Arrivederci USA!

Sitting in the Philadelphia airport after my final fun-filled and chaotic weeks at home and an incredible wedding weekend in Maine... I was really surprised by how nervous I was getting as my uncle David drove me to the airport. There's definitely something different about knowing you aren't just going on vacation for a week or two. I can't imagine how stressful a permanent move overseas would be.

I have to say, last week was a really tough week when it came down to looking at my finances and dealing with unemployment issues before leaving. It's hard not to get angry about what happened - especially when my back-up plans seemed to be falling through as well. I felt like I'd been planning all of the details for this trip for so long and making sure things worked out according to those plans. To have the rug pulled out from underneath me a few weeks before leaving is frustrating to say the least. The lesson I'm trying to take away from all of this is that you just can't plan for everything. And when things don't go according to plan, you can continue to swim up-river to try to make things work out like you wanted them to, or you can try to let go and go with the flow and see where this new turn takes you. I felt like I was finally able to let go on Friday and enjoy a pretty incredible wedding in Maine.

What a wonderful way to spend my last weekend before taking off. Blue Hill, Maine is a picturesque, friendly little town near Bar Harbor. Being able to relax and wander the streets and shoreline with Whitney and the Madeira clan was more than I could have hoped for. To attend a wedding of two people who are so in love and so right for each other really reminds you what is important in life. David and Oriana overcame so many obstacles facing them before this wedding and I was so happy to see them finally being able to relax and celebrate! The gorgeous setting, the wedding so full of love, and the people I was surrounded with were truly food for my soul. While I found myself questioning this journey last week, I'm now feeling recharged, excited, and anxiously anticipating what I'll find downstream.

I arrive in Roma tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. and will find my way to my apartment in the Piazza Fiume area (near the Villa Borgehse). My flat mate, Cho, was to meet me at the apartment upon my arrival. However, I received an email today from her letting me know that due to the recent earthquakes in Northern Italy, there is a shortage of the biomedical products used for dialysis. As she works for the Italian Society of Nephrology, she needs to help make sure each dialysis center in Italy has enough supply to service all of their patients who are in need. Talk about making my problems seem pretty insignificant! We have a few alternate plans to get me checked into the apartment - the woman who cleans the flat should be there when I arrive. She speaks no English so hopefully she won't think I'm trying to break in as my Italian is far from where I hoped it would be. I'll be trying to brush up on my Italian on the flight tonight. Another change of plans and a situation putting things into perspective.

My next post will be from bella Italia!