Qu'est-ce que je dois penser? Qu'est-ce que je dois dire?
Vai pitäiskö sanoa enää mitään?
What did I learn? What did I teach? What did I accomplish?
Viime vuoden elokuussa istuin olohuoneessa yksin, yöllä. Laukut eteisessä odottamassa.
Last august I spent the night of the 27th-28th in the living room alone. Didn't know what to think. Didn't know where I was going.
The same feeling is here. I'm leaving tomorrow.
Where?
I'm going home, they say.
But I feel like I'm leaving home behind.
Même si je reviens, ca sera jamais le même...
I will never again be a Rotary exchange student.
The adventure of D1790 2012/2013 is over. For most of us.
"Il y a deux escargots sur le mur. Il y a l'autre qui tombe...
Et l'autre qui s'appelle Robert."
I will do a video/diaporama summary of my year later. I will not bother talking about all the things I've done during this year. I don't feel like it now. Just thought I'd write down some thoughts.. But this is not working so well. I feel empty and overwhelmed at the same time. And I'm too lazy to translate everything to three languages so everyone shall be happy with english for now.
But really -that was a year?
I remember my arrival like yesterday. But on the other hand it feels like it's been an eternity. I was another person then, it was another time. In another life.
At this time of my life people are asking "so how was it?" and "are you happy or sad to go home?"
That feels like... They don't understand at all. How was it? How was the last year of my life? How was it -the most difficult, stressful, amazing and strange year of my life. It's not any tourist trip. It's not just "stepping out of your comfort zone" as some describe it. It's throwing away the whole idea of having a comfort zone, forgetting everything you know about life, being a child all over again, building a new life.
Am I happy to go? Yes. Am I sad to go? Yes.
Am I going home? I don't know. But I'm going, and I'll see where it takes me from there.
Would I do it again? Yes.
How difficult may it be, it's worth it. That's all I can say.
I learned more that anyone could imagine.
As you've all heard, as they say all over again:
"exchange is not a year in your life, it's a life in a year".
I've found that to be the best sentence to describe this experience. You may or may not understand why.
At this point, I can just say: thank you.
Merci.
Kiitos.
À bientôt.
