Even though I'm posting this now, this post is going to be about this past week.
After I returned from Sicily from Thanksgiving, it really hit me how little time I had left here in Italy. Cuyler returned home from traveling with his family on Monday, November 29th in the morning. Him and I talked a lot last Monday. We both only have one class on Mondays, so we spent most of the day in the room playing catch up. Cuyler commented that the days were winding down and then looked at me and said, "Dude, I'm ready to go home." I told him that I agreed. Then he continued and said, "I mean, my roommate is a complete jerk" and then he smiled and waited for my reaction. I just smiled and said, "Really? Mine too." He smiled his typical smile and we went on joking. I'm going to miss living with him a lot. We have a lot of fun together and are always there for one another. Later that day, we sat down and watched the movie Hitch. Cuyler had never seen it before and it is one of my favorites. It was an awesome way to spend the day - joking and making memories with a good friend.
Tuesday brought a lot of rain and a lot of protesting to Rome. It rained mostly all day, but that didn't stop people from protesting. While Cuyler and I got ready for school, we were drawn out to the balcony by the sounds of yelling and cheering in the street. Down our street came a group of people yelling in Italian, carrying megaphones and banners. The kept going down the street and stopped in front of the Ministry of Education building. There were riots and protests all over the city. The government that day was deciding to pass legislation cutting funds from public education. Now, the public education system in Italy is terrible and they barely get any money as it is, and the government wants to cut more. There were students and other people protesting all over the street, so traffic was a mess. Sirens were going all day long and the streets were jammed. The trams were in and out of service all day and were evacuated many times. I just walked to and from school in the rain. It was better than getting stuck on the tram. Since it was raining the traffic was two times as worse because the drivers in Italy freak out and forget how to drive any time there is a sprinkle from the sky.
Wednesday night was fun because it was my friend Megan's 21st birthday. She goes to St. Mary's in California, and KI met her at the beginning of the semester. She got a bunch of the group together and Cuyler and I went with the girls from her apartment, plus other girls from St. Mary's to dinner at a restaurant by school. We got a bunch of pitchers of wine, pasta, bread, and pizzas. It was so good and we had an absolute blast! Then, we of course went out to the bars and clubs for drinks and dancing. It was definitely a late but awesome night. A little drama ensued between the girls - as usual when alcohol is around - but it was settled by the time we all got home.
This week was a good week, and it was our last full week of classes. I went to London this weekend, but more on that soon....
I'm coming home soon, and it is truly a very bittersweet feeling.
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