Some final thoughts

Two days from now I'll actually be on a plane crossing the Atlantic, so I just wanted to wrap up some of my thoughts about this extraordinary year.

(here begins the emotional reflection):

The night before I left for Paris I cried myself to sleep in my mom's bed. I was nervous. At the time I did not have plans to go home for 9 months, and that was a terrifying thought. Though I'll never talk about my first 20 minutes in the hell-hole that is Charles de Gaule airport, if I had been able to get a hold of my mother I would have told her to book me the first plane back home. And (those that follow me on twitter know) then I cried myself to sleep for about the first week and a half I was here. It's not that I wasn't having fun - I was, and I was meeting a lot of great people - I just saw 9 long months ahead of me and I was scared to death.

But, it turns out that 9 months isn't all that long after all, and here I am at the end of it. Despite an emotional start, I am not at all prepared to leave this place that I now call home. This may not be true, but I feel as though I have had a unique experience during my study abroad. First of all, I am fortunate enough to have studied here for a year. I did not just live the party/travel experience that I see so often either. I found a job, a routine, people that have looked out for me, making sure I wasn't really alone. I fell completely in love with this city, despite the rain and the everlasting winter. I was enchanted by it, as they say here.

Last night was my send-off party from work and it was amazing, and touching, to see how important I was to others. I wasn't just a passerby, I became a part of people's lives. Even one of the parents yesterday gave me an enormous hug and told me I would be missed.

Despite all that, though, I have not yet had an emotional breakdown about leaving. Besides the fact that leaving doesn't actually feel real, I am absolutely positive that I'll come back. There's also that fact that I'm pretty excited to have my senior year at Ohio State. After that, though, I know I'll be ready to start the life that I have come to love. I'm not sure I'm going to do it yet, but one way or another, I'll make my way back to the city that has stolen my heart.

Thanks for listening this year, everyone. It has been an absolutely pleasure getting to share my extraordinary time in Paris with you. I'll try to get some of my pictures edited (on my 9.5 hours flight) and I'll put them up as soon as I can.

And for now I'll say à bientôt to you and my beautiful Paris.
Gabs


"America is my country, and Paris is my hometown" - Gertrude Stein.

The Countdown

Alright, here we are. Because it is still really early in the States, I've got 11 days to go, but in my mind I've already flipped down to 10.

I've started to pack up the room that I've called home for the past 9 months. When I first got here in September one of the first things I did was put up pictures of family and friends to make it feel more like home, and that is actually what I just took down. Now my room feels empty and like I'm actually preparing to leave.

Things are wrapping up everywhere. Tomorrow, Thursday and Friday I have work and then one more day next week and I'll be finished. We had our farewell for the program and I said goodbye to a lot of friends. Also I need to cancel my phone service and close out my bank account. And pack. Yikes, lots to do.

Luckily enough though, my brother came to visit me this past weekend for 4 days. We did all of Paris in just those days and I am exhausted. So here is a quick run down:

Day 1: Danny got in mid-day and then we headed out to explore the Latin Quarter, do a little Midnight in Paris tour. We walked from Cardinal Lemoine to the Luxembourg Gardens to Montparnasse, hopped the metro to Saint Germain-des-Pres and then again to Cité where we saw the Notre Dame then Ile Saint Louis. (phew) Then we got some Chinese (of course) and went to the Mazet (also of course).

Probably the best part was heading to the Eiffel Tower at midnight to surprise him with how it lights up. Always a winning moment

Day 2: Musées D'Orsay and De l'Orangerie to check out some of my favorite pieces including Monet's Water Lilies. Between these were a walk to the Louvre and through the Tuileries. We then hopped down to Ecole Militaire where we grabbed lunch in a tabac (Danny had a croque madame). Then we climbed the Eiffel Tower (something I hadn't done before, oops). Dinner was at this amazing place called Relais de L'Entrecote - all they serve is Steak Frites. Steak and fries. and they keep coming back with more.

Too. Good.

Day 3: We started with a walk around Montmartre, followed by some lunch and wine on the Seine under the Notre Dame. We did some great souvenir shopping on the Seine and around Saint Michel as well. Then we hit up the Champs-Elysées and the Arc de Triomphe. Dinner was at this cute little bar café where we had the most filling and amazing dinner. I also introduced him to kir, an amazing french aperatif. Afterwards we went back to the apartment and watched some Scrubs and ate some cheese and drank some wine.

Day 4: Relaxing day. We went to Chez Ladurée for some macarons, went to Saint Michel again had coffee at a cafe, and went to Shakespeare and Company again.

*The most amazing thing happened in Shakespeare & Co. We were up in the reading room and someone started to play the piano - beautifully. Then Danny nudges me and gestures to the player. She's playing "Let's Fall In Love" by Cole Porter, another Parisian artist of the 20s. I died. It was perfect.*

Our lunch was cheese by the Seine, where we devoured an entire baguette. Afterwards we bought some wine for him to take back and went to the apartment to pack. The last thing we did was head to the Marais, a quarter I'm not in enough and ate falafels and crepes for dinner. We actually ended up stumbling upon the Bastille as well!

All in all it was amazing to share my favorite city with my brother, and a great chance to do all last minute touristy things, that I may have been too lazy to do otherwise.

I'm not going to get all weepy in this post, but expect that next week when the fact that I'm leaving really hits me.

A toute mes amis,

Gabs