L'heure de partir

It was now time to say goodbye. I got in as many Fashion Club gym classes as I could so I didn't waste the credits Heather and I bought to share. I said goodbye to as many French friends and English assistants as I could see in my last few days. On my last day I had a wonderful quiche lunch at Corinne's with a few fellow English teachers, swam in the beautiful weather with her three kids (Maxime, Alice, et Chloe), finished packing my suitcases which had become dusty since I had been there so long, and had a burrito dinner with Mary and David, which didn't make it any easier to say goodbye to France. The weather was summery, everyone was eating outside at the cafes and restaurants, and the fountains were going, and it made me sad to leave when it was so nice out but also made me realize how long I'd been there since the weather was that way when I arrived. My first blog entry was right about it being hard to say goodbye to the new friends I met, the scariness of the fact that I may not see them in the future, but I'm grateful that I was able to meet such a diverse group of friends who probably would never be the same in different circumstances. I know if I ever go back to St. Etienne it won't have the same feeling for me, because it will be as a visitor, but I am glad that I was able to call it home, and thankful for the people that made it home for me.