Le Temps a Cessé Enfin

So now i find myself at a bit of a crossroads. I just took Allie to the Differdange train stop. I sort of just stood there with tears and my eyes for a while. I just don't know if i could have done this trip without her, we looked out for each other. She might be one of the most caring and fun individuals i have ever known, and its definitely a reassuring feeling to have shared such an experience with such a person.

On the eve of my departure, I am ready to leave this town and return to everything I left. The thing about living here Differdange is--that i feel as if i have seen most of what there is to see, experienced the way they live, the relationships they have, their culture...and it makes me feel more American than ever--which is not what i expected.
I have always admired the air of intellect and sophistication that comes with being "european." Europeans don't speak to strangers on trains, they sit for hours at dinner like they have all the time in the world, they don't like peanut butter or ice in drinks, they consume overprocessed carbohydrates like its their job, they take 2 hour siestas during the most productive hours of the day, they live in tiny houses with a tiny washing machine, they sell water at extortionist prices, they hang their underwear on a line in their backyard, they look at you like you are nuts for jogging on a saturday afternoon, they allow their dogs to poop on the sidewalks, they take their dogs into nice restaurants, they listen to all american music--yet they speak no english.
Ok, so i have raved about all of my minor inconveniences building up over the last six weeks, and don't even get me started on their version of socialism. But in all honesty, I believe we have a lot to learn from one another...Like the fact that wine can truly enhance a meal and that its intended purpose was not to be slapped kissed and chugged, that there should be a certain social aspect to business affairs, that 2:00 coffee can make a big difference, or maybe just that slowing down and enjoying life can make you more productive in the long run.
Is Europe the place for me? probably not. ok well, no it's not. Understanably I have a some tanning, hair cutting, manicuring, and 2- a-day work outs ahead of me before i can begin to believe i am still, at least in part, the same person. But that brings me to a thesis project that i would like to work on this summer. It is incredibly interesting the diverse impact that a european experience can have on different personality types. Are you the type to see things or are you the type to experience things? I hope for the most part that I engaged enough of my subconscious to take from this trip everything imaginable. "Like all great travellers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen."


Thank you Mom and Dad for the experience of a lifetime.

Currently Listening to: A Movie Script Ending-Death Cab

Too often travel, instead of broadening the mind, merely lengthens the conversation. ~Elizabeth Drew

xoxo jess