Doing what I have to do: Swimming after a storm

I am happy to say after my few week-long span of homesickness it has officially left! I am a local roman. I confidently stroll around by myself with somewhere to be. It all feels very natural to me now. I am starting to acclimate very nicely to Rome almost two months in. Before we left one of the program directors mentioned that some of us would feel more comfortable after a couple of months living there and that is how my situation has been.

The program I am studying with provides many day trips and weekend excursions within Italy. It is nice to sit back, relax, and have everything situated. Since this is the case my roomies and I have not yet traveled on our own or even out of Italy. This weekend we are going to Paris, France. We are going to Disneyland Paris and I am so excited! Planning a trip out of the country is something I have never done before but there is a first for everything.

This past weekend our program took our entire group to Sorrento and Capri. A week prior we checked the weather and it was gloomy so we could not rent a boat or go swimming since there was going to be a tropical storm. Knowing this I still packed two bathing suits in case the weather turned around. The morning of Capri it was raining heavily and cold but I still packed a bikini in my tiny purse because I wasn’t going to let a little rain stop me (it was not a little rain). I was dedicated to go swimming in Capri and making the most of my trip. I told everyone in our group I was going swimming as the rain was pouring and flipping umbrellas inside out from the strong winds. I told everyone the sun was going to come out and the water was going to be nice. Who believed me? Nobody. An hour and a half before leaving Capri the sun came out. I ran to the shore with my group. I changed into my bikini and jumped into the water. Guess what? The water was nice. I was soaked and cold in the morning wearing a poncho. I knew what I had to do and I did it! Others in the group joined and we had an incredible experience. I could say I swam in Capri. I swam until it was five minutes of the leaving time. I didn’t have enough time to dry so I threw my poncho on as I boarded the ferry and waved goodbye to Capri.

The few weeks have put me in situations to make the most out of situations that seem grim. There are (almost) always positives in situations we might not think have them. Ultimately you get to decide how to handle situations. How to move forward. I chose to be positive and make the most out of what is given to me. What is life without challenges? A life without any growth. In my prayers, I ask God to guide me in His direction and to put me in situations that will force me to grow. I can definitely say that He has put me in a few challenging situations during my time in Rome. How I react and learn is up to me. Sometimes it is hard and I don’t want to deal with it. But life happens whether you want to deal with it or not. So I try. I stay positive and have a good time! I swim in the storm of life!