April 2024

As I was making my back from the airport from Spring Break, I did my usual route from Rome back to Viterbo, which was to take the train back. Usually I took it from the station at San Pietro, but because the Trastevere station was the closest to the airport, my dad and I took the train from there. 

We had arrived at the stop a little earlier than the train was supposed to depart from the station, so I decided to stop by a local caffe and get a snack and some water. While my dad was working at the station, I had gone out to find some food. The surrounding felt familiar, which later I found was because it was the first ever view of Rome I got to experience. It was when we had a fieldwork to Rome! Except now, six months later when I first visited Rome, I knew my way around a little bit better. 

I had stopped at a caffe, and I was looking around at the food and deciding what to get, when I heard my name being said faintly behind me. I didn’t think much of it and just continued to find what food I wanted. But then my name got called louder, sounding like the voice got closer and closer to me. I turned around and to my surprise I saw my host sister!       

That was a coincidence I would have never expected to happen. What were the odds that I would be able to see my host sister at a cafe near one of the many train stations that lead to Viterbo and at the exact time. 

The experience of studying abroad is filled with unexpected things, which makes it so funny and unique. And the chances of seeing my host sister on a random Sunday afternoon at a local cafe in Rome are so small, but it happened. And just like back at home that even in the most random places we will bump into people we know, I got a similar feeling at the train station, reminding me that maybe Italy is like a second home.