Home Week 8

Week of March 8-14, 2020 

As soon as I landed in the Pittsburgh International Airport, I went home and packed my bags to go to my house in Florida. I figured that if I had to self-isolate for two weeks, I might as well be able to open a window and see sunshine. 

This period was really hard to adjust to, personally. I was still in shock that I was home so soon, and I had not been able to properly say goodbye to my friends that I had met abroad. I will hopefully get to see them in five months when we are allowed back on campus for the fall semester. 

While in Florida, I was able to see my grandparents. I was not showing any symptoms of the coronavirus after several days, and we all agreed that it would be safe for them to come say hello- they had missed me terribly and were so worried about my safety. They thought it would be a really sweet idea to have Italian food for dinner, considering they felt so horrible for me that I had to come home early. While the gesture was genuine and sweet, pasta was the farthest thing from what I wanted to eat. Also, I was never hungry when they were due to the fact that I had trained my body to eat at 8 or 9 o’clock every night. My family is accustomed to eating dinner at 4:30 or 5- the early bird special! 

Another thing that has taken me some getting used to is the amount of space everything takes up. I feel like the stereotype that everything in America is bigger is actually true. While I was walking up to 10 miles a day in Rome from different parts of the city to another, I wouldn’t even make it down the street to the restaurants closest to my house. The cars and roads are also strange looking to me now, too. I have only seen smart cars and scooters for the past several weeks, and I’d forgotten how big vehicles (the size that is needed to fit my family) actually were.  All in all, I’m trying my best to stay positive, not overwhelm people with my stories or seem like an ‘expert’ on Roman culture and adjust smoothly back into my life at home. As much as I miss being abroad, I am glad that I made it back safe and that my family is okay as well.