This time, it's for real. End of my semester, end of school, end of ISP...given that I had an 11 hour bus ride to Dubrovnik from Zagreb, I had quite a bit of time to think. These are my thoughts...
With all the complaining I've done about my program and SIT, I'd like to say that I've come out of the semester realizing that in hindsight, I am a smarter person, I've learned so much, I'm ready to go save the public health world, etc etc. Sadly, this is certainly not the case...at least that's not how I feel. However, thinking back on all the experiences I've had over the past 4 months, the ones that stick out the most are completely unrelated to school. After many a discussion with someone quite close to me, I've come to terms that yes, I feel like I've been ripped off, academics-wise, and yes, I could have probably learned more in my classes at school, but is that really the point of going abroad? Of course I would have learned more at GW, that's why I go there. People always talk about how much they've changed whilst abroad and how different things seem when they return. I can't say that I've outwardly changed (but then again, I'm not one to judge), but I would like to think that everything I've gotten to do while abroad (study in the UN library, go to 11 different countries, go swimming at the beach and skiing in the Alps in the same weekend) has had some impact on me, even if it's not noticeable.
Even dealing with a crazy host family has taught me a lot. For example, no matter how much you disagree with raging conservative ideals (yes, even in Switzerland), sometimes it's easiest to keep you mouth shut. Families have different customs...some that are easier to settle with than others. A comparison: host sister who was self-proclaimed "best kisser in town" at age 11 sleeping over at her boyfriend's house at age 14...versus...host sister who is living at home, age 30. The lifestyles between Croatia and Switzerland are so unbelievably different, but considering how terrified I was to come to another homestay in Croatia, I could NOT have been happier with my family. Dinner was never at a set time. Food was always on the table for me to heat up, no matter the time I came home. In Switzerland, the world was over if I was late (i.e. past 7), but here, I'm encouraged every day to stay out more, see the town (...), come home at 2 am if I so desire. Totally on my own schedule and I love it.
This brings me to the next topic, food (crucial-a topic of the majority of my conversations). If I had to pick one word to describe the food here, it would absolutely be oil. EVERYTHING is in oil-soups have a layer on top, vegetables are soaked in it, even pastries leave it on your hands. But host mama, the angel that she is, picked up on this (perhaps from the rate at which the Special K was disappearing from the cupboard and the corresponding rate the food was not disappearing from the dishes on the table) and, to compensate, SHOVES fruit at me. Every morning, 3 apples, 2 bananas. After dinner, "another jabuka?" For those of you who know me, live with me, or have ever been in a grocery store with me, I could not be happier.
While any hope of learning Croatian was lost on day 1, on a brighter note, I AM getting to use my new German skills with host mama. She speaks hardly any English, but she's decent in German, and I've pulled out the occasional "zug" for transportation questions or thrown out a "bitte" to ask how to say please in Croatian, and even used the numbers to tell her what time I had to leave. I KNEW it would come in handy somewhere...I just never figured out it would be in Croatia. This can be added to my list of reasons that justify wanting to learn German (other than the fact that the words Munchen Flughafen might comprise the greatest phrase ever).
During a final lunch with our group of 22, Earl made a last toast to each one of us. Some were bizarre and some heartfelt, and I couldn't help but put aside my sometimes...strong (there has to be a better word?)...feelings about Earl and think about his role during the whole semester. Despite all of the frustrations, to put it lightly, I can't think of a memorable day of class or lecture that didn't somehow directly involve Earl and end in a story to tell. Looking back on all the memories throughout the past months, the end of everything is really bitter-sweet. Everyone else is ready to pack up and get on the plane tomorrow, headed back to America. I'm here for 6 more weeks. On the one hand, I couldn't be more thrilled, on the other, home is sounding pretty excellent right about now. I keep telling myself it's just because everyone else is leaving, but I guess a few weeks' time will answer that question. So as I sit here thinking about my upcoming travels to the Croatian coast, Montenegro, Bosnia, Turkey, Ireland, and the UK, in many respects, my trip's only just begun. With most of my memories from the past months taken from personal rather than academic experience, I have to ask myself, would I really do it all again? In a heartbeat.
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