I'm not a fan of this in-between

So it is Monday, December 13th and I am writing this update from Strasbourg, France! I guess Strasbourg is known as the Christmas capital and I will be going around town tonight and tomorrow to see it for myself! My mom is here! She arrived Saturday morning and we spent Saturday and Sunday showing her the city of Brussels, she also got to meet Kelsey and see the city that Kelsey lived in all semester, that was a lot of fun!

So far Strasbourg seems like a really nice city. We got here and found out that our hotel was not as close to the downtown as the website had implied and after some contemplating and luck we found a hotel downtown and were able to cancel our previous booking without any penalty! Since we got this new room we have just been warming up and trying to breathe, my stupid cold is making that a challenge!

Right now I am wanting to be home. I am not sure if it is because I am sick and just want a normal bed, be that the one back in Kraainem or back in the US, I just want to wallow haha. But I also think it is because the people that were the norm here are all dispersing, most are already home, and those that aren't home are spread out throughout Europe. It is reassuring to see other people with confused facebook statuses, at least I know that others are feeling just as confused about what to feel as I am. I am not looking forward to leaving but I am definitely much more prepared for it than I was a week ago. I am missing everyone so much already that I know it is going to be tough getting back to the "home" life, however I am beyond excited to see everyone from home. I can't wait to enjoy just sitting around with my friends again and laughing about the most random things and then making impromtu Starbucks trips!

So with 4 days left in Europe, and leaving in 5 days I would say this is a good place for me to be. I am happy to be experiencing Europe again with my mom, but I am also ready for the next step, although if I had a rewind button I might rewind and slow down the last couple weeks just in order to enjoy everything here for a little bit longer haha.

Why did it go so fast?

This is not going to be my normal cheery post, but I hope it makes sense once it is done. I am very excited for my mom to get here and seeing how excited she is makes me all the more excited. I am also extremely excited to be going home for Christmas and my birthday, this is my favorite time of year! However, for both of these things to happen this experience has to end and that thought is just not okay. The studying abroad process is one that is like a roller coaster, you start off nervous and just trying to prepare yourself for getting to your location, you get there and realize, "Wow, I am going to be here for a long time," and then all of a sudden you are comfortable in your location, have friends, and are just happy. Yet then change happens again, you start to realize how quickly time is going by and try to make the most of every event. I am able to recognize that this process has to be like this because if it wasn't short I don't think we would appreciate it as much, people that study abroad for a year or even longer probably have an even more complicated process.

I have loved almost every minute of my time spent in Belgium, I did not love my first couple hours with the children when they were attacking me and not happy that I am a girl, but since then it has been great. I am currently a never ending string of thoughts, one second I am sad, the next excited and thinking about home, and who knows where my mind will be the next second. I am sad this is ending, but it must and I know that everyone in this situation and others like it will always have their memories and the friends that were made during these times.

A little update:

This past week was the last week of classes so it was full of end of semester projects and final reviews. It was also a week full of snow in Belgium, something that I have heard never happens this early in Brussels. It was so pretty at first, but that was from inside and everything changed when you had to walk in it. I am not sure exactly why but salt for the snow and ice is not a popular thing here and walking around like normal became an adventure with every step. Although this morning when I woke up I was happy to see that rain all night had caused most of the snow to melt :-)

Last night Eddie and I made American Mexican food for the host family. We had soft tacos and chips and guacamole, and other than the kids not liking the guacamole, everything else was a hit! After dinner the family gave us each a book with pictures of Brussels or of Belgium, it was a really nice evening.

Now I need to get to writing my internship report and studying for finals. It should be a good week, only 3 exams and then enjoying Brussels and the host family.

I will write back soon!