Au revoir and Hello
I can't believe I'm back home already. Overall, it has gone by fast and it feels weird that this huge thing I have been looking forward to for more than a 1/4 of my life is already over with. It's sad because I know I won't be back anytime soon, and even if i do come back it won't be the same. It's cool to know though that if I put my mind to something, I can accomplish my dreams.
There have been many ups and downs this semester. There have been times where I wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear, wondering why the hell i am here, and other times where it hit me that i was in France, sitting with real French people like i was one of them, and times where i wouldnt trade that moment for the world. I have learned so much from my time in France, not really language wise like I had hoped, but more about myself and what I am capable of. I feel more independent and more easy going. It's great! I learned who my true friends were and who and what really matters.
I left yesterday morning, just as the sun was rising over Saint Michel. I said goodbye to my host family and I made M. De Broissia cry, just how I made my Dad cry when I left for France. Madame and Margurite took me to the gare and eventually Courtney showed up. I didn't cry saying goodbye to Madame and Margurite and Isabelle (Courtney's kick-ass host mom) because I knew if I did I prob wouldn't stop crying. The train ride to Paris Lyon wasn't bad. We found our way easily via RER and strangly it seemed much easier than when I came to Dijon in January, minus my bags being really heavy and having to pay an extra 50 euro due to weight. That's ok, it was worth it. The flight was ok, but seemed long. But hey, anything shorter than an 8 hour train ride in Spain is nothing!
My parents greeted me at the arrivals gate and that's when I broke down crying. I felt silly, but it was much needed. I proceeded to talk and talk and talk and talk for about the next four hours haha. It felt weird to be home, but not as weird as i had expected it to be. I'm sure the culture shock will come with time, in little ways. I just don't think it's so weird cause I knew what to expect and what my house looks like, etc unlike going to France where i had no previous knowledge. I think the biggest shock so far was walking into my bedroom and seeing of the stuff in it. I forgot how small my room is and how much i had in here and had coverered the wall with stuff. I felt like I was in a museum of my cluttered past. It's really weird going from a spacious room with only news articles on the wall to being here and seeing photos and artifacts from the life I had before France. And it really is a life BEFORE France. I see it all differently now. It's not a bad thing, just different.
I hope I can keep France with me as the summer goes on and as the school year starts up again. I feel like it has changed me for the good and I hope to keep that with me and not lapse back into my old "American" ways. This has probably been one of the best experiences in my life. Even though there were just as many bad times as good times, each thing was a learning experience and made me stronger and wiser in the end. I wouldn't change anything that happened and I wouldn't trade that semester for the world.
There have been many ups and downs this semester. There have been times where I wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear, wondering why the hell i am here, and other times where it hit me that i was in France, sitting with real French people like i was one of them, and times where i wouldnt trade that moment for the world. I have learned so much from my time in France, not really language wise like I had hoped, but more about myself and what I am capable of. I feel more independent and more easy going. It's great! I learned who my true friends were and who and what really matters.
I left yesterday morning, just as the sun was rising over Saint Michel. I said goodbye to my host family and I made M. De Broissia cry, just how I made my Dad cry when I left for France. Madame and Margurite took me to the gare and eventually Courtney showed up. I didn't cry saying goodbye to Madame and Margurite and Isabelle (Courtney's kick-ass host mom) because I knew if I did I prob wouldn't stop crying. The train ride to Paris Lyon wasn't bad. We found our way easily via RER and strangly it seemed much easier than when I came to Dijon in January, minus my bags being really heavy and having to pay an extra 50 euro due to weight. That's ok, it was worth it. The flight was ok, but seemed long. But hey, anything shorter than an 8 hour train ride in Spain is nothing!
My parents greeted me at the arrivals gate and that's when I broke down crying. I felt silly, but it was much needed. I proceeded to talk and talk and talk and talk for about the next four hours haha. It felt weird to be home, but not as weird as i had expected it to be. I'm sure the culture shock will come with time, in little ways. I just don't think it's so weird cause I knew what to expect and what my house looks like, etc unlike going to France where i had no previous knowledge. I think the biggest shock so far was walking into my bedroom and seeing of the stuff in it. I forgot how small my room is and how much i had in here and had coverered the wall with stuff. I felt like I was in a museum of my cluttered past. It's really weird going from a spacious room with only news articles on the wall to being here and seeing photos and artifacts from the life I had before France. And it really is a life BEFORE France. I see it all differently now. It's not a bad thing, just different.
I hope I can keep France with me as the summer goes on and as the school year starts up again. I feel like it has changed me for the good and I hope to keep that with me and not lapse back into my old "American" ways. This has probably been one of the best experiences in my life. Even though there were just as many bad times as good times, each thing was a learning experience and made me stronger and wiser in the end. I wouldn't change anything that happened and I wouldn't trade that semester for the world.