The Journey Comes to an End

It's about 11:00 p.m., and I'm in the lobby of the Radisson Blu Hotel near the Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport. I can't believe this expeience is actually over. About a month ago, I was definitely ready to go home, and while I'm still very excited to go spend Christmas with my family and see my friends again, it felt very odd to be on the train from Nantes today knowing that I probably wouldn't be going back.

This past week absolutely flew by. I had 6 exams, one each on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, plus two on Thursday. Some of them were extremely theoretical, which I think defeats the purpose of an MBA program in a way, but that's how they do things here guess. I think I did fine on them anyway.

Friday after our marketing exam, the classmates had arranged for a farewell lunch for Pan and I, since we were both just here for the semester. 19 out of 20 classmates showed up, and it was the first time since the first week of class that all of us were able to just enjoy spending time with each other without the stresses of class getting in the way. We spent about two hours just chatting and reminiscing about the past three and a half months. We complained about some of the classes and assignments, but mostly we shared our fondest memories. The classmates got me a very cute snowman to take home and remind me of the time I spent here, and even more special was a card that they all signed. They had some very kind words, and I realized on Friday just how much I am going to miss all of them. As with any group of 20 people that spends more than 40 hours a week together, we had our frustrating moments, but it was such a wonderful group of people who all had so many unique experiences to share.

Later on Friday night, I went out to dinner with Cherif, Xavier-Freddy, Pan, Ying, Carlo, Jerome and Jerome's friend. Had what I thought would be my last gallette and crepe in Nantes, and then we went out to a bar and had a few more drinks. We ended up staying out until 3:30 a.m., but it was absolutely worth it to spend just a few extra hours with my favorite people from the program!

On Saturday, I did the last bits of Christmas shopping that I needed to get done, and then packed for most of the evening. Saturday night, I went to Gihad's for some drinks and dessert, and then we headed out to a karaoke bar. I sang "I Love Rock'n'Roll" and a lot of the crowd was singing along, so that was a great time. We left around 2:30, and I went home and went to sleep.

Got up this morning and wrote my section of a group paper that is due in January. I vowed to myself that once I got on the plane, I would not think about Audencia academics every again, and now I don't have to!! I had been trying to contact Leslie throughout the week as the hot water and heat in the apartment was nowhere to be found (except I did have heat in my bedroom). She told me Thursday she would come over Friday to fix it, but of course sehe never did. I was sure I would end up leaving today without even seeing her, but she called at 5:15 and asked when i was leaving. I told her 5:45, and she actually showed up. I made a quick comment about how cold my shower was, and she didn't seem to think anything of it. What a girl. Xavier-Freddy came to pick me up at 5:45, and waited with me at the train station until my train to Paris came in.

Easy trip into Paris, and now I just have to relax tonight before my flight at 12:15 tomorrow. My uncle will pick me up in Chicago, and then it's a week with the family.

I'm sure I will do some more reflecting on my exprience during the flight tomorrow, so I'll have one final post once I get back to the States.