Hey Friends and Family, just checking in. Today is my last day here in Athens and it’s one of those stereotypical bitter-sweet moments. I will miss the excitement of being abroad and having a new city to call home. Athens is a beautiful place full of some of the most amazing people I could have ever hoped to meet. There is no doubt in my mind that my life has been forever changed this semester.
That’s not to mention all of the friends that I’ve made here from schools all across the country. Truthfully, the best thing about CYA had been that it mixes so many different groups of people together into a single program. There are some friends that I’ve made that I sincerely hope to keep in touch with while we’re in America, even though they live many states away. I wish I could go back in time and tell myself at the beginning of the semester to not wait until the end of the year to talk to some of these friends, I don’t think I got enough time to get to know them as well as I would have liked.
On the other hand, I really miss home and have been feeling this way for weeks now. It would be wrong to call this feeling homesickness I think because it’s not so much home that I miss but normality. Everything abroad is an adventure, even the simple stuff, and I do really miss not having to worry about remembering where I am or constantly thinking about my interactions with people. Plus, home is where my dog is, who I miss more than anything in the world.
Anyway, I leave Athens this afternoon to begin my journey home. The lovely Erin McFee and I are spending the night in Zurich, Switzerland for our layover so it won’t be until Sunday afternoon that I’m home, but it will be 100% worth it.
Love,
Jack S.