Making the Most of Homelessness

Being in college is hard. I'm not talking about challenging classes, all-nighters, or living on a tight budget. Simply being a college student is psychologically draining. Now, I'm not complaining. I know that with these challenges come some of the most special memories and rewarding experiences of your life and I feel blessed everyday to be able to appreciate them. However, it's hard to be homeless.

Let me explain. When you leave for school you leave your bedroom, the place that has been personal and secure for your entire life, and trade it for a dorm. Even if your room was a little bigger than the dorm, you now share that space with a roommate. And no matter how comfortable you make your side of that little room, in a matter of weeks it can be given to someone else just like you took it from the person before you. So what do you do?

You live in the moment. You say, "Ok, for now, this is my space and I am going to love it." You settle into being unsettled and you live. Now, throw in going abroad.

Maybe I'm just getting over the initial shock, but for the past few days I haven't felt like I can be at home here. This space can't be mine, I don't even know how to connect to it. We don't speak the same language. It's as if the Italians that surround me are only letting me borrow this space for a little while, and then I should be on my way. So what do I do?

I become Italian.

Tonight we found out about a small restaurant near the city center that is rumored to have some of the best food on a college budget. After walking around for a while, we came to the charming little corner shop...with a crowd of people spilling out onto the cobblestone street. It was packed. But never fear! There is always something just as amazing around the corner in Rome. We had only walked a few meters when a large glass cooler of tiramisu caught our eyes. It was at that moment that I decided to try to be Italian.

We sat down and ordered, for the first time, a full Italian dinner. That means Antipasto, Corso Principale, and Dolce. Ok, so a true Italian dinner would be appetizer, pasta, meat, and desert but there is no way I could eat that much food. I had Vegitali Misti Grigila which consisted of grilled zucchini, tomato, stuffed eggplant, carrots, and potato. After five days of nothing but carbs, regardless of how yummy, I felt like I needed a little something green. It was delicious! My main course was fettuccine in a spinach and creem sauce, but they were out of fettuccine so they substituted tortellini. I finished with some very smooth chocolate mousse. Our goal for the evening was to finish and leave after the large table next to us. When we succeeded, high fives were called for.

And so, we adapt. We set aside our culture, our habits, and our expectations and we merge into our new identities.