Adventure Looms

I spent the past weekend with two of my closest friends, one of whom drove more than 4 hours north to Chicago from St. Louis. These are the kind of friends that will always be there *sigh.* We ate Japanese food, ice cream, and gummi bears. We trolled the aisles of Super Target giggling, some of us snorting. We sprayed perfume in each other's faces...by accident. We went out and danced. We stayed up until 4 in the morning chatting, munching on Triscuits and cream cheese. We took pictures...hundreds of them. We only stopped laughing to eat.

The high from this kind of weekend left me wanting to stick around longer. Make the summer drag out a bit more. Stretch the days, even though they are getting consistently shorter each day. Instead of traversing the continent of Europe, I increasingly find myself wanting to stop wandering and be around those with whom I'm closest.

Going to France is hugely important to me. I've studied French, it's culture, and history for 9 years and as much as I've wanted to give up and slam my phonebook size dictionary shut, it's always haunted me. And I've always stuck with it. I love the sound of French, the people and culture intrigue me. I intend to get the most out of my time there. And I'm secretly hoping the Gallic air will clear my head and I'll be able to figure out what I'm going to do with myself next.

Although I'm excited to get to France, it's always sad to say goodbye to family and friends. While some wonder why I continue to bounce from one place to the next, others think it's great and want to visit. No matter what anyone thinks, everyone's still supported me. Sometimes, I think of my time teaching abroad as a second college experience. This means I'm coming up on senior year and ready to graduate soon.