Time is Flying!

June 1, 2025

I wish I could bottle up all the sights and smells and tastes and sounds and feelings I’ve had this week. It’s been a sweet one.

I’m out on my balcony, the sun is slowly beginning to set, and it’s the kind of night that’s perfect for sitting outside in a tank top without being hot or cold. The air is thick with the smell of jasmine, ramping up both my joy and my allergies; the sparrows are circling in a wild pattern, as they usually do; the church next door is having a party in the courtyard, where people are chattering, kids are shouting, and ABBA is blasting from the speakers (I’m having FOMO); I’m sipping homemade lemonade and reminiscing about the past week/month/year/two years.

Our last week of classes was this week. Now all that’s left are two exams and my thesis! How do two years fly by so quickly?! I have less than eight weeks left here, and I hope each one is as packed and fun (but maybe not as exhausting) as this one was. After four long days on campus, looking at excel for my thesis until my eyes bled, we took our final fieldtrip on Friday. We got to visit a few Bersano vineyards in Piemonte, ate a little lunch at a little castle, and of course tasted some great wines (I could not have chosen a better degree).

This weekend felt exactly like how I used to hope it would feel like to live in Italy.

I woke up Saturday morning and went to get a coffee from Rosanna, my café owner adaptive Italian mom, for the first time in two weeks. “Due anni e non parla italiano!” (“two years and she still doesn’t speak Italian” she shouted to the entire café as she gestured over to me before giving me il bacetto (the cheek kisses). She then took my phone and typed into google translate that I looked nice but thinner, and then kept offering me pastries as I sipped my cappuccino. I told her I’ve been running a lot, then we talked about school, and my plans for the weekend, and as she noticed I was truly speaking and not using my translating as an app she got more and more proud. I wish I would’ve applied myself to learning Italian more so that I could chat beyond the basics, but it’s fun looking back at two years ago when I could barely even say buongiorno.

After my coffee I headed to the Saturday market to grab some fresh fruit. I usually am too overwhelmed by all the people and the shouting, but Marte and Sam have taught me it’s worth going and batti by your eyelashes because they give extra fruit to pretty girls. I got a ton of cherries and peaches and a few dates and bananas and then packed up some of it for a river day.

It’s an easy bus ride to Rivergaro, where we set up towels and an umbrella and a picnic. We wasted away the afternoon talking and swimming and tanning and snacking. I love how childish a river day makes everyone. We crossed the little river and went exploring on the other bank, we walked upstream and floated back down, we made part of the river into a refrigerator to keep our beers cold, we stacked rocks as high as we could to see who would make them fall over, and we really never stopped giggling.

When we got back to Piacenza we were exhausted, but biked to a bar on the other side of town to watch the Champions League championship between PSG and Inter Milan. It wasn’t much of a game, but it was fun being with the girls in that atmosphere, and I really do love a middle-of-the-night bike ride home.

Today my aunt and uncle came up from Rome for the day to see Piacenza. I had a slow morning then took a nice little stroll to the train station to greet them, stopping in a few shops and a cafés along the way. We met in a little park then explored the vintage market that happens on the first Sunday of every month. I ended up striking up a conversation with a cute old lady and felt so grateful that my current Duolingo unit is on discussing art, because she was an artist who had a few pieces featuring some of the buildings and squares in town. We chatted for a few minutes and I walked away with an oil pastel of one of the churches I see every day (she gave me a nice discount for it too! Score!)

After the market, we ate lunch at a restaurant that’s off the beaten path but the food and the ambiance were perfect. I got a risotto with cherries and pistà ad grass (lard with garlic and parsley) which sounds insane, and it was. It was one of the best dishes I’ve had in a long time, and I’m going to need to figure out exactly how they made it because it will probably be in my dreams now.

We did a little walking tour of the town before I sent my uncle and aunt on their way back to Rome, then I took a nice little bike ride to the store to stock up because tomorrow is a national holiday and everything is going to be closed. I love that about Italy. Work is work, rest is rest, play is play, holidays are holidays.

I just started typing, “I’m gonna miss this place that now feels like home” and as I was, the band at the party next door started playing Country Roads, Take Me Home and everyone is singing along with them in their Italian accents. I’m laughing out loud… you can’t make this up. I really will miss it here.