Hey there again everyone. I’d be willing to bet that you
thought you wouldn’t be hearing from me again on this blog site, since my
France journey has drawn to a close. However, I wanted to take an opportunity
to write at least one more blog post so that I may be able to reflect on my
experiences over the past month and a half. Much has happened in my life over
this time, and I’ve come to know that as an introvert, it takes time for me to
process everything that has happened and appreciate everything to its fullest.
So if you’re still with me, I wanted to thank you for traveling this journey
with me. It’s been a long road and I really appreciate your constant support
and encouragement. I am confident that even though my France adventure itself
has reached its conclusion, that the story that it is writing in my life is
only entering a new chapter. Yes, I look forward to sharing stories and telling
tales over the next several months will all of you who are willing to listen.
But even more than just the stories, the mark that this program…that this
summer abroad has had on my life will continue to influence and direct my
future as a medical doctor, as a citizen of the world, and as a child of God.
My last blog entry was written in the expectation that when
I left France, I would be returning Sunday evening. However, despite my eager
rush through baggage claim and American customs in the Montreal airport, I
missed my flight to Detroit by a mere half-hour. I was very grateful to have
made the acquaintance of two memorable people on my voyage home. Paul sat next
to me on the airplane from Nice to Paris. He was a very kind man, and I
certainly jumped at the opportunity to speak French to him for almost two
hours. Once we arrived in Paris, he helped me find my way to the terminal, with
which I was greatly appreciative, since if you weren’t previously aware, Paris
Charles DeGaulle is one of the largest airports in the world.
An old picture nonetheless, but boy will I miss this view
Quickly, I boarded the airplane, where I embarked on the
international leg of my trip. I watched two movies, one of which was Frozen…in
French, of course. For the last hour or
so, I spoke with Mona, a young girl in the seat behind me. She was from
Tunisia, but was coming to Ottawa for seven months to study abroad. Once again,
I jumped at the opportunity to speak French, and for the first time in my life,
I began to feel confident speaking the language with complete strangers. Like
Paul, I said goodbye to Mona in the Montreal airport, but I knew that somehow,
someway, I had made a friend. It was a strange feeling, but truly for the first
time, I felt as though my personality was starting to shine through in a
non-native language. I was able to express myself for who I was and have a
fluent conversation. That is a gift that no summer-abroad tuition bill or
countless hours in a French classroom can buy.
I spent that evening in the airport hotel. I wasn’t
complaining, because it turned out to be one of the nicest hotels that I had
ever stayed in…all expenses paid of course. I dealt out the remainder of my Canadian
currency at the hotel restaurant that evening, just before swimming in the
pool. I received one of the nicest compliments of my life when I stepped into
the hotel gift shop. I talked with the sweet older lady behind the counter, and
it likely took her a minute or so to realize that I was neither French nor
Canadian and in fact, French was not my native language. Regardless, she told
me that I spoke French than any American that she had ever met. I figured for a
woman with a number of years that had to be a pretty significant
accomplishment. With my head held a little bit higher than normal that night, I
went to bed at a mischievous 9:30pm. After all, I had to be up at 4:30 in the
morning to catch my next flight.
AirFrance serves Camembert cheese. France hadn't left me after all
The next morning went off without a hitch. Waking up early
wasn’t a big issue, since my body was still on French time for the most part. I
boarded the airplane destined for New York Laguardia, spent some time at the
airport café where I ordered a piping hot cup of coffee and talked to my new
friends Jason the lawyer and Jennifer the interior designer, and boarded my
ninth and final airplane of my voyage…and this one was destined for Grand
Rapids, Michigan.
I was going home.
The flight passed by quickly, and I spoke to a nice, midwestern
man who happened to be from Ludington. When we entered a conversation (back in
English, unfortunately) about where his daughter would go to college (between
University of Michigan, Michigan State, and Hope College), I knew at that
moment that my French adventure was truly over. However, I wasn’t reluctant to
run and give my family a big hug at the end of the gate, that hug in which I
had waited over thirty hours from the start of my voyage. We all went together
to Rainbow Grill, one of my favorite Dutch restaurants. Yep, I was certainly
back in America.
My dad snapped this picture just as I walked through
the terminal of Gerald R. Ford International Airport
The past couple weeks have gone by like a flash. We spent
the few days before the Fourth of July up at the family’s cottage, where we
enjoyed some time on the beach, fishing in Silver Lake, climbing the sand dunes
and walking up to the lighthouse at Ludington, eating ice cream at the Dippy
Whip, and roasting marshmallows and banana boats at the campfire. I am grateful
that their still remains over a month of summer left before I must report for
football camp August 11. Despite my online physics class picking back up again,
I still have some things to look forward to this summer, including a family
trip up to Mackinaw Island and the Straits State Park at the end of July and
chaperoning my sister’s high school Cedar Point trip in the beginning of
August. I would like to, if the opportunity arises, make a weekend trip back up
to SpringHill to say hi to all my friends working up there this summer and of
course, ride the zipline a few times as well. I know it’s very far in advance,
but I would love to spend next summer back up at SpringHill, working in the
infirmary as a lead or a medical person. In that way, I can receive hundreds of
patient care hours for medical school, while still having all the same
opportunities to hang out with and love on kids.
Summer 2013 up at SpringHill. I would love to go back next summer
Yes, this summer has truly been one to remember. As I sit in
the office of my dentist, waiting impatiently to have an old, broken tooth
fixed, my mind is elsewhere. I reflect back on all my experiences this summer.
I think back November of last year to when I first received confirmation from
Professor Winn that I had been accepted into this program, France for the
Pre-Med. I reminisice on the months of preparation before departing on the adventure of a lifetime. I vividly recollect my emotions as I waved goodbye to my family at the Detroit airport, and for the first time in my life, jumped onto an uncharted boat. Oh certainly, these sentiments will never escape me. I will hold onto them for the remainder of my life, and maybe just maybe, someday I'll be able to share them with another human who finds him or herself standing before the foothold of the opportunity of a lifetime. And the one piece of advice that I would give to him or her, would have to be this: "jump in head first, and don't look back." I will close by blog with this one quote that has meant a lot to me in
my journey past, present, and future.
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop to look around once in a while you could miss it."
-Quote from Ferris Bueller's Day Off
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