And the Stone Rolls Again

               Chapter 2 may have only lasted for eleven days, but there's no doubt in my mind that it was just as important as the other four months, Chapter 1. During this time, I met another family who I now consider as part of my own, which was the most fulfilling part of it all, but that's not even a portion of what else I experienced and learned. I see my very life changing before my eyes, and it's been through the hardest times of my voyage abroad that everything seems to be coming together. Of course, in January, that's a prime time to have that moment where everything clicks. It's a combination for me.

               My dad told me a few weeks before I left the US as I was listing off all I wanted to do and see in my lifetime, "A Rolling stone gathers no moss." However, through all these transitions, I feel I have gathered a lot of moss. I would not even call my host families and friends "moss"! As I told my special ones here in this region of France, "I will come back!"

               Wednesday , I went out with my AFS friends in Troyes, and we just had fun together. We shopped, went to a café and  it was great. We departed, expecting to see each other again

An evening in Troyes

    

 

A treat:)

               The call came Wednesday evening that I had a new family waiting to host me in the mountains of France. I've never felt the definition of bittersweet better than this moment now, and unfortunately, there is not even a translation in French. My new location sounds excellent. I have a new family, and I will discover a new way of living. The bad news...it's September all over again for the third time in two weeks. I will change schools, regions, and pretty much everything else I have come to know these past few months will change. Thankfully, I have knowledge of the French culture and language now! However, the hardest part is always the goodbyes. Unlike the first time I switched families, I will be far away from everyone I know in France.

               Goodbyes at school did not come easy, and I did not know how much my class appreciated me until I got a handwritten letter in English that really touched my heart. Just a few of the touching things they wrote were "You teach us so many things we ignore, your culture being one of them. You are a great person. Don't change who you are."

               My older temporary host brother came for my last evening here. He sang to me and played his guitar, we watched a movie, and we ate dinner together. It was truly a special time to have him take time out of his schedule unexpectedly to come say goodbye and say "Oh, we can watch a movie. Of course I have time."  When his mom got home, we had a photoshoot. One of those photos is now a background screen for my phone.

              Here I am on Friday morning just making the time go by and collecting my thoughts before I get on my first train and am sent into the unknown. I am ready. I am confident. I am excited. My favorite saying to all my special ones back here in this region is "Je reviendra". I will come back.