Goodbyes

Bonjour tout le monde - pour la dernière fois!

The whole family is safely returned home to the States since mid-afternoon on July 4th, and by now we've almost completely re-adjusted to the jet lag. I think I might even finally have all my pictures organized and posted on facebook! Now I just need to figure out which ones I want to print out and work on a photo album for "show and tell" with everyone who hasn't been able to go through my millions of photos online.

Anyways, I just wanted to take this last opportunity to thank everyone who helped to make my semester incredible. Thanks yous go out first to all of the family and friends here in the U.S. who supported me, encouraged me, prayed for me, and sent me mail. It was such a wonderful feeling to know I was missed and that people here were thinking of me. A huge THANK YOU to all of my friends in Paris - especially my Hillsong family! I would never have been able to do it without you - thank you for the amazing community and fellowship, and all of the encouragement you offered me as well. I will miss you all very dearly. While there are no current plans for a return trip, know that you will be the first people I tell. :)

I feel so blessed and so lucky to have been able to have the incredible experience that I did. I couldn't have asked for a better host family, better professors, or better friends. I learned so much - both in school and out of it. My French has improved exponentially in both speaking and writing, and I know I've learned so much about myself through these four months away from everything familiar to me. I've grown so much, and I know it's through your help as well as God's protection and provision.

Finally, a note on French goodbyes. One of my favorite things about the French is that they almost never actually say goodbye. There are a million different ways to say "see you soon" (à bientôt, à tout à l'heure), "see you later" (à plus tard), "see you ____" - tonight, Sunday, next week (à ce soir, à dimanche, à la semaine prochaine), and so many others. Even when you're not sure when exactly you're going to see the other person, you can say "until next time" (à la prochaine). If you're not sure you're ever going to see the person again, you still don't say goodbye. The French say "au revoir" - which literally means "until I see you again." Even if you're not sure when that next time will be, or even if there will be one, you always leave the possibility open. In the French language, there's really only one way to say goodbye, and it's used only when people are certain they will never see one another again; and that's "adieu." Literally translated, adieu comes from the words à Dieu - which means "to God." So when you're sure you'll never see each other again, you leave them while committing them to God's keeping...what an amazing and beautiful sentiment.

So finally I have to say goodbye to France. But rather than say adieu, or even au revoir, I'll say à bientot. I don't know when, but I know I want to keep the option open to return. Thank you for the incredible, life-changing experience. I'm so blessed, and so grateful.