Home at Last

My final day in Mayenne was a true joy, aside from the slight malaise that ached at my heart as I said goodbye to my colleagues at the lycee and college. Saying goodbye is hard for anyone, but this time it especially was painful. I made Mayenne my home for almost 7.5 months, and it was incredibly difficult to leave it. It was slightly depressive to walk outside in the glimmering sunshine that showered over the small country town and to know that I wouldn't see it the next day. However, it was reassuring to think that I would return to this beautiful place once more in a couple years when I will come back for my graduate program in French studies at Brown.

For lunch on the eve of my departure, I went to a family's home from the Reformed church. They're an elderly bourgeois couple. And that truly manifested itself when I arrived at their home in Fontaine Daniel, which turns out to be literally a former abbey from the 11th-13th centuries. I was wowed with the elegance and majesty of the edifice. The monsieur told me that there used to be a church, which was burned in the incendie (or great fire) during the French Revolution. After a beautiful lunch with their eldest son, I took a tour of the gardens and the walkway where the nuns would walk to mass. I also toured the surrounding area and saw the cloth-making factory, hidden behind an exterior that blends in with the abbey that is right next to it. It seemed likely that the monsieur owned this factory.

After saying my goodbyes to this elderly couple, I went to the lycee and said my goodbyes to my colleagues from the English department. We took pictures and then I headed out to do my final preparations. Coming to terms with my departure became further difficult, but I prayed that God would give me the peace to leave this place with a sense of accomplishment and happiness.

The next day, I woke from my bed around 4:30am, pressed with the question of what I should declare to the Customs agents at the border control in Chicago. So, I ended up calling my father and asking him what to do. It turned out to be much simpler than I expected, which was a relief. I got everything out and into the family's car and left for Laval around 5:45am. Said goodbye and embraced my host father and left on the earliest TER for Le Mans. Once in Le Mans, I ran over to the middle platform to board my TGV for Charles De Gaulle (which happened to have a terminus in Lille). Around 9:30, the train arrived at Charles De Gaulle (Roissy) airport. I grabbed my luggage and headed into Terminal 2, where I proceeded to run into Sam B., one of my Covenant friends, which was exciting. Sam was in Paris for May Term, and we grabbed some coffee together. I then headed to check in at American Airlines and went through security.

I waited on my flight, which left on time, to my relief. It was a 9-hour flight, but I kept myself busy with reading and listening to music the whole time, so it didn't seem long at all. Once in Chicago, I had to walk what seemed like half a mile through the hall to reach the Immigration and Customs area. Got my passport examined and told the people there I had been in France for 7.5 months. They asked to see the contents of my suitcase, much to my chagrin. But nothing was questionable to my relief. I had to go through security yet another time in Chicago and then I went to my gate after grabbing some cash from the ATM and getting a snack before the final flight. I finally arrived in Atlanta at 8:20pm, which was close to 21 hours after I had first woke up in Mayenne. Exhaustion yet hyped with adrenaline. I was so happy to see my parents. It felt so great to be home at last.