à bientôt

Dear Friends,

I've decided to take a break from packing up my room to share some of my reflections with you as I prepare to leave Paris tomorrow. This quarter has gone by so much faster than I could have imagined that it is quite literally incomprehensible that I have now finished my six months abroad, and that in two weeks I will be starting Spring quarter at Stanford.

My broader reflections will be posted soon enough, but I will say that I feel so incredible grateful to have been able to study here for the past three months and to have had all the experiences that I've been able to share with you, plus some extras on the side :) There are so many things that I will miss about Paris - the fact that I can't help smiling every time I see the Eiffel Tower, the food, speaking French, the art, the music, and the pace of life here. There are so many more things that I need some time to process, but for now I will give you a brief run-down of my day thus far in order to give you a hint of what I'm leaving behind:

Paris today was brilliantly sunny and around 75 degrees (farenheit), so when I woke up this morning, it was to some beautiful Parisian sunlight. After finishing my paper about Marc Chagall, I started packing and then headed out for the day. On my way to the Center, I stopped for a special breakfast - my favorite viennoisserie - pain au chocolat et amandes, which is essentially a chocolate croissant and an almond croissant mixed together. My metros were all on time and fully functioning today (the first time that's happened in about a week) and I got off a few stops early to take a walk to school. I printed out my papers, filled out my final evaluations, said au revoir to my professors and to those students who I won't see again before I leave. One of my favorite walks in Paris is from the Center to Odéon because I get to pass the Luxembourg Gardens, St. Sulpice Church, and many cute (although totally out of my price-range) stores. Today, for the first time that I've seen since I've arrived, the fountains at St. Sulpice were functioning and there were tons of people picnicking in the plaza. I made my way to my favorite fall-back cafe and had lunch with a glass of chilled rosé and people watched on the Blvd. St. Germain. After lunch, I took the bus to the American library to return my books and stopped in to read an actual, physical New York Times before heading home. Tonight will be my final dinner with my host family and a celebratory gathering with my friends.

I know that I will return to Paris sooner rather than later, but for now, I am glad that my final day here is one that encompassed so many things that I have loved about my stay here and that I have so much more to look forward to upon my return.

It just never gets old. View from the American Library.