Well, it's hard to believe that I am here at the Copenhagen airport waiting to board my return flight to Seattle. These past 5 months have gone so fast that it really doesn't feel right to be leaving already. I do plan to write several more posts in the future on some topics I haven't covered yet when I return, on some of my observations about places I traveled, about urban planning, and about the experience on a personal level.
For now I will just say that it has been a truly incredible experience and I never could have hoped for everything to work out so well - I had amazing roommates (and a huge room!), an extremely fun project group that I really grew close to and shared so many laughs with, and many other classmates and friends along the way, as well as the chance to visit Iceland, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, Czech Rep, and Germany, to show Aalborg and Copenhagen to my family, and so much more. I have had so much amazing fortune in all of my life so far, and this experience has been one more piece of the puzzle that has helped to shaped me as a (hopefully continually) growing person.
I'm sorry I don't have a better version of this link, but it's a scene from Paris je t'aime that my mom sent me a while ago. I felt that I had one of these moments on my recent trip, sitting in a cozy cafe in Berlin, a huge city in a country I'd never been to, all by myself. Outside were snow-covered bicycles and the bustle of a big city. I truly felt the sentiment she describes here (though I hope I could do it with a better french accent...) of feeling very alone, but also more alive than ever; a feeling and confidence that I hope will remain with me for a long time.
I feel like now I have to deal with a lot of change yet again - I remember crying the entire flight from Seattle to Iceland in August, and the return journey won't be much easier. It is always hard to leave people and places that you love, especially when you know that though the people will always be in your life, it will never be the same as it was when you left. I'm always reminded of the day I left pomona and I saw that Jordan M-Z had written a quote from the grateful dead on the whiteboard of his room: "Such a long long time to be gone, and a short time to be there". Though it was short, I'm so so glad that I came.
At least I can be thankful that I have really great friends wherever I go to welcome me back when I come home, and new friends that will welcome me to their homes wherever I go next.
Thanks to all of you that have been following along on this adventure!
Leaving seattle in August.
