The End is Near
I found this letter on my old laptop. In July 2002 when all the exchange students were preparing to leave Belgium many people wrote letters to their friends to read on the plane. This was mine to the Verviers Gang, the group of six exchangees living in Verviers. I realize this letter has absolutely no meaning except for those five other members of the Verviers Gang, but rereading this letter almost two years after the fact still makes me cry, so I thought it would be a good addition to this journal. Skip if it you don't care. I won't be offended.
Some notes on the text:
Oldies are the exchange students who have been there half a year already when you arrive. Newies are the exchange students who arrive half a year after you. This is usually due to the differences between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Oldies are expected to guide the newies and offer advice. In reality they teach the newies how to drink.
Most of the dates mentioned are the dates the various members of the Verviers Gang left the country.
Warren was the newbie of the Verviers Gang. He is from Cape Town. If you’re in Chicago, there are a couple pictures of him (along with the rest of the Verviers Gang) hanging on the wall near the head of my bed.
Liège refers to weekly gatherings the exchange students have in the city of Liège. The Place Verte is the main square in Verviers. The glacerie is an ice cream parlor and Manhattan is a bar where we were known to hang out. GSMs are cell phones, soirées are parties. The 1h28 was the train we took each week to get to the gathering in Liège.
Et puis la lettre (and now the letter):
The end is near. What more can I say? I never actually saw the old man with the sandwich board, but we knew it was coming. We never listened to our oldies. They left us, as we now leave, never to come back. Well sure, we’ll all be back. For me, it’ll be in at least six years, after I finish college. It will be the saddest trip I’ll ever take. I’ll look at the fountain in the Place Verte and remember it being built. I’ll go to Manhattan in the hopes of seeing a round of Canasta being played. Laurent will be married. I don’t know how it will be for you, but it won’t be the same. Nothing will be the same in a week or six weeks or two months or whenever you leave. June 9th, July 18th, and July 27th are the ends. June 10th, July 19th, and July 28th are the new beginnings.
What were you doing August 16th? Do you remember? It was a Thursday. Does that help? Do you remember how much you weighed? How your hair was? How many holes did you have in your body? How many languages did you speak? What did you have to drink that day? Who was your future husband? Who were your true friends? Who are they now? Who will they be in November?
Today I saw a picture of some of us taken in September at the first Rotary get-together. I saw a picture of us in that French class we took. Do you realize how much you’ve changed? When I look in the mirror I feel like I look the same as I did last summer. Seeing those photos of me in September was like looking at photos from eighth grade. We need to remember in December to send Warren a picture of him taken in February. Although I don’t feel as if I’ve changed, I know I must have. Physical change like that without the psychological only takes place on Ricky Lake, the show title being ‘The Other Side of the World, That’ll Change You, Girl!’ Everyone assumes that this change is only the details, that who you are remains who you are. This isn’t true. Who I am is different; it’s only the details that have stayed the same. I think I’ve discovered the secret of a successful exchange: The essence of the person is what gives way. What a sad year you would have if all you did was gain a few kilos, put a few holes in your head, and learn to conjugate a few new verbs.
I don’t know what you’re doing this August 16th. You might be getting ready for college. You might be working at an old and familiar restaurant. You might be chilling with old friends. I’m going to be at high school. Wherever you are, stop a minute. Think about who you were one year before. Then think about who you were during that year. Remember getting off the plane. Remember your first Liège. Remember school and the Place Verte. Remember the glacerie and Manhattan. Remember bullshit and boyfriends, GSMs and soirées. Remember Rotary meetings and French classes. Remember host brothers and bus 3. Remember Halloween in Herve. Remember Saint Nicolas. Remember the oldies being there for us, and remember them leaving us. Remember what it was like to be a newie, and remember becoming an oldie. Remember dancing in the fountain. Remember the 1h28. Remember changing host families. Remember putting down the dictionary. Remember your Last Liège. Remember packing your bags for the fourth time in less than a year and leaving your fourth family and home to go back to the first. When you’ve finished remembering, go back to your work or friends and act like nothing happened. We’ll share this apart but together. I don’t ask for the same participation as Hands Across America, but I do ask for as much glory.
The end is really here. You can tell because our friends are starting to study for finals. The first of the Last Lièges is this Wednesday. It’s our turn now. Don’t worry about it. We all knew it was coming. Everything that goes up must come down and every exchange student must go home. They warned us about it. It’s our turn now.
Some notes on the text:
Oldies are the exchange students who have been there half a year already when you arrive. Newies are the exchange students who arrive half a year after you. This is usually due to the differences between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Oldies are expected to guide the newies and offer advice. In reality they teach the newies how to drink.
Most of the dates mentioned are the dates the various members of the Verviers Gang left the country.
Warren was the newbie of the Verviers Gang. He is from Cape Town. If you’re in Chicago, there are a couple pictures of him (along with the rest of the Verviers Gang) hanging on the wall near the head of my bed.
Liège refers to weekly gatherings the exchange students have in the city of Liège. The Place Verte is the main square in Verviers. The glacerie is an ice cream parlor and Manhattan is a bar where we were known to hang out. GSMs are cell phones, soirées are parties. The 1h28 was the train we took each week to get to the gathering in Liège.
Et puis la lettre (and now the letter):
The end is near. What more can I say? I never actually saw the old man with the sandwich board, but we knew it was coming. We never listened to our oldies. They left us, as we now leave, never to come back. Well sure, we’ll all be back. For me, it’ll be in at least six years, after I finish college. It will be the saddest trip I’ll ever take. I’ll look at the fountain in the Place Verte and remember it being built. I’ll go to Manhattan in the hopes of seeing a round of Canasta being played. Laurent will be married. I don’t know how it will be for you, but it won’t be the same. Nothing will be the same in a week or six weeks or two months or whenever you leave. June 9th, July 18th, and July 27th are the ends. June 10th, July 19th, and July 28th are the new beginnings.
What were you doing August 16th? Do you remember? It was a Thursday. Does that help? Do you remember how much you weighed? How your hair was? How many holes did you have in your body? How many languages did you speak? What did you have to drink that day? Who was your future husband? Who were your true friends? Who are they now? Who will they be in November?
Today I saw a picture of some of us taken in September at the first Rotary get-together. I saw a picture of us in that French class we took. Do you realize how much you’ve changed? When I look in the mirror I feel like I look the same as I did last summer. Seeing those photos of me in September was like looking at photos from eighth grade. We need to remember in December to send Warren a picture of him taken in February. Although I don’t feel as if I’ve changed, I know I must have. Physical change like that without the psychological only takes place on Ricky Lake, the show title being ‘The Other Side of the World, That’ll Change You, Girl!’ Everyone assumes that this change is only the details, that who you are remains who you are. This isn’t true. Who I am is different; it’s only the details that have stayed the same. I think I’ve discovered the secret of a successful exchange: The essence of the person is what gives way. What a sad year you would have if all you did was gain a few kilos, put a few holes in your head, and learn to conjugate a few new verbs.
I don’t know what you’re doing this August 16th. You might be getting ready for college. You might be working at an old and familiar restaurant. You might be chilling with old friends. I’m going to be at high school. Wherever you are, stop a minute. Think about who you were one year before. Then think about who you were during that year. Remember getting off the plane. Remember your first Liège. Remember school and the Place Verte. Remember the glacerie and Manhattan. Remember bullshit and boyfriends, GSMs and soirées. Remember Rotary meetings and French classes. Remember host brothers and bus 3. Remember Halloween in Herve. Remember Saint Nicolas. Remember the oldies being there for us, and remember them leaving us. Remember what it was like to be a newie, and remember becoming an oldie. Remember dancing in the fountain. Remember the 1h28. Remember changing host families. Remember putting down the dictionary. Remember your Last Liège. Remember packing your bags for the fourth time in less than a year and leaving your fourth family and home to go back to the first. When you’ve finished remembering, go back to your work or friends and act like nothing happened. We’ll share this apart but together. I don’t ask for the same participation as Hands Across America, but I do ask for as much glory.
The end is really here. You can tell because our friends are starting to study for finals. The first of the Last Lièges is this Wednesday. It’s our turn now. Don’t worry about it. We all knew it was coming. Everything that goes up must come down and every exchange student must go home. They warned us about it. It’s our turn now.