Getting back into it....life in Rome

Huh. What happened to me last semester? It seems I dropped off the face of the blog world seeing as my last post was in January! Since then I have started and finished the spring semester, traveled throughout Italy and Athens, dealt with a student stay in an Italian hospital, dealt with a family medical emergency in the States, celebrated the birth of my niece in April to my baby sister and her husband, said a tearful goodbye to Lynda while she stayed in Rome for the end of April and first half of May, returned home for four months, celebrated my other sister's wedding in June, traveled to WI to see family, traveled to Philly for my visa, and am currently preparing to return to Rome. Sheesh. I'm tired even thinking about all of that!

Still, I want to be better about keeping up with my blog---though I fear that has become a frequent hope and desire of mine only to fail at executing it! There is a lot to look forward to in the coming year---new colleagues, new students, a new visa which means lots of new travel destinations (watch out Paris cause I'm coming for you in October!!!), a visit from the folks for my 3rd Italian Thanksgiving, and whatever else the Lord has in store for me in Rome.

You'd think by now, the beginning of my third year living in Rome, I would be used to the transition, the change. Ha! It's still tricky and hard to say goodbye. And yet, I am excited knowing that this year will be challenging as it will be different from the previous two. I look forward to what God has for me and I am hoping to use this year to work on my writing and finally feel as if I've mastered Italian. (Hoping and praying for that one!)

As we say in Rome, "In bocca al lupo!" To which I reply: "Crepi!"