OMFG

There's a new Quentin Tarantino movie. Brad Pitt is in it. It's about Nazi-occupied France. Holy. Eff.

Happiness is:

Camping with good friends and a firemaster:



And a friend getting a new kitten who is so adorable it's worth taking claritin every four hours for the next 15 years of your life:



:)

Anyone who reads this probably noticed I dropped off

mostly cause it's been a little strange to be back and I don't know where to start.

So I leave you with this hilarious baby...

Welcome to America.

Your tax return from 2007 is being audited and your cell phone service has been cut and you have a disgusting bill to worry about. You have to start paying your car and auto insurance retroactively as soon as possible. You have no health insurance. Being in your parents house makes you want to snack on processed junk food every thirty minutes. Your bedroom is le basard. You need work.

Though I feel so overwhelmed sometimes I can't think, it is way more satisfying than I imagined to see my friends, yellow school buses, grape jelly, Tapan and my family. I never noticed before how many American flags hang outside of houses or how many people wear fanny packs (thank you very much for that image, Chicago airport). It is good to be home, and I'm sure this debt/credit problem will be handled quickly.

Here's hoping.

Whelmed

Next week I'll be home.

Last week I felt like I wasn't ready. I don't think I realized how quickly the leaving part would sneak up on me.

This weekend I went to Jersey with Emilien and 40 people he works with. It was fun most of the time, but some of the time I felt like this huge awkward outsider imposter person. I don't feel much like going into it here on the interwebs, but it made me realize that, yeah, I'm a bit tired of being the foreigner. I'm excited to come home to my country, speak in my language with people who will understand my slang, cultural jokes, nostalgic references. And I'll get theirs.

This week I'm having goodbye dinners with my colleagues and my friends. It's such a strange, indescribable feeling that I have. All this month I've watched the lasts roll in. Last time I'll see Fabien, last concert in France, last book rental from the medi@theque, last Friday class, last vacances, last grocery shopping. Soon I'll have my last paycheck, last dinner with my friends, last hair wash under my two-minute long shower, last weekend in Paris, last look at French stars. What will the final footfall in France, just before I board the plane, feel like? What will happen in my stomach when I hear my final announcement in French, and this time understand every word?

And what will my life be like in a month? Will I still be able to watch French movies with no subtitles? Understand song lyrics? How long does it take to lose a language? Will I see my colleagues again someday? What if one day I call them on the phone and am not able to understand their French?

You can see I'm a ball of nerves and conflicting emotions. My solution? Take advantage of the last days of my contract. And hope that these lasts are only lasts for this period in my life. Someday I'll come back here and make all new firsts and lasts. There's no doubt in my mind.