The program has now officially ended, though my time in France is not quite over. It’s hard to believe how quickly the month has passed, yet how full of new experiences and connections it is. Though leaving the US was difficult, I was filled with excitement and anticipation and comforted by the thought that I would soon be returning to my family and friends. My eminent departure from Lyon lacks this excitement and comfort. I have missed home, but I’ve known it’s been there waiting for me. Leaving Lyon means leaving my new friends and family (presumably) for good. No other month in my life can ever match the month I’ve spent here. What I’ve missed about the US – messing around with my brother, swimming in the river near our house, drinking water with ice, the ease of communication – I will be happy to experience once I return. However, leaving France means leaving behind breakfasts of fresh baguettes, bustling street markets, conversations with my host father, aimless walks through cobbled streets and alleys, and a group of students that though they come from the US, have backgrounds and opinions entirely different from my own. Despite disliking change, I can adjust to new situations with relative ease. Growing up, my family moved fairly frequently. Last school year, me and my roommates lived in three different houses due to our first house burning down and black mold in our second. Adjusting to a new living situation is thus nothing new. So, though I’ve only spent a month here, Lyon feels like home. As a city, it will forever be special to me, and I know I will return to someday, but the Lyon I have grown to love is tied to the people I have met and grown close to here. Moving is hard, change is hard, but it becomes easier when surrounded by people you care about. I know I will not be able to maintain the same relationships I have established during my time here, but through social media I look forward to seeing the different paths my fellow students will take. As for my host family, I plan on writing letters to them in French – a correspondence I hope continues for a long time into the future, potentially even the rest of my life. My host mom playfully told me she would send my letters back with corrections so I could improve my French. I know they will host more American students, but I hope they will not forget about me. I definitely will never forget them.
Unlike many of the other students in my program, I have a full two months of summer left at home before returning to my regular college life. I am thankful for this time and that I will have the ability to slowly settle back in to my routine. I worry that I will lose the strides I’ve made in my language skills, but I plan on taking a French course when I return to university and I intend to minor in French. I had not taken any French classes since high school, but this trip made me realize how important learning about the language and culture is to me.