Just like that, it’s over. Part of me can’t believe it, or maybe I just don’t want to believe it. Years of waiting, a semester of planning, and 2 months of indescribable experiences came to an end tonight… and it will be a most memorable end, for decades to come: Finishing one of the most extensively delicious seafood dinners ever, to a storm of hail, thunder, and lightning. The skies flashed, the streets flooded, and the occasional passing car left a wake of floating leaves and bubbles. We watched out the window, waiting for a break to run back to the dorms. It stopped, it started again, car alarms sounded, wet shirts ran past. Our opportunity came, and we walked the streets together, admiring the frequent lightning bolts revealing soft mauve clouds in an otherwise black sky.
We watched the complete and wonderful photo and video summary of our trip, and the special feature, ‘death bus’.. nicely capped by a round of hugs, and the signing of Brads guitar (the one he bought in Roma). Although I missed my hug from Rus, he made a point of coming to get one, and to remind me that gruppo cinque was my group.. I was the center around which people were selected, and I was successful in my role. He thanked me, whole-heartedly, and I was grateful. Reflecting back, at times it felt as though I did not belong to any group within the group – I’m solitary by nature, but when all others seemed to pair up, it was noticeable and maybe a little saddening.
What Rus reminded me in saying this, was that in not belonging anywhere, I belonged everywhere.. able to bond the smaller groups and maintain the cohesive spirit. I sought out the lonely ones, or the ones I had not talked with/walked with recently, and made a point of seeing how they were doing. I suppose it’s one of my gifts I was unable to define before coming to this place with this group of talented students and friends.
I will remember these days. I will remember all that I saw, and all that I learned. I must remember my time in Milano, and Firenze, and Chianti/Dolciano and Roma. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity comes only once, and this was it. ItaliaDesign 2008, GruppoCinque.
Grazie mille, Arrivederci, e Buona Notte.
rbo
