Back!

Hello again!
I have now returned to Paris after my 10-day trip to Berlin, Budapest and Prague. This trip was so wonderful and I must admit, I feel a little bittersweet about being back in Paris, mainly because I spent the last 10 days with one of my best friends and now she's gone and I am back to school and homework and responsibilities. But I cannot complain that much, because I am still in Paris and this city looks as beautiful as ever. And on the plus side, The weather here is about 10-15 degrees warmer than in Berlin and Budapest, so I no longer have to wear three pairs of pants to attempt to stay warm (no joke. I wore three.) Also, though it gets dark very early here compared to home, there is daylight until about 5:30 right now in Paris, where in Budapest it got dark at 4pm.

I am also now realizing that I have one month left here. 33 days to be exact. I don't know where all this time went, but I do know that this last month will go by so fast, and I am simultaneously happy and sad by that fact. I am so excited to see all my loved ones again and to be amongst people I know and love, and who know and love me as well, but adjusting to America is probably going to be a bigger challenge than I can anticipate. Before Paris, I spent most of my summer out of the country, so by the time I come home in December, I will have been out of America for about six months, so returning to home is going to feel much less like home than before. Even things as simple as saying "excuse moi" on the street out of habit instead of "excuse me" are going to become a minor, and probably funny challenge. Since my family is from Colombia and we all speak Spanish at home, we visit Colombia every year and inevitably, after about a month speaking no English during our trips, I find it difficult to speak English when I return. I imagine that even though I speak a lot of English around my roommates and classmates here, my reflex has now become to speak French, so changing my language mindset is going to take some time. I can imagine perhaps only a few of the many things that will have changed in me by the time I come home, and I am nervous and perhaps a bit excited to see how it all plays out. For now, I have to focus on making this last month in Paris the best one so far, because before I know it, it will be gone and this study abroad experience that I have looked forward to for so many years will be officially "over". Surely I will take this with me for the rest of my life, but as for actual time living here in Paris, right now, all I have is 33 days. 32 really, because today is almost over for me (its 10 pm here), so thats 32 more opportunities to really live what I have looked forward to for half of my life.

On to the last leg of my adventure.

This past trip gave me the energy boost that I needed to finish with the most positive energy possible, so thank you to my dear friend and to my family for the amazing experience I just had. It was worth every moment.