Ah, my last post!!
Right now I'm sitting in the JFK airport in New York, waiting for my final flight back to good ole Utah. I can honestly say that the past 24 hours have been a blur!
So let's start with yesterday. It was my last day in Genova, and it was spent in a flurry of final editing/rendering. I was feeling pretty proud of myself because I was the only person in the whole group who finished her project when we were supposed to finish it. Everyone else was literally panicking until the very last second.
Anyway, while everyone else was freaking out, I leisurely finished everything up and finished packing my bags. Then I hung out at our professor's apartment, where everyone was frantically editing, for a little bit. We went and got lunch (BBQ chicken - yeah!) and then I went back to our apartment. I was up until 3 am the night before because Gabriella, one of the girls in our group, wanted me to be the narrator for her film. So we were up until 3am the night before, recording sound. That was a fun/stressful experience! I wanted so badly to get the lines exactly how she wanted them, but it was really hard. I think it turned out really nice though! I don't normally like my voice, but it sounded pretty cool.
Aaaaaanyway. I went to the store and bought a bunch of chocolate to bring home for people, and then I took a little nap until it was time to leave for the screening.
I don't know if I mentioned this before, so I'll just recap: over the course of the past 5 weeks, everyone in the group has made a lot of friends in Italy and made a lot of connections. We were also in the paper for the entire region of Liguria, which is a HUGE area. AND on top of all that, our program director Giuliana did an interview with the biggest news station in Liguria.
Our little group has gotten quite a bit of media attention, so the screening was a really big deal. Giuliana rented a theater in the oldest cinema in Genova. We opened the event up to the public, mentioning it to all of our friends, and in the newspaper, and on the local news. We sent out invites to everyone we had met in Italy.
So all of us got all dressed up (pictures to come - check Facebook!!) and headed over to the theater. That was stressful in itself because we were running super late because our professor was trying to finish up the videos so they would be ready to be shown on the big screen. We all jumped into taxis and headed over to the theater.
I honestly hadn't thought much about the screening because I had been so focused on just getting my project done. But guys, I walked into that theater and watched it fill up until there were no empty seats left. We had a completely full house! All these people came to the theater specifically to watch our films. I cannot even tell you how nervous I was! All the filmmakers sat in the front row and I just wanted to sink into the ground.
Andrea, the director of the Genova Film Commission (a REALLY big contact that we made this trip) did a little introduction, and then Giuliana talked a little bit. And then the lights dimmed, and WHAM! The films started.
This was it; the culmination of 5 weeks of work, 5 weeks of filming, editing, crying, exploring, pondering, and imagining. It was probably one of the coolest experiences of my life so far to see my film on the big screen. I think we all got a little emotional about it, actually.
When all the films were over, they brought each one of us to the front of the theater and our professor introduced us and our films to the audience, who applauded us like we had just won a grammy. I think they were honestly excited about our little amateur films; this wasn't courtesy clapping.
We did a Q&A for each of our films and then, after a few more thank-yous and speeches, it was over.
SOO many people came up to congratulate us and take pictures with us. People we had met along the way, and even people who we didn't know, but who had heard about us and wanted to come see what we were all about. Everyone had come out to support us. I felt like a total celebrity. We took so many pictures that we might as well have been on the red carpet. It was so crazy!
After the screening, we all walked over to this beautiful garden restaurant. We ate on the patio, under the shade of some beautiful umbrellas and to wonderful live Italian music. It was magical!
Unfortunately, for me it ended too soon. I only got to be there for the appetizers and the salad, and then I had to catch a taxi to the train station. I didn't think I would, but I actually found myself getting really emotional when I was saying goodbye to everyone. Of course I didn't show it, but I actually will miss everyone that I've spent the last 5 weeks with. The sad part is that it wasn't until my last night there that I FINALLY felt like I was starting to mesh with everyone and finally growing closer to everyone.
Giuliana walked me to the taxi and said her goodbyes. I can honestly say that she has been my favorite person in the past 5 weeks. It's really rare to find someone as genuinely beautiful and kind as Giuliana is. I will never forget what she did for me on this trip!
Anyway, I hopped into the taxi and away I went, off to the train station! I caught the train to Milan, and then I had to catch a taxi from the train station to a hotel. Spending a night by myself in a foreign hotel in a foreign country and navigating the public transportation system (at 11 o'clock at night, no less!) without freaking out was what really proved to me that I've grown a lot in the past 5 weeks.
This morning, I walked back to the train station bright and early, at 6 am! When I got to the train station, I found out that I had missed my train by like 5 minutes. So I bought a ticket for the next one, but then realized that the train left from a different Milan train station. So I would have to ride a regional train. After wandering around the train station (which is quite large!) for 45 minutes without finding what I was looking for, I finally gave up and bought a ticket for a bus that goes directly to Malpensa, the Milan airport. I was freaking out because I didn't think I would have enough time to make it through security and catch my flight!
Someone was looking out for me, though, because I managed to get through customs and security in less than 20 minutes (a miracle in itself) and catch my flight. I even got business class! :)
And now, here I am, less than an hour away from my flight back to Utah.
While I'm really happy to be back in the United States and ready to see my friends and family, I know that I'm going to have a little bit of homesickness for Italy. To anyone who talked to me in the past 5 weeks, they know I had a hard time because I missed home a lot. But looking back on it now, the good far outweighed the bad.
In the past 5 weeks, I've had experiences that I may never be able to have again, and I know that I've changed for the better because of it. Italy changed my life.
If any of you are still reading this and you get the chance to study abroad, please do it. It's one of the hardest and most rewarding things you'll do in your life.
Thanks for reading, everyone. I hope you enjoyed my journey as much as I did! :)
(I don't have any pictures to post right now because I'm in an airport... but check Facebook. Pictures will be posted soon!! )
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