Finally Home

I'm home! And soooo happy to be here. My trip home was quite long but I didn't have any major issues. I got out of Avignon just fine, and Corine took me all the way to the platform. I was sad to say good-bye to her; she truly has been so nice and hospitable. But the train to Paris felt like it didn't take as much time as it did on the way down. I think it was because I wasn't as anxious, like I had been on the way down 6 weeks ago. I made it to Charles de Gaulle airport just fine, found my gate, had a sandwich, and got on the plane. Thankfully I had a really good seat-buddy, a 17 year old girl who was coming back from a backpacking trip in Spain with her aunt and grandpa. I had a really good time chatting with her. On the plane they played the movie 'Date Night' which was hilarious, so I watched that, read for awhile, and even did the unthinkable: I took a nap! I can never sleep on airplanes. I thought that because it was an afternoon flight I'd be even less likely to be able to sleep, because with the time change the sun never sets on the plane. But I nodded off for a bit, which was really nice.

We landed in Atlanta around 7pm Eastern, I got through customs pretty quickly (shocking), and got to my gate for my connection to Cincinnati. But then, when I got to my gate I was told that my flight was an hour late due to the fact that none of the flight attendants were there yet. So we didn't get off the ground until 11pm! So by the time I got to the Cincinnati airport I was starving, exhausted (it was 6am France time), but I could not have been more overjoyed to just be HOME!

So we got home, I gave Mom and Dad their presents (a Provencal tablecloth, lavender honey, truffle olive oil, herbes de Provence, some CDs), and I took a shower and plummeted gratefully into my bed. Today I think I'm recovering pretty well from jet lag, and getting re-acclimated to American culture. I did some unpacking this morning, but for lunch I made a desperate beeline for Skyline. Cheese coneys have never tasted so good! Now I am catching up on the whole season of So You Think You Can Dance. I really am just so glad to be home.

That's all, I guess. Thank you to all my friends and family for being so supportive and sending their love to me while I was abroad having this incredible experience. It really has been unforgettable. Thanks again to everyone!

Love you all so much!!!
Natalie