Full Circle

This is really weird. Just thinking about the fact that I'm going to be in the States tomorrow night. Today was a nice and mellow, yet also epic, last full day in Paris, before the shuttle comes to pick me up at noon tomorrow. It was oddly fitting, if you reread my first post from when I moved into Beatrice's. I remember desperately wanting to play with the kids, yet feeling really awkward speaking French to them. But this morning Beatrice left me with the kids again, and I played with them alone for about an hour or so. All day, while I was in and out of the house packing and buying gifts, the kids would run in and out of my room, using it as the most epic spot to hide in for hide and go seek. Right before my last dinner with the fam, Beatrice's son (whom I met earlier this semester, at the dinner party she held) and I chatted, and I also unusually ran into every one of her neighbors and relatives today. It's as if everything has come full circle. I'm serious when I say that today I ran into every single person that I've met over the course of the semester through Beatrice. Her house is like a revolving door, there are constantly people staying the night, or children staying the week. I'm going to miss this so much. I told Beatrice (along with her sister and the cleaning lady) that I'm planning on returning after graduation, and she made me promise that I'll call her when I do--I can even stay here again if I'd like. She has a heart of gold.

I also had my last meal at L'As--unfortunately it was pouring and my friend (the same guy who always serves me multiple times a week--we're BFFs now) didn't serve me my last pita of falafel, but we ate inside instead. It was also my last night at the Frat, and instead of leaving really early to catch the metro, I splurged on a taxi, which I was grateful for because it drove us by the Arc du Triomphe and the unlit Eiffel Tower--that's when I realized that it's going to be at least a year before I see this place again. But I'm telling myself that I'm for sure going to return--it's the only thing that's keeping me from ultimately freaking out.

I don't want to say goodbye yet, but I guess I should. It's only fitting, right? Thank you for reading so far, but it turns out that this blog was more for me than I could have imagined. I wonder what my blog for Florence would have been like. Certainly not like this one. There are too many lasts right now for me to handle. And a last blog post is definitely not something that I want to think about at the moment, but I guess this is it. My bags are packed and my room is bare. Tomorrow I'm perhaps leaving Beatrice's forever. But let's not talk about that. Or think about that. Lets think about the fact that this semester was one of the most amazing semesters of my life, and that as soon as I touch US soil I will be counting down until I can eat a real croissant and go to museums and speak French and drink café crèmes all day long. Maybe I'll never get to do that again, but shh, let's just pretend for now...