What were you grateful for this week? 

I was grateful for the opportunity to meet some of my Italian relatives!

 

What was the most challenging part of this week?
The most difficult part was trying to figure out schedules as the host family had different things going on this week and [my host family’s son] was sick a lot of it and the mom was stressed. 

Tell us about a “wow” moment you had this week. 
I came home early from a trip to be able to stay with [my host family’s son] while his mom went out.
 

Tell us about your week!
It was another good week! It was a little hard in the beginning because I had to say goodbye to some really good friends that I’ve made here, and while I definitely know that I’ll see them again, I also know that that was the close of a very special chapter here in Rome. Certain people come into your life at certain times for certain reasons, and while we might not understand it all at first, it all comes together so beautifully in such an unexpected way that you really need. I will forever be grateful for the chapter that we finished here together! 

 

And then the rest of the week followed, kind of normal and kind of different. [My host family’s son] was home sick a lot of the week, so we spent a lot of time together this past week, but it was really fun. I now feel more as though he is my little brother than just a kid that I help with English. I am so grateful for that! We’ve been through a lot and the road hasn’t been easy to get to where we’re at now, but that just makes it all that much sweeter. 

 

And then, to finish off the week, I headed to Florence and Lucca for the weekend, where I met some of my relatives for the first time. My family comes from Lucca, so it was awesome to be able to go back there and spend time with family and have that. I am so grateful for so much this week, and although it definitely wasn’t the smoothest week, it brought a lot of good!