As the semester is ending and the seasons are changing, I constantly feel like my emotions are changing as drastically as the weather. In one sense, I am in the most historically and culturally rich center of the world, and on the other, I am as far from my family and everything I love most. I know that I am not the only one that has been feeling this way within my group, so either the snow brings about a blanket of homesicknessness or it is just that final stretch to push through.

Finding enjoyment in the small things

Probably the most difficult part about this last 11 day break we just had was that it was over Thanksgiving. My family isn’t even a big celebrant of this national holiday, but I found myself missing turkey (which I don’t even like), stuffing, and my grandma’s pumpkin pie. I kept trying to shake off this whole idea of homesickness being the world traveler that I know am – I need to learn to control these emotions. However, there is no easy button on this one. So rather than dwell on about all of the delicious delicacies (repetition purposeful) and wish for home, I have to just accept the fact that home will be waiting for me after my European adventures. After all, I have some time to go.

If I was starting a countdown, I would have three weeks and one day left on this continent. I cannot imagine missing out on any upcoming opportunity because of a sour attitude, so this was the last of it. The last surge of homesickness is leaving with this blog post. Instead I will plan for three more countries: Austria, Portugal, and Spain. While everyone else in my group leaves for the good old USA on December 14th, I will be staying a week longer with my boyfriend to go gallivanting across the west coast, and I couldn’t be more excited.

In that one extra week, we are traveling to Faro, Lisbon, Seville, Madrid, Segovia, and Barcelona… so there is a lot of planning to be done! Energy devoted to homesickness before is now being transformed to energy of enjoyment. There would have been too many experiences I would have missed out on if I did this before, and it makes no sense to start now. So Vive l’Europe! I took French in high school, so it will have to do.