Two Broads Abroad |Like all good things, JYA must come to an end

Molly Finkelstein Acacia O'Connor

Acacia compares “la dolce vita” with her life at home

In exactly one month I will be packing my engorged and multiplied suitcases and heading stateside. It still seems weird to write this, despite the fact that returning home for the summer was a conscious decision, and one that I am excited about.

Two weeks ago I had all but decided to stay in Italy over the summer. I had even tentatively found a job working as an au pair for a family in Livorno, living with them in their summer home on the beach and helping take care of their three adorable children. Would I miss my family? Sure. But what’s another two months versus staying in Italy on the beach?

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly where and when I changed my mind. But within the course of a week, I went from being sure that I would stay to having finally resolved, and not without pleasure, to go home. These four months have taught me so much, but I learned something from this one decision in particular: change is inevitable.

I can say with confidence that I have rarely been as content as I have been during the past two months in Bologna. The city has become even more beautiful and warm since the onset of spring, and as my language skills have improved, I find myself wanting to communicate with more people and learn about them. I’ve made friends with great people, both American and Italian. We go to numerous bars for endless caffé, sit out in the central park, play soccer, cook dinners and take day trips.

La dolce vita? Yes, it exists and I’ve found it.

You now understand my desire to make this experience to last indefinitely. But, I hardly have to say that the eternal endurance of any one state of being simply doesn’t happen, no matter who and where you are.

Leaving a place that you consider to be a second home, I realize, is a dilemma that all abroad students face eventually. But it goes beyond Junior Year Abroad (JYA) students. Any one of us who may want to work and live outside of the United States in the future, travel for a living, or just transfer out-of-state will deal with separation. It’s a hard pill to swallow, but the fact remains that once you graduate from college, those friends you once saw every day you may only see once a year for the rest of your lives.

This is not necessarily a bad thing, and with the ever-improving communication world, being apart can seem hardly different than being together. The looming end of the semester reminded me that we are all out to cut our own, individual and solitary paths. The beauty lies in the fact that those of us who choose to move and change locations and lives will meet amazing people and form friendships that will impress us. La fine è dolce-amaro. It’s a bittersweet ending, but I wouldn’t change a thing.

Molly stops to smell the flowers amidst finals week

It’s finally stopped raining in London. After three-and-a-half gray, dreary months, it’s finally—dare I say it—nice outside. London in nice spring weather is like a whole new city. For one, the parks are actually usable. London is a fantastic park city: Wherever you’re going, there’s always a nice park along the way to sit down and read a book or grope your significant other while people watch, if you’re so inclined. I’ve been making daily treks to various parks and gardens around the city. The difference between parks and gardens seems to be that gardens have palaces somewhere in them, and I guess more flowers.

The only problem with all this sunny weather and grassy knolls? I have essays to write. After 12 weeks of doing literally nothing in class and a month off for Easter, it’s finals time. And since final papers count for entire course grades, I kind of have to actually do them. I’ve been trying to take notes on my books while lounging in Hyde Park, but then there’ll be a breeze and my paper will blow away and I’ll give up. Also, for some reason the only reasonably priced thing in all of London is a vanilla ice cream cone with half a Cadbury chocolate stick stuck in it. And thanks to my daily regimen of a giant chunk of English cheddar I am almost lactose tolerant! Unfortunately, I’m not majoring in eating dairy products (you’d have to go to Hampshire College for that).

My major lack of motivation to do anything school-related largely stems from the fact that academically JYA has been a huge waste. Literally the only thing I learned in class is that in 1679 there was a weaver’s riot in London and people went around smashing looms and a Quaker got killed. My class notes are pretty pitiful: “Week 9: Paul Muldoon. Grew up in Northern Ireland. Mushrooms.”

This is not to say that I haven’t learned anything from being abroad. I’ve learned lots of important life skills, like how to cook for myself (pizza bagels, spaghetti) and how to live on my own in a big city. I now feel fully prepared to move to a newly gentrified area of Brooklyn when I graduate. I’ve gotten really good at planning vacations too. And, of course, I’ve learned a lot about British culture and European geography. I even learned the rules of cricket from a drunk old guy at a pub. I follow Pete Doherty and Kate Moss’s drug-induced escapades. I tasted all the disgusting flavors of crisps that the UK has to offer: lamb and mint, prawn cocktail, spicy tomato, parsnip and black pepper, mango chili, Moroccan chicken. I learned that sweet biscuits are cookies and savory biscuits are crackers. And fanny packs are called bum bags because “fanny” means “vagina” here. See, I am totally worldly now.

But while it’s nice here and I basically enjoy the lifestyle of a pampered puppy (napping, laying in the sun, strolling around fields, eating), I have no money left. The shopping is a little too good for me to reasonably stay here any longer. I bought four pairs of shoes today. On the bright side, my life in London makes Vassar’s tuition look cheap (fifth most expensive in the U.S., baby!) by comparison. And I’ll probably never want to go back to the Poughkeepsie Galleria again. I’m sure my parents will be very pleased to have me back on the dollar and far, far away from the pound and the euro. And so, from one of the two people lame enough to consistently write for The Miscellany News while on a different continent, cheers from London and see you back at school.