Tomorrow I will have been back for about three weeks from my over-one-year abroad, but today it is finally sinking in. I'm not sure if it is because of the people I miss from my internship, the laid-back experience I had in Portugal, or the best time of my life in Paris, but I have to admit that I feel a little out of place in this country,
my country. I won't be dramatic about it, but as my fall semester begins, I am wondering how I will handle it. In choosing classes and going to job interviews (I am unemployed once again), I am realizing only now that my Euro-adventure is over.
Of course I will go back, and even now I am now sure if I could go back right away. I miss my family and my home, but I miss the new life I created là-bas. I'm just in the weird in between stage for the moment.
After spending a week at home, I came out to Madison to move once again. I had a beautiful apartment waiting for me and the best of roommates, Katie. After going to garage sales and making target trips, our apartment is pretty much furnished (except for a coffee table, so if you have one and want to give it away - call me!).
Since I did not update my last few weeks in Europe, I'm going to list some of the top moments:
1. Visiting Rouen with my sister, Katya. Katya traveled out to France to spend the last month of her summer vacation in France. I was so glad to see this wonderful face after to long, to travel with her, and of course, to make the inside jokes that I couldn't have made with anyone else. We were able to visit Rouen, the city where Laurent lives, and so Katya was able to see this medieval city as well as give her approval for the boy of my choice ;)
2. Amsterdam! Katya, Gauthier and I decided to make a quick, three day trip to Amsterdam. We stayed in an Italian's apartment where we had our own space. Spending three days with Katya and Gauthier was hilarious more than anything - picture of the Italian (JoJo, as Gauthier called him) in our room, microwave pasta, getting free drinks before trying to find the night bus. We visited the Red Light District (crazy. that is all.), and of course Anne Frank's House. Amsterdam is a gorgeous city, and I was happy that the public transportation we took ended up being a tram. We could see the city when traveling from JoJo's place to the city center.
3. The best first internship I could have asked for. There were some tears, and although I do miss working at the tourist office, I was glad to be able to travel home to see the rest of my family. I was offered a position for next summer, so who knows? Maybe I'll go back.
4. Seeing my brother in Paris. My older brother Gary was spending a couple of weeks in August in Portugal on vacation. He decided to fly out to Paris with his cousin, Julian, to visit Katya and I before we headed back home. I have trouble describing how it felt to take pictures or even sit at the dinner table with my brother, sister, cousins (Julian and my other cousin Trey who is living in Paris now - small worlds I tell you), boyfriend, and friends. It was like all of my "lives" were meshing together. It was a great feeling, but one that I really did not anticipate.
5. Saying au revoir was not a top moment, but an important one. I do feel like many times good-byes are overemphasized. However, my goodbye was nothing more than a "bientot" (see you soon). The only problem is that I just don't know when the "soon" will be. Jean-Claude and Claudie are like grandparents to me, as I have mentioned, and of course Laurent
is much-missed chéri. Luckily, I will hopefully seeing him within the next month... ;)
I had some pictures developed so I could put them in an album and write about all my adventures like I did here in this blog. When I looked through them, at the end I said to myself "Wait, that's all?". I did not spend a ton of money to get all of my pictures developed, but I did make sure to develop a good amount to document and present my "best moments". These pictures do do a great job of that, but they are nothing compared to my I experienced: happiness, difficulties, life-changing activities, connections, friendships, love, and the opportunity to change how I think about the world and other cultures for the rest of my time. More importantly, I now have a better idea of the way I want to live in the world and within these cultures. I'm so thankful for my experiences, and I have to give a shout-out to my parents who really supported me through all of this. Thank you!
I haven't decided if this is my last post for this blog. Pretty sure it's not since I have other adventures coming up. So for now... à bientot tout le monde!
Bisous,
Tatiana
