Sentimental Heart

- 29 November 2011 -

There's a lot to be said about studying abroad. There are adaptations to be made and ways to get prepared. A big fear for most is being homesick, not having a support system behind them and being lonely. That is something that has not been the biggest issue here. Living in a chateau with thirty five other people, you're never alone. And they're all going through the exact same thing that you are. And you even have the "Chateau Mom & Dad" Jim and Jan.

So when there is a particularly hard week, maybe your friends will get together one night and cook a group meal. It is close to the end of our time here and last week we held a "Southern Night" wherein we each pitched in to make a dish. We had fried chicken, cornbread, beans, potato salad, blackberry cobbler, mac & cheese, and a hole table full of other things. It was a good night for those of us who had started to feel homesick. But to be honest, it just made me a bit more sentimental than anything.

1. I don't really get southern food back home, that's not a regular thing for me. And to see a group of college students come together to make a truly impeccable meal, that has some sort of sentimental value to them is just plain awesome. and
2. Being that I'm from GSU and that we only make up 6 out 15 people in this group, that means that when I go back to Atlanta, there are 9 people currently in my life that I won't see everyday, or even every week. Nor are we even that close to just meet up on the weekends. I'm torn, Strasbourg is starting to feel old because i've gotten comfortable and now i'm ready for a change. (Which I admit is a problem of mine). I'm excited to go home and have Atlanta feel new again (and meet my baby nephew), but i'm a little bit heartbroken to leave the friends that I've made here (here being the Chateau). A few weeks ago I was ready to leave Strasbourg, but i'm at that point where I could maybe stay, so long as I could keep the people I have with me. I'm not typically a sentimental person, but nights like these make you feel like there is a family with you everywhere.

-Jessica Fitzgerald