First bout of homesickness

Today we slept in a little again. We know we have a busy week ahead of ourselves, so figured we better get some sleep now. We already know we have a presentation, individual paper, and 2 group papers. And we have 2 classes we haven't started yet, so this next week is going to be total crunch time.

We had a big day the previous day, so decided to grab some lunch, sit by the canal, and read for a bit. I started reading a book called, "Waiting for White Horses". It is set in Minnesota (the Leech Lake area to be exact), and is written by a Minnesotan who typically writes for Outdoors magazines. Anyways, it's sort of the story of the bumps in the road of this man's life. I've been out of the country just shy of 2 weeks, and have only talked to my mom for a brief couple of minutes. So I haven't had a whole lot of contact with people back home. I guess it started to catch up with me. Reading this book and hearing him describe the scenery around his lake cabin just made me think of mom, dad, and my siblings that are all back at the cabin. Don't get me wrong - I feel incredibly lucky to get to spend 3 weeks in Europe, but I guess the feelings of homesickness snuck up on me. Also, in the book, the author talks quite a bit about hunting and fishing, so it made me think of my brothers and dad... and where I came from, and I guess that just snowballed into making me miss home.

It's probably inevitable that I would feel like this at some point. I think the site of the lake and the similar smells really made me think more of home. I haven't been anywhere that has reminded me of home until we got to Annecy. But really, I am pretty lucky to even miss home. There are countless people out there that don't have that closeness with my family that I do; so I was actually a little thankful that I felt homesick, if that makes any sense at all? And nothing clears up homesickness than being busy... which I will be this week. Plus I got a chance to talk to my mom which really helped!

The posts from here on out will be pretty sporadic. Don't think anyone would get much entertainment out of a photo of me pounding away at the keyboard! I am really looking forward to having all the paper writing behind me! We'll be done around noon on Friday, and then I head back to Paris on Saturday until my flight out on Monday morning. But if I encounter anything interesting (like dancing clowns or more weddings), I'll be sure to post!

Au revoir until next time!