Warning: Complaint Post

A street in Colmar, France.

This last week has been really hard for me. Because of some problems with my host mom, my roommate and I are moving to different host families on Tuesday. Dealing with the situation and trying to figure out the best solution with our program coordinator while worrying about our host mom finding out has taken a toll on me. I'm glad to be moving, but the whole thing is stressful. We are getting nervous for how our host mom will react when she's told about us leaving. Our coordinator is confident that we'll be fine, we just hate awkward confrontations.

With that whole fiasco and the fact that classes are winding up towards exams, I'm wishing I could just be home. Missing Thanksgiving this year almost killed me. Thanksgiving is a big thing in my family; we all get together and share the time and delicious food as a celebration of just that: being together. Being gone has made me realize how much the holiday means to me and has also kicked off a pretty intense bout of seasonal depression. No need to worry about me though, I know how to deal with it. And working at the knit shop forces me to get out on the weekends instead of sitting on my butt watching movies.

Ducks in Colmar on a program excursion.

I have gotten to the point here in Strasbourg where I've started "living" here instead of simply being a visitor. My schedule has set in and the magic of the trip is lost. The hardest part of "living" here is the fact that I have a schedule and things that I have to do, but none of it is specifically what I want to do. At K, I take classes that interest me (biology, theatre, history...) but here, I have to take the classes that are planned into the program. I'm getting sick of EU politics, comparing my culture with France's, and reading random passages in French class that have nothing to do with anything at all. I want to dissect something! I want to spend way too many hours copying notes in Dow (science building). I want to memorize the Latin name of 50 different species and bore my friends with their genetic/evolutionary history. I want my major back!

At least I know it will end. I didn't have a lapse of sanity and transfer to a political science school where I will have to study this and only this for the rest of my life. I only have one more week of classes, and two weeks of exams followed by a week for writing a paper and three weeks of travel (two with my family!). Then I'm homeward bound to see the people I love and work off the extra lbs that Europe has added to my figure. I can see the light!

On a positive note, it snowed yesterday! Lots and lots of beautifully huge flakes, and they've forecast more this weekend! Snow makes the cold 100% worth it. Now, I'm off to brave the cold and the weekend crowds to hang out at the knit shop before working on a presentation for class next week. Wish me luck! À plus!