Almost there

A hiking weekend in the French Vosges and a broken tooth later, it’s starting to dawn on me : we’re almost there. At the end. This MBA-year is nearly over. There’s a small bit of P4 left, and then it’s P5 – the final countdown. Our Barbizon place is already rented to someone of the July ’09- class.

A big part of me is very relieved and happy because of this – there’s no denying it. Go back home, continue with "normal" life, with my life. I’ve been here for three months now, and lately I’ve thought more than once that I’ve made the wrong decision by taking a leave of absence and coming here. What have I gained from it ? Not what I thought I would….But I found an answer to the question anyway. Only one, but a very worthy one : new friends.

And that’s why another part of me is not so happy that this year is nearing its end. I can’t imagine saying goodbye to people, not knowing when I’ll see them again, or where. ‘Cause these people are now very much part of my life. I feel like I’ve known them for so much longer than only three months. They know me better than some of my friends back home. They are there for me, listening, understanding, accepting me the way I am. We’ve shared silly girl talk, doubts, hopes, dreams, and well, yes…quite a few bottles of wine :-) . And in little less than three months this bubble will burst, and we will be scattered all over the globe. Most of us don’t even know yet where they’ll end up.

So I’ll be doing my very best to enjoy the remaining time here. It hasn’t turned out the way I wanted, it hasn’t been what I expected, and a few dreams have been shattered along the way. But I also never thought I would meet such wonderful people. I never thought I would get to the point in my life where I had to actually plan an evening at home (instead of forcing myself to get out of my apartment once a week).