Okay so I'm going to talk about a bunch of stuff here.
Let's start off with my birthday today :) Yay 17!!! It's kinda weird not being at home. You celebrate with your new friends and family here but as much as you love them its still different. Suddenly you remember Matt dancing like a manic whilst everyone sang happy birthday at your sweet 16th and them forcing you to wear that stupid crown that you actually kinda liked. Also I really just want a normal store bought cake for the supermarket. Everything is so fancy here! You really miss your best friends and when you get her package in the mail you cry and laugh and you wake up the next morning to her having counted down the time until your birthday even though it was only 6 o'clock for her. Its a beautiful thing being in another country but sometimes you wish you could teleport for a little and celebrate with everyone.
Next lets talk about language. So you've been here for half of 10 months already and your sitting in the movie theatre with your family (french cinemas are awesome by the way, the tilt the opposite way so you're almost lying back watching) and there's that tiny part of your brain that is screaming "translate, translate" but then there's that bigger part thats saying, "you don't need to translate, you understand it." and that is the most beautiful thing ever. You catch yourself thinking while you're talking "Wow, I'm speaking a different language." It's totally cool and amazing. Sure there's stuff you still don't understand and sometimes you just end up feeling like a wrinkled bill trying to enter a vending machine, but for the most part you can function again and its beautiful.
WAR. Okay you've been away for a while now and your hoarded and carefully rationed supplies are starting to run out. Some stuff you can find easy replacements for lotions, shampoo, etc but for other stuff, well lets just say my father begrudgingly sent over more deodorant and hand sanitizer. Peanut butter and chocolate from home become worth their weight in gold and you have a list of places you want to eat at when you go home.
Half Way. So you've made it this far. HOLY CRAP 5 MONTHS ALREADY WHERE DID THE TIME GO. Cue freakout/existential crisis. You find yourself thinking "I'm almost done, yay", and "I'm almost done, shit" In the same breath and then resolve to ignore how much time has passed and just live until you get closer to the end.
Happy Valentines Day everyone, Spread the love <3
