This is the most difficult entry to post as the chapter of my France trip is over. My five fantastic weeks in France was certainly full of immense experiences. Living with four different host families made my experience even more extraordinary as I was able to break certain stereotypes such as that not all French people are snobby. Even though this was my second trip to France, I certainly continued to experience many more culture shocks and differences including one major shock that I had – there are commercials on TV for condoms! I call this trip a well beyond successful voyage – while it’s very rare for people to meet their penpals, especially the ones who live on the opposite end of the world, I had an unimaginable opportunity to meet them face to face and actually to get to know them even better than I did before. Seeing the Maublancs once again was such a heartwarming visit. Who would ever thought an American student would return to France just to see a family who he/she adores and to meet his/her penpals whom he/she have never met before?

As soon as the plane took off from Bayonne, I turned on my iPod and the first song I listened to was “I’ve Got To See You Again” by Norah Jones. Tears fell in my eyes once again as the music was playing. When I landed in Paris, I had to adjust to the Parisian life once again for a few hours. Their accents were remarkably different from the Bayonnians. While I was sitting in the gate area, a flight assistance came to me and asked me, “Are you okay?” I was obviously in a pain to leave my beloved country. An hour later, I boarded the plane once again to leave France officially. It was such a difficult long voyage. I embraced the dog that Anais gave me tightly for several hours.
My family was certainly very delighted to see me safe home. My grandfather even called on my mom’s cell phone and very much wanted to hear my voice so that he knew that I was home and safe. I am back in my own normal modern big city with massive cars that do not exist in France. As soon as I arrived home, I unwrapped the gateau Basque and my family took a wonderful taste.
Leaving home for college this fall will be just as difficult as saying good-bye to France. What will be even more difficult is that I will have to go from 90 minutes of French per day to zero. Even though I will continue to write letters to my friends and read french novels, it will not be the same as speaking French. Being able to speak fluently in another langauge is what makes us bilingual.