Pausing, at San Bartomeo

As I empty the last bit of laundry from my suitcase, retrieve the last sugar packet from that cafe in France or Spain…

(yes,

sugar packets are great souvenirs.  Next week when I open the packet from

Cafe du Coin, in Pau, France, into my cup of espresso, I am Instantly back there!

No, this is Not your grandmother’s sugar-packet-hoarding a la Miami Beach)

Anyway, as I was saying, as I unpack the last six weeks and simultaneously ‘re-enter’ what we left behind, I find myself very reflective and moving at

a slower pace.  Six weeks is a long enough time to really get in sync with your host culture, which is exactly what we did.

This wasn’t really a vacation so much as an adventure, a journey, an experience…

and in the process we learned a lot about ourselves, each other, France, Spain, the U.S., the meaning of language and the value of time.  We already

knew a thing or two about all of those things, but it doesn’t hurt to be reminded.

As I used to tell returning study abroad students who were having some difficulties after returning from a semester, often times a difficult ‘re-entry’ is

the sign of a wonderful and/or intense experience…

I believe that is what we are experiencing now.

Stay tuned for the results of the 6-week, carry-on challenge!