Hello beloved blog readers!

Not many of you may know but a week ago I arrived to Super8 super tired after a day of travelling. I had just come back from Italy where went back for a crazy week to graduate! Fortunately all turned out really well but It was stressful and nerve-raking because there was a lot to do in a short period of time: I had to keep up with coursework here in New Paltz, prepare the speech to defend my thesis and find a dress and a bay leaf crown!

Many of you won’t know because it’s just part of the Italian culture, but for us bay leafs are not just used for cooking purposes. Actually we use this kind of plant to decorate the heads of people who have just graduated by braiding it together as if it was a crown. In fact in the Greek and Roman mythology, bay leafs were a sacred symbol of  knowledge and glory for poets and winners of  games that came before the Olympics, and both had their heads decorated with it to celebrate their success.

So it was kind of a marathon and I didn’t exactly have time to savor the moment but it was nice to go home to Varazze, see my family and friends, and in a way close a very important chapter in my life. I have every intention to continue studying abroad so it was sad being in Milan and knowing that I won’t be there again for some time. The curious thing was that the entire time I felt like I was missing so much here in New Paltz. so even if I was glad to stay with people I care about, I realized that right now my place is here, and that I am so happy and lucky to be in the program and to have all these new amazing friends to live this adventure with 🙂

Now that New York is approaching I’m even more curious to see what the future awaits us!I’ll keep you posted on the latest news and meanwhile really commit to the challenge I gave myself last post: find real Italian espresso 🙂