Heading Home...

The morning after La Notte Rosa I headed to Rome on the bus with all of the other exchange students from my region here in Italy, Romagna. The bus ride was super long and we were all so tired because those who hadn't been to La Notte Rosa had been busy doing other exciting things as it was the last night in our host home towns. We slept, talked and enjoyed each other's company for the 5-6 hour journey to our camp about an hour outside of the centre of Rome.

Our group was one of the first to arrive at the camp so we got our suitcases (filled with everything we'd accumulated throughout the year) to our rooms which were arranged by our departure times before other groups started arriving. It was so weird to see everyone after a year - and such a life changing year at that! One of my best friends from New Zealand, Lilly, spent the year in Bari and although we'd wanted to meet up during our time in Italy it flew by and we were so busy we never got around to it. It was so unreal to see her after all of that time because in so many ways we shared the same experience, but in even more ways, they were so drastically different.

We only spent one night at this camp and there weren't activities organised like we had had at our previous camps. It was more of a way of having us all together and organised for our departure the following day, than a camp with a full-on programme like we were used to. I think the way they organised it was perfect because every individual person wanted to be with certain people before saying goodbye for who knew how long, and didn't want to be taking part in organised activities with people they didn't know. We had a debrief talk in a big hall and then were free to do what we liked. The debrief was a really special milestone because we all remembered at our first camp back in September '13 the orientation was all in English, as it was the most commonly known language within our group of 500+ students. At that camp we had been told that at our pre-departure camp the following year they would only speak to us in Italian, and sure enough, they did just that! I remember thinking at the time that it would be so weird to actually understand. I knew it was going to happen, I just didn't quite understand how. Then after what felt like a lifetime and a second all at once, there I was sitting in a hall full of students originating from countries all around the world, after spending a year in Italy and I understood 100% of what was being said to me, in a language I once heard as jumbled, meaningless sounds. I felt such a sense of accomplishment, but also like I was dreaming. How did I understand? Why were they now making sense?

That night I didn't sleep; none of us did. We talked and reminisced about our time together - the funny times, the sad times, the unbelievable times. We hugged, we kissed and we said our goodbyes even though no one was ready. Everyone left the camp at different times depending on their flight so at as early as 2AM the following morning I, along with all of the other exchange students - once so very different but now united as a family- bid farewell to people that had changed our lives forever. It was probably one of the most the most intensely, emotional situation I've ever been in. Imagine a group of 500 teenagers who hadn't slept in days, being forced to say goodbye to some of the most important people in their lives. Add to that the hot Roman summer sun, and then times it by 100 and maybe you're starting to understand what it was like. It was pretty sad.

I was in one of the last groups to leave because instead of going back to New Zealand like the other 7 of my now Italian Kiwis, I was part of the Programme Release group. This meant that I had a family member coming to get me from Rome airport and AFS would no longer be responsible for me (P.S If anyone reading this is on exchange with AFS, or a potential AFS exchange student, Programme Releases are not as easy to get as you think! I had been told I would be able to fly to England alone after the exchange no problems, then all of a sudden they told me I had to be picked up by a family member. Apparently it depends on your host country and their rules, but I would recommend trying to get it sorted before you leave for the exchange so that you don't have to worry about it at a later date).

The whole camp was such a blur. So full of emotions - both incredibly sad, and slightly exciting. I can't believe I've now said goodbye to Italy, my host family and my AFS Ohana. I can't believe I won't be waking up to biscuits for breakfast each morning, or going for another 'giro' in the car with my amazing friends. I can't believe I won't be spending another night at Ecmel's house in Ravenna with our special group of international kids, or having secret picnics from Conad with Ida in the park. I can't believe we won't be meeting up all together at Antonio's house in Fano and trying so many new things, or even just speaking Italian on a daily basis. There's so many parts of my life that have become normalities over the past year which I can't imagine continuing this journey without - but that's the thing. My journey will continue whether I like it or not. When I left New Zealand a year ago I knew that one day - although it seemed a long way away - I would be returning, and my AFS experience would have come to an end. It's now up to me to accept that this chapter of my journey is finishing, and a new one is starting. Who knows how I'll write this next one? I just hope I'll take with me my memories, new mindset and above all, my friends and family from this amazing year.

Thanks for reading my blog and if anyone out there is thinking about doing a student exchange, or has an queries please feel free to contact me through mine and Lilly's colab pre-departure blog here :)