Home Really is Where the Heart Is

 After two and a half months of living in Spain, going to classes at G42 every day, and learning more than I could have ever imagine, the time came for the term to end, senior interns to graduate, and the four newest interns (myself included) to have a two week long break before classes started again. The second week of our break was already set aside for our Practicum week (more on that later), so I had one week to spend pretty much anywhere in Europe I wanted.

Naturally, I went to Italy. :)

I worked out that it's been about eight months since I was last in Italy, walking through the quaint cobblestone streets of Foligno, saying goodbye to my host family, and hanging out with other au pair friends in gorgeous cities. Oddly enough, before I considered it, I thought it had only been a month or two since I was there.

At least that's what it felt like.

When I finally gave it some thought, however, I realized how much I've done since my last day in Italy. After getting back to the U.S., I worked for several months in Dallas, moved in and out of a new apartment, visited Ecuador, au paired in Ireland, moved to Spain, studied for three months at a Christian leadership training center, and traveled to London. When I think about things in that sense, it seems like ages ago that I was picking up Maria Vittoria from school, helping Zoila with lunch, and coloring and playing Uno all afternoon with the kids.

But even though I've been in plenty of other places doing plenty of other things in the past eight months, Italy has been on my mind, and most definitely in my heart, frequently and consistently. Consequently, upon stepping off the plane in Italy, I found myself feeling right at home. And when I say "at home," I don't mean comfortable and at ease, as people generally mean when they use the phrase. I mean I felt like I was truly in the place where I belong.

I guess that's why they say home is where the heart is... 

Nevertheless, my time back in Italy was more fantastic than I can even explain. It was incredible to go back to Foligno, walk into my old house, see Zoila and Aurelio, have Cesare and Maria Vittoria run up to me and jump all over me, sit down and eat family dinners together, and basically just spend the entire week being an au pair once again. I loved it. I didn't even feel the need to leave the house a whole lot, because the main reason I went was simply to hang out with my Italian family and be around them. We had such a great time too. The family has a new au pair right now named Jordan, who just arrived in Foligno a week ago. I wasn't sure what it would be like having me, the old au pair, there while a new au pair was adjusting to everything still, but it ended up being perfect. I got to introduce her to some of my old friends and show her the ropes on some of the au pair duties, plus we learned that having two au pairs around is a lot of fun for us and gave us a friend to talk to and hang out with all the time!

In addition to the time I spent with the family, simply being a part of their every day life again, I also made sure to meet up with all of my old friends as well. Jordan and I went out in Perugia one night with the group I had hung out with most frequently (including my friends Andrea and Shaila) during my time in italy. We ended up back at a pub I had sung karaoke at (not to mention totally embarrassed myself at...) back in January and had a great time making a new memory at an old and familiar place. The whole time we were out, I kept feeling the paradox of disbelief that I was actually back in Italy with all my friends once again after so many months, combined with complete comfort in being there and the feeling that I had never left. 

 

 

I got to watch Cesare ride a bike with no training wheels, have a photo shoot with Zoila (along with many conversations to get her up-to-date on my life), and play with the kids on the terrace while watching a gorgeous sunset. I ate pasta, tons of Parmesan, and remembered how much better Italian wine is than Spanish wine. We all went for a walk in town, spent some time at the park, and ate lunch and dinner together with the whole family every day. It was a beautiful, restful, and relaxing week, and I loved getting the chance to be at home :)