So, this is it: my last post for this blog. I think in my first entry after arriving in Prague, I said something to the effect of me not even being able to put into words how I felt about the kinds of experiences I had had just in that first week. I think now I can say with confidence that that's true of the entire semester, really. The places I've been, things I've done, and people I've met have all had such a profound effect on me that I can't even begin to describe it. So I'm not going to try to!
However, now I have to start thinking about what's ahead of me. To be perfectly honest, I'm not terribly thrilled about going back to GW next month. Hell, I really didn't want to come home at all. As happy as I am to see all my family and friends again, I really felt like one semester wasn't enough time in Europe. But one semester is all I can afford to take if I want to graduate in four years, so I guess I'm out of luck.
The other reason I guess I'm nervous about coming back to GW is that there's a certain amount of uncertainty involved in it. I'm finally officially switching schools and majors, something I've been moving toward doing for a few semesters but am only being decisive about now. I'm hoping that it ends up being the right decision. I don't know any of my roommates next semester; the only thing I know about them is that they all went abroad this semester as well, since we're in FOFAC. I'm optimistic that they'll be friendly, cool and easy to live with; I can't imagine anyone who goes abroad could be THAT antisocial. FOFAC as a whole should be interesting, though. I think constantly being around people who will actually put up with me talking about all my abroad experiences 24/7 (and will have had similar experiences to share) will help ease the transition back to regular college life. I'm also expecting to experience a good deal of culture shock. I'm not sure exactly what forms this will take, but I have a few ideas, which you can probably guess from reading my previous blog entries (e.g. lack of ubiquitous public transportation, higher prices, living in a city with less than 300 years of history). But with any luck, the adjustment won't be a super-difficult one to make.
My semester in Prague was without a doubt the best 3.5 months of my entire life. I had looked forward to going abroad for years, and now that it's over, I'm not going to lie: I'm really upset about it. Just ask anyone who's interacted with me at all in the 26 hours since I got off the plane at Newark; I've been utterly inconsolably sad and grumpy. Europe just has this magic to it that America quite honestly lacks. When I saw the giant "WELCOME TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA" sign at the airport, I couldn't help but sigh. I shouldn't forget that for millions of people, the message on that sign and others like it has signified freedom, justice, prosperity and a chance to begin a new life fully of possibility. But for me, it signified a return to the mundane, the same old. Not that I take my comfortable life in America for granted (the Czech Republic, while not a poor country, definitely drove home the fact that not everyone is as privileged as most Americans are), but getting just a taste of this whole other world made me want so much more of it.
Oh, well. I'll live.