Foreign Feelings

After a mellow last couple of days enjoying a free long weekend in Paris (no "class" since thur afternoon), today was quite the long and eventful day.  But it's nice to be in my room again and just have a moment to myself with the beautiful view of the Eiffel Tower right outside my window.  The sky is a perfect shade of dark blue and orange right now at 10:45 pm.

It's been exactly two weeks now and, it's been quite a long two weeks.  With the days being so long here, each day is so packed and full of adventure.  I've already made some great friends here as well as memories.  But it occurred to me that I have almost another month before I return home.  Two more weeks here in Paris and then another 12 days hopping around Italy., and for most people, there's nothing to dream of complaining about.  But if I could be quite honest, another I'm having a hard time putting into perspective one more month.  The time ahead feels daunting and for once in my nomadic life, I may be feeling a tad homesick.

I was reflecting in the metro ride back from another eventful and quite-normal-in-Paris-2.5-hour dinner with these foreign feelings and I realized that the reason for this homesickness was actually quite simple.  I guess you could say I've never been homesick because I've never really valued the life and the company I've had back at home (this is not a knock on my friends or my family) but somehow, somewhere in these past two months, I've really gotten to build some great relationships, further some old ones, and really come to enjoy the community that God has blessed me with back home.  And being away from this community and these relationships that I've finally learned to appreciate well, it's made me homesick.

It's just a bit strange to type these words because for so long I've seen myself as a seasoned traveler and someone who's able to callous my heart from too deep of relationships so I can scoff at the "weak" notion of home-sickness.  But I think more than a weakness or seeing home-sickness as something sad, I've been learning that it's a privilege and blessing because it's an indicator of a loving community and meaningful relationships back home.

So even though the time ahead of me looks like an uphill battle, I want to tackle it with open arms so that when I do finally return home, I can say that I've done my best here and I can share my best with the people I love back home.

And so, as the clock ticks 11:16pm, even though my body is tired, I think I'm gonna go sip some tea at a cafe with some friends, people-watch, and most of all, do as the Parisians do.