America!

Before I talk about home, I have to share with you all my nightmare of an experience at the airport. Actually, it wasn't that bad, but it's rather unfortunate. When I left Lure, I was quite sure that my two huge suitcases were both overweight, so my whole way to the airport, I assumed I'd have to pay the overweight fee twice. I was sad about it, but I just couldn't fit anything else in the heavier of the two suitcases. (I was trying to keep one under and let the other go over as much as necessary.)

I woke up at 3:15 last Thursday, got ready to go, did some last-minute cleaning and shoving things into my bags, stripped my bed of all its sheets, made sure everything was in place, and headed out. Just getting my bags out of my building was hard enough. I could really only do one thing at a time, which is exactly the reason I wouldn't be taking the RER to the airport once in Paris. Anyway, before I was even off my street, I was sweating like crazy. It was 5:00 am, and the sun was barely shining. No one was really out, which I was glad about, because I took up the whole street pulling my suitcases to the train station; there was no way I was about to drag those things on the stony sidewalks. Honestly though, I don't remember the last time I was so sweaty. Great. I had over 24 hours of travel ahead of me, and I was already done for. But whatever. When I was just about the the train station, this man saw me and helped me finish getting my bags there. He asked, "Whoa, are you leaving for a month or what?!" "No," I replied. "Actually I'm leaving for life." He laughed at that, but I assured him I was serious. I wish I could have been more friendly to him, but with only about three hours of sleep behind me and feeling like I already needed another shower, all I could do was thank him for his help and move on.

One at a time, I brought my suitcases in the elevators over to the platform I needed. I had to leave one sitting there while I'd go fetch the other. But it wasn't a big deal. I was the only one crazy enough to take a 5:41 am train. No, actually there were other people on the trian. And thankfully a nice woman helped me lift my impossible-to-lift bags onto the train.

Once in Paris, I figured the hardest part was to come. On my way to Lure, the bus ride from the airport to the train station was the worst. Well, not this time! There was barely anyone else on the bus, so I was able to lie them down and actually sit for the hour bus ride.

I arrived at the airport with PLENTY of time to spare. In fact, I was there before anyone else on my flight and was ready to check in, but of course, I had to wait until a certain time to do so. So by the time I got in line, there were already a bunch of people ahead of me. But no big deal, I didn't mind waiting. When I got up to the counter and lifted my bags up there, I was ready for the woman to tell me I had to pay the 65 euro fee twice. To my surprise, she told me I should just move two kilos from one bag to the other. Okay! Great! She was saving me money, and I love saving money! So while everyone else was in line behind me and watching, I switched some stuff and hoped it was at least two kilos that I moved. Well, it was. But unfortunately it was from the wrong bag to the wrong bag. She told me I then had to move seven from one to the other, and I asked for clarification because, at least I thought, it contradicted what she had just told me. She refused to sit and figure it out. All she did was say, "I don't know, it's just what the scale says." I didn't want to argue, and I was sick and tired of lifting these bags and dealing with all my stuff overflowing from them. So I gave up and said I'd just pay twice. I wanted to get going. She took my bags and handed me a slip of paper saying I had to go downstairs to pay the 130 euro fee. Then I'd have to come BACK to get my boarding pass. Great. So by the time I did that, I was at the back of the line. A very long line. And as I was in line, I kept thinking about how dumb that woman was for telling me such stupid numbers regarding my suitcases' weight. Then it dawned on me that I was the one who'd made the dumb mistake. I was so mad at myself. In the amount of time I waited in line, I could have shuffled the stuff in my bags and made one go underweight. But since she'd already pushed them through and I'd already paid the fee, it was too late. Oh well. Next time I'll win at this game.

It feels great to be home. I miss the anitcipation of going to France and the anticipation of everything I did while I was there and the anticipation of coming home, though. I've seen lots of my family and friends already. I finally got to meet Oliver, Katie's (my best friend) nephew who was born while I was gone. I went to dinner with a bunch of friends, and to my surprise, Erin, who lives in Iowa, was there! I don't know when the last time we hung out was, but it was a looong time ago! And today some of my nieces and one nephew were over swimming, just like summer is supposed to be like. Ah, it's good to be surrounded by familiar people and things!

I'm already being reminded though why I want to move out. (I do, but I don't. I have mixed feelings.) I have so much stuff here, I just feel so claustrophobic all the time. I thought, before I went to France, that I had no room for anything more. But Somehow I managed to find room for the stuff I bought in France, but now I still have random piles of junk around that I don't know what to do with. I need more space!!! That's what I love about being away. I only bring with what I need for that year, but nothing else. So stuff doesn't pile up. Oh well. That's life I guess.

It's a weird feeling knowing that nothing European is coming up. No new places to see or new people to meet for a while. It's going to hit me soon I think that I'll never be back in Lure again. And even if I am (which I doubt), it'll never be under the same circumstances. But surprisingly, I'm okay with it. It was just a lot easier to leave this time than it was to leave when I studied abroad. Hmm. Maybe it's because I know I need to get back to work and start making money again. I've been out of service since April! Depending on my job situation here, I may or may not go back to France in 2012 to do this whole thing again. We'll see, but stay tuned! I'm actively looking for French teaching jobs, but in the meantime, I'm planning to stay at Target and substitute teach.

All in all, I don't feel like I've been gone at all. I didn't cry once on my way home. Not when I left Lure, not when I saw Minneapolis, never. And I thought I would for sure. Everything here feels so normal. I was expecting to come home and be so surprised to see things again. I expected to be overly excited about my bed and my car and my couch. But nope! It just felt like I'd been gone for the night and came back. And really... I left in the summer, and it's summer again, so it kind of does feel like I was never gone.

Oh, one thing that is different... the road construction on 101 and on 81 is done! It's kind of weird, especially in Rogers. I drove by those roads and intersections every day to and from work, and I figured I'd just see them again when I got home. Well, I'll never see them again! Kind of like at the school I worked at. There's so much construction going on there now that it'll never again be the way I remember it. :(

I will admit, the other night I went to McDonald's. I wanted fries, really. I hadn't had them in so long, and I just wanted some. So I went, got home, and found that my fries weren't in my bag. That was a true sign that I was back in America. One thing I really appreciated about France is that they never messed up prices at stores or gave bad service like the McDo people do all the time here. Ugh.

I don't think I'll be updating this blog anymore, but who knows? If I do go back to France, I probably will, unless I start a new one. Thanks for reading. À la prochaine!