It's a Rainy Day in Besancon

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Just got off of the phone with Nicholas not too long ago. God it’s tough not being able to talk to him everyday. I guess it’s just strange going from seeing a person every day of your life to not being able to talk to him more than a couple times a week. I want to be able to call him on a whim, but our schedules and my pocketbook doesn’t allow for that kind of freedom. I suppose I shouldn’t let these things bother me because
A) I’m in France
B) I'm an independent woman!
C) I’m going to see him in less than three weeks
D) We’ll both be back in Lincoln before we know it.

But it’s just not him. I miss my family, friends and normal life too. I miss riding my bike to the coffee house. I miss watching Top Chef and ordering Jimmy Johns. I miss the ease of everything. But don't mistake this for me not having a fantastic time here. It’s just not as easy. Nothing is simple - everything is a process.

And sometimes it’s really difficult; especially when I wake up in the morning and I know that no one is around. I’ve made some really great friends here- the type of friends that I know I’ll keep in the future - but it’s not easy being away from the people that you’ve known for years and years. There is a growing sense of comfortability with them, but it’s just not the same. There isn’t an unspoken comfort, there are no inside jokes quite yet, no sitting around Anna’s kitchen table for hours at a time. But there's something about being thrust into a new culture that makes people bond. And it’s just really cool to know that without this experience I would have never met any of these people or considered them good friends.

And this was one of the main reasons I wanted to do this trip. When you go to school with your best friends since middle school, it’s easy to shut out everyone else and the opportunity to create new friendships is a little harder to come by. This trip isn’t only about learning the French language or finishing my major. If I had to choose the one thing that I will be the happiest to bring home, it would have to be the people I’ve met.

It’s only February and I have a lot of time left to miss the things that I took for granted in the states. But I’ve also got a lot of time to soak up this culture, get pissed at the French because they can be stupid, laugh at the strange cultural differences and get to know my friends better.

I think things are going to work out quite nicely…

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Comments

[Anna]

little lizzy
I liked this retrospective (if a bit melancholy) addition to the blog. I've been wondering how you've been REALLY feeling about the whole thing, and I think I now have a glimpse. Hopefully you feel better now that you've written it all out. My kitchen table says "hey, I miss you" and we're all anxiously awaiting your return. We're always asking "Hey, I wonder what Liz is doing right now"... And we smile and laugh and talk about how great it'll be to see you again. Enjoy the next couple of weeks....

[Sarah]

the process
...and the process continues, to different degrees, your whole life. You're never alone-- Sarah

[Te Te]

Glad you remembered to mention the guy who pays most of the bills!

[Todd]

Stupid French
Two Words MAGINOT LINE Do me a favor and walk up to some beret wearing, goatee sportin dude and ask him what their construction crews were thinking. Like seven Panzer divisions couldn't make it through Hall County Park.