Years ago, I spent a few glorious months living in Firenze (that's Florence to you outsiders) Italy. I can't even begin to tell you how much I loved it. Every second of it. In fact, I attribute a lot of who I am today from learning to do things on my own in Italy. Traveling alone to a foreign country was a terrifying experience, but it also helped me in countless ways.
One of the main people who made the entire thing possible was my friend Demetrio. We met via email after I'd messaged the place he worked in Italy to see if they had any openings for me. While they were fully booked, he was instrumental in finding me another location a few hours away from him in Firenze. When I arrived, he came over, showed me the sights, and helped me as best he could so that I knew I wasn't alone. Although we only spent that one day together, we'd already gotten to know each other through countless emails back and forth. He was a great guy and a dear friend. We've kept in touch over the years, although, unfortunately, I never made it back to Italy to see him again. When I went to his Facebook page the other day to wish him happy birthday, I discovered that he'd passed away. I was so sad to learn of his passing, but am so incredibly grateful for all of his help and friendship. R.I.P. Demetrio.
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