Hey All,
I suppose that this will be my last post on this blog. I
still have to go through and edit photos for those who wish to see them, but
that will likely take a bit longer. The web page will stay up indefinitely in case anyone fancies reading any past posts.
It is hard to determine exactly when I felt that my time
left in France was becoming limited. The semester went so fast that it seemed
like no time at all before my professors were taking about final exams and
projects. Looking at my “to do” list drawn up at the beginning of the semester
which predicted I would have a dozen countries under my belt and would have
visited every province in France, I realized that I would not be able to do
everything there was to do in Europe, or even in the country. Even though my
rather ambitious plans weren’t completed in full I had amazing adventures
through Europe and within France. Let’s not forget that I had a full course
load of engineering classes too!
I think the thing that I can appreciate the most is the experience
of adapting to life in a big city. When my fellow students and I were in Paris
we were able to get around without ever looking at a map, go into cool looking
bars and cafes without fear of not being able to communicate, and cross a busy
street or jump onto a metro as the doors are closing without fearing death,
just like locals do. The time that I have had to familiarize myself with the
diversity of the city is one of the things that I am most grateful. Now leaving
the country, I find that I feel as though I did not just visit Paris, but lived
there.
The last few weeks were busier than I had expected. I first
of all had to finish up my research project for a class, “Electromagnetic Interference
Mitigation in Mixed-Signal Circuit Designs”. I also put in a great amount of
study for my exams in all of my classes so my last two weeks in France were
almost all spent in Cergy. I'm glad to say that it all payed off since I ended up earning a 4.0 GPA for the semester.
It was only two days after my last exam that I was scheduled
to leave. It felt very surreal to pack up my apartment in anticipation to go. I met with all of my professors and the directors of the FAME program
and we talked about future improvements. I will also get the chance to welcome
two ENSEA professors to UB in the fall to talk about the program to prospective students. The Chair of
the Electrical Engineering Department has asked me to help her with some
recruiting work next semester as well.
My last real day in Cergy was a Thursday, just one day after
my last final. In an all-day frenzy I pulled my suitcases of the shelf where
they had been gathering dust since January and put away all my things. To get
back my security deposit I would have to clean the apartment well and have it
checked over by staff. I had apparently done the best job of anyone who had moved
out recently since the cleaning lady was pleasantly surprised and remarked I
must have been raised by good parents (though she may have just
been happy to not have to clean the apartment herself). I handed in my keys to
the secretary at the office who told me to say hi to Obama for her.
Since my flight was very early I stayed in a hostel closer
to the airport for my last night. Though I got some looks for carrying three
huge bags through the city, it was a great move since I would be much closer to
the airport and it had made checking out easier. I took one final walk around
what we call the “tourist loop” covering Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, and
arrived at the Eiffel Tower as the sun was setting. Staying until it began to
get cold, I followed the lower walkway along the Seine back towards the hostel.
It was a beautiful summer night: the streetlights of bridges were reflecting on
the river, boats were cruising slowly by, and underage Parisian
teenagers were gathering in small groups to drink wine under the cover of
darkness. I grabbed one last late night crêpe and walked along the familiar
main roads back to the hostel. Less than eight hours later I was leaving the
city behind as I climbed up into the clouds to cross the Atlantic and head back
to America!
-Adam
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