Ciao, Bella

This is my last post from Italy as I am at the airport about to board.
Laying in my hostel bed for what will be final night abroad brings mixed feelings. Yes, I am totally excited to come home and I wouldn't delay it for anything. But going home means going back to reality. Getting back into a groove of life that I'm not entirely sure I want to get back into. There is a part of me that could have stayed in Rogliano and never left. There is a part of me that could have stayed in Monterchi and never left. But my home has always been Philadelphia. And now Austin as well. My main hope is that I keep my perspective. I have a new found respect for a bunch of things we take for granted everyday: heat, water pressure, friends, loved ones, a good nights sleep, a feline companion, waking around and feeling safe. I'm so thankful for all of these things. This Thursday is Thanksgiving and I can't imagine the long litany I will able to recite when asked what I am thankful for.
70 days has been the perfect amount of time to be away. Any more and I think I would have started to lose it a little bit. Any less and I would have been cursing having to come home so early. And as cliche as it sounds, I think this trip happened for a reason. Doors opened for me before and during in a way I couldn't have imagined. I mean think about it, I found a replacement for my job at work with a vetern who was just coming off of his own leave and needed a job, a friend of a friend happened to be moving down to Austin from Chicago and was looking to lease an condo, I was over my three years at my company and was eligibile for this unpaid time off, my friends offered to look after my cat and they all actually got along, I applied to ten farms in Italy and three wrote back - the three I am stayed with, I got a new job I have been wanting for months while being abroad, and my company did well enough this year that my bonus can actually cover this trip I have taken. I don't know what you call that, but that isn't just luck. This stuff doesn't just fall into your lap. Believe what you want, but I feel well nudged in the right direction. 
The thing is, all of this may have fallen into place for me, but I also think it can fall in place for anyone. It all depends on your risk and tolerence level. Anyone can do what I did, it's just a matter of manuevering in a way that sets you up to succeed. While I do feel a lot of doors opened for me, I also did a fair amount of prep work and organzing before I went. I think if you want it bad enough, almost anything is possible. And in the end, you find you can do things you were never pushed to do before. You can handle situations you never knew you could. You get introduced to a side of yourself that had been a complete stranger up until now. And between the two sides, you realize you can do amazing things.
Ciao, Italia.