Kinder inspires thought

 A box of Kinder chocolates, a keyboard and a lot on my mind is what I have at my disposal at the moment. Conditions couldn't be better for a blog post, although at the rate my thoughts are racing through my head, I could use another set of hands to type with… maybe a typist, that’s not a bad idea.

It’s Tuesday but I’m home from school today because my class is on a trip, so I don’t have class. I ate fish for lunch with my host parents and then did some errands in the village: a few groceries, and a stop at the post office.

In the beginning of the year I made trips to the post office to ask about the box of clothing I had sent a month before departing. In December my face became familiar at that desk as I sent gifts home to my family. Now the time has come to prepare a box to send home, with my things this time. The fact that I sent everything that I thought I would need over here, plus the amount of shopping I’ve done (and am continuing to do) make a posted box crucial to the trip home.

The trip that’s coming in six weeks, I should really stop talking and thinking about that. But something about it is perturbing me. “Trip home” it brings such a mixed bag of emotions. I know that every exchange student blog you read around this time of the year is attempting to describe how exactly it feels, but that’s not going to stop me from trying to too.

In six weeks this is all over. Except it’s not, because that would be impossible, a year like this one can’t simply end.

What ends in six weeks is waking up in France, but that’s not what this year is all about. Instead it’s about all those relationships I made, all those memories, that whole language and culture I learned! And those are things that will not be ended by any plane ride. I’ll have those people and those memories and this language, and all the things I’ve learned about the world and about myself, for as along as I live.

So yes, me packing up my belongings will be a sad moment, but zipping those suitcases doesn’t really end anything. And for that, I am happy, more than happy really. The idea, the decision, and the fight to spend a year abroad were the best I’ve ever had, and albeit what my plane ticket may say, it's eternal.