My Last Blog

Well, guys, this is it. 9 months and 61 messages later, I'm finally saying goodbye. However sporatic, this blog has been a sort of diary over the course of my whole experience. Hopefully, I can find a way to save it when I get home!

I just dropped off Katy at the train station. We had a really nice week. She was such a trooper and made it all go by very quickly, while I picked up some fun new English slang terms that I plan to institute when I get home.

We had a very busy few days of sightseeing and a lot of the Louvre, which Katy loved and where I discovered I have officially been down every hall - sometimes many times.

Katy helped us move my friend Leah's stuff all across Paris and then we had a large going away party hosted in my little guest house. We also saw the Sex and the City film, which I really liked, and ate some great Chinese because none of us can stomach anymore French food for awhile.

I've said my goodbyes to my friends and my program. My friend Koa is already back in Los Angelos and she says that American television is blowing her mind.

Today, for my last day in Paris, Katy and I went to APA to say goodbye. Then, we made our way to Place Vendome, the chicest part of the city where I had yet to visit. We built up our courage and went into the Ritz Lobby, where a very large man with an earpeice asked me what our business there was. In an act of panic, I told him we were interested in eating at the restaurant. He said that we needed a reservation and, instead of asking him to take a picture with me, I said "Oh, of course" and we quickly left. So my dreams of exploring the Ritz crushed, we went to Godiva and got very chocolatey drinks. We walked back to the metro via Place de la Concorde, for my last view of the Eiffel Tower, and headed back to Arcueil to get Katy's things and go to the train station.

So, I'm back at the main house stealing my last moments of internet from my host brother, until I finally get up the energy to finish packing and clean out the guest house. One more dinner with the host parents, and then it's off to the airport at about 6:30 tomorrow morning for the longest day of traveling ever.

Before I end this last post, I hope that you all know how much I have appreciated your love and support. And, simply put, I'm glad you all liked the blog, despite my recent inconsistency. I feel like we have all been through a lot this year, and Paris has given me more challenges, but moreover more comforts.

In the end, it is hard to leave and Paris means just as much or more to me than it did when I arrived. It has been quite a year, and I will come back. But, I feel that it is definitely time to go home, at least for now. If for nothing else, than to a land where there are health food stores and unlimited weekend calling.

So, I guess it's not adieu, but just au revoir, like my program director said.