My last stop on my trip home was Rome. (Ha that rhymed). It was an odd feeling going back. I realized that I had not explored the city in 4 years. In most of the cities I’ve been to, I haven’t returned. This gave me a sense of security. It also brought back many memories of the beginning of the trip. Italy is Italy, no matter what city you go to. The food was amazing as usual. I ate as much of it as I could before I left. I was really worried and a little bummed that I would be spending my last night alone. However, God provided once again and I met two girls who were also lonely and we spent the entire day together. One, the Austrailian girl was really great to me, she kept saying, this is YOUR last day in Europe!! What do you want to do. To be quite honest we did everything I had planned, and I didn’t have to do it alone. They went on a pub crawl at night, and I walked them to the Spanish stairs and said goodbye, hoping to get a good nights sleep before I left. I went back home taking in the fine Italian scenes around me. Italy is beautiful, it was a great beginning to my trip. Last night I went back to my hostel and tried to sleep. However sleep was not going to come. I laid in bed, hoping to dose off at any moment and it never came. I contemplated going to the airport super early but decided that would be just as pointless. My thoughts and anxiety about going home were in full force.
I got the train and realized I was leaving. I realized I was going very far away, I realized that I just was gone for almost a year, and it barely fazed me (I’m in the airport right now and a bird just landed in front of me and almost attacked me, oh Europe). I’m already nervous about going home, and then I hit the airport. I got in the Alitalia line with loads of other Americans heading back to the US. The lady in front of me was complaining very loudly about her flight to Miami. My stomach turned. Americans, complainers. I’m going back to that, I’m going back to traveling that is very difficult. I’m going back to attitudes that think they are the most superior people in the world, and everyone should make special arrangements for them. My stomach turned again. I then started surveying all the people in the line. They were complaining about how much their baggage weighed for one weeks travel. I thought back to the two girls I’ve been hanging out with, both with bags my size and are traveling for 6 weeks and 2 months. Materialism, I’m going back to a world of materialism. My stomach turned once again. When I was in line for security, this girl in front of my almost started crying to her mom and dad because their seats got changed and “I better have an aisle seat” She was older than me by the way, not a little child. My stomach turned again. In front of those people was a cheery old lady trying to make conversation with the grumpy family in front of me. She said she is going to Chicago, then to Minnesota, She said this in a VERY Minnesotan accent. This finally gave me a little smile, at least there are some perky people around, but it was almost a little annoying perky. This flight is starting off a little difficult for me. Maybe because I’ve had zero hours of sleep, or maybe because I’m scared of what I’m going to find in America. Welp, my flights starting to board. It’s time.
