuse, but my mind is so good at its games.  As the moment I step on that plane looms closer, I'm feeling something I never thought I'd experience EVER...I don't really want to go back to Syracuse yet.

I know that feeling will melt away when I pick up Tory at the airport when she comes to visit and when I'm driving up I-81, passing the familiar landmarks on the way to school, but it's a weird feeling to balance the want to stay abroad with the need to be at home among familiar people and places.

The current countdown is 6 days, 5 hours, and a handful of minutes, so wish me luck with finals, packing, and getting home in one piece!

I'm going to miss my welcome party when I walk through the gate every day, and I keep telling myself that Mia (dog), Milou (cat), and Zorba (kitten) are going to miss me too.