etymological ambiguities

On our last afternoon in the little library with a view of the Tuscan hills, Alessandro told us about The End. "In Italian," he explained, "the word can mean two things. It is only a changement of the masculine or the feminine." Which sounds ridiculous, but Italians like to complicate life like this. You can use prego in about a hundred different ways. Same with allora, or quindi. And while la fine means the end, il fine means the aim, or the goal.

Like most wordy things, I like that.

Tomorrow I'm off to Munich, the last stop in my Farewell Tour. By Tuesday night I'll be home. And with three hours left in November, this seems a good place to stop.


LA FINE

:::of Europe. they say it changes you. I'd have to agree. hoping it's a good thing.

:::of the Brunette Ambition Tour 2008. no better way to go out with a bang. loving these last few magical days with my mum and sisters, who manage to make me laugh and cry all in one moment.

:::of this little chapter in my life. a little worried about what comes next---I worked toward studying abroad for so long, it's hard to realise that it's over.


IL FINE

:::a whole month of arting! mum and I have a full list of projects for the coming holiday weeks. am already planning paper patterns and canvas collages.

:::a marathon. so many people and places and things to see, so many stories and lives and thoughts to hear and tell. scheduling dinner parties and no-sleep sleepovers on every spare scrap of paper I can find.

:::a new challenge. don't much like being in a foreign country without the language to go along with it. think I might learn German.


I know I'm going to miss this. But I also can hardly wait for Home, my Whole Family, and the New Year.

Tschüss!