Arrivederci Study Abroad

As the semester has been coming to an end, I decided to not travel and discover the joys of Torino. Our program USAC organized a trip to the Langhe Wine country in Piemonte. We went to a town called Alba and took a tour of Cavour's castle. It was really interesting looking through a piece of history. It also had amazing views of the vineyards. Afterward we went to a family owned winery for lunch. We had 4 different types of wines from the region and ate authentic Piemontese dishes. It was honestly the best meal I've had in Piemonte. We were all so stuffed and a little buzzed so the entire bus slept on the way home.

On Saturday a group of us met at Stadio Olympico and watched an AC Torino game. AC Torino is a Seria B team which is the lower division but most people from Torino prefer AC Torino to Juventus. The stadium wasn't sold out but in certain sections it was PACKED. There was so much cheering and an incredible amount of energy for the amount of people who were in attendance. We walked home in the pouring rain but it was so much fun that we didn't even care. And as a tourist bonus, we walked across the 2006 Olympic Bridge to get to and from the stadium which was pretty cool.

Sunday was very very lazy. It's finals week so everyone is busy getting all their work done. Monday night I had a few friends over to celebrate my birthday. We headed to Murphy's (of course my favorite) for the midnight celebration. Tuesday had some finals and a great Mexican dinner with some friends.

It's my last week here as part of an official study abroad program. Eveyone is leaving Saturday, and I'll be traveling around with my dad after that. What I can honestly say about the program is this: When I first arrived here I had a really hard time with communication barriers and being so far from home. My luggage was lost, I was sick, and I was really frustrated. Even having gone through some bumps in the road I would never trade this experience for the world. I have met incredible people from all over the US and the world. I have traveled to places I never imagined I would set foot it. I've eaten tapas in Barcelona, bratwust in Germany, and gyros in Greece. If you are reading this and have not studied abroad, please, you must. I love Italian Culture, however frustrating it may be sometimes I love their way and outlook on life. I know myself much better than I did before. I am proud of my experience here, and I feel like I am more confident and independent. I wish I had more time here with these great people I met. I wish I realized how quickly it was going to end and pouted a little less. Whether it was Erasmus Wednesday, Chalet on Thursday, or Murphy's everyday for a week just for the hell of it, I loved every second of this. Thank you to everyone who made this experience everything it was, I will never forget it.

I live for the nights I'll never remember with the people I'll never forget.