Sunday, Jun. 20, 2004

day 26

its so hard to belive that this was my last weekend here, before everyone leaves and my family comes. it kind of feels like i just got here still. and at the same time, i am ready to come home. the first thing i think i will do is take a long, hot shower . . .

today i have been all alone -- everyone has left for nice or lyon, but i wanted to stay here this last weekend and go to all the markets. when i'm alone i get more homesick. sitting at a cafe enjoying a crêpe nutella for lunch is definitely more fun with someone else. yet it also feels good to be able to navigate a foreign city by yourself, to pass by all the streets and shops and fountains and squares with such a sense of familiarity and know where you are and know where you're going . . . its kind of like you've lived there forever. but then you know you haven't because there is still so much i haven't explored and perhaps never will. i kind of wish i could be staying here longer and learn french better, but then i'm kind of glad i'm not. i hope that there are more exotic places to be seen and more profound experiences to be had. as different as france is from home, it is also very similar.

some day, i'll make sure i come back. maybe more than once. who knows where my life will have taken me when i see this place again.