Cortina and Six Months

A foot of powder+me=Cortina!
This past weekend I went skiing in Cortina. The mecca of all skiing places in Italy and maybe all of Europe. I mean the Alps have nothing on Cortina. At least I think so. I've never been to the Alps before so this is all biased.
We left Saturday morning and took the 3 hour trip to Cortina. Once there we went into the town and took a walk around. I'm not kidding: It was like being back in Vail. The mountains surrounded us, the stores extremely expensive and the smell of snow in the air. I loved it! I've never felt so at home in my life.* I also bought this really cute Volcom jacket for 45€ when it was originally 90€. Go me! It is a lovely jacket. Now how will I get it back to Colorado? Damn...
Then right as we were getting ready to go back to the car, it started to snow. It never stopped! A winter girl's dream.
I woke up Sunday morning and outside it was snowing. It had snowed about a good 6 inches. Maybe more. The bottom of our car was snowed in. Hehe! A sign from Ullr (Nordic god of snow) that we had come to the right place for skiing. Once we got the car unburied we went up to Cortina. Marco and I bought our ski passes and went up to this one place.
Cortina isn't just one mountain. It's about 4 different mountains that aren't connected because of the ever so present cliff faces. We went up to the mountain on back side. Marco's goggles were fogged so I ended up skiing by myself.
There was snow up to my hips and up to my chest in some points. It was beautiful. I had to cut a rope to get into the good stuff but everyone else was doing it and it was a controlled area. Yes, it was a little stupid of me but you have to understand my situation. There was only one run open with not a lot of snow and the light was so flat on that run it was more dangerous than the closed run. It's not like I was going out of bounds like I saw some people doing. (They had proper equipment!) Anyways I was safe.
After skiing it took us an hour to get down from the mountain. It was like Vail pass on a bad day. We didn't have snow tires or chains so we took it slow. I got to have ice cream in the Ice Cream capital of Italy too. Not a bad weekend.
Then yesterday, I hit my 6 month mark. Below are my feelings on home.
*Home is a strange word for me too. I mean in Vail, I have an actual home with a loving family and some of the greatest friends. Not to mention the skiing is the bomb. (ie: Fresh tracks on Red Square at 8:45 in the morning after a night of snow) Yet before exchange I never really felt at home. I felt odd and out of place. Like that missing jigsaw puzzle piece that's under the sofa. Now with 6 months come and gone, I feel at home. I feel like I've found the right place in the world. And in 4 months I have to leave it all behind. It hurts to think about that date. (Even though that date hasn't been settled yet.) Still, I'm no longer that missing jigsaw puzzle piece. I fit in here. In some weird way, I fit in. I've built a life here. 6 months ago, I was given the opportunity to start over. I was given a blank slate with the words "Don't screw up" and I threw my shoulders back, held my head high and took that opportunity. 6 months later I'm no longer that awkward, quiet, sad girl. I am Italian! I have embraced my new culture and life and I wouldn't trade it in for anything. They say, If you love something let it go. But how am I supposed to let my new family and my new life go in July? You tell me.
I am not the person I was a year ago or 6 months ago. I will never be that person again. Instead I'm this new girl. So how will that effect everyone when I come back to Vail? I hope it makes them see me in a new light. A better light. I hope they see how happy I am and if they don't, it's their loss.
In 4 months there will be tears. There will be an ocean of tears when that plane comes in to take me to my future. But until then, I'll keep living this new life with these new friends and this new family. I won't think about the future because it will only cause me pain.
I bet you guys can already see that I've changed.
Anyways... 6 down, 4 to go. Let's hope it's a good 4 and that I can live on sleep deprivation.