7 Days, 7 Sins

Today starts the countdown of 7 days until I go home—if all goes as planned, of course. Though I am unbelievably excited to go home to my family, friends, steak, and US soil, I don't know how ready I am to go back to the States. It's going to be strange and honestly a little scary.

I've grown comfortable everywhere I've lived, but towards the end of my stays, I feel jaded about the city and indifferent to it. Never say goodbye on bad terms.

I was born and raised in a metro New York suburb and I was ready to bolt to university as soon as I turned 18. I immediately fell in love with Washington DC and never wanted to leave. At the end of my second year, I was again anxious to get out of the city. As an aside, I lived on the second floor of a dorm on a busy street across a hospital and metro station. The noise drove me crazy. The night before I left Washington for the summer, my roommate and I were given a private tour to the top of a church bell tower where we could see a beautiful panoramic of the city. All feelings of anxiety and urban frustrations floated away. It was the perfect way to leave DC before going the summer and a semester abroad. In Mendoza, Argentina, I was (and still am) in love with the little city until the very end—when I became irritated at small things that didn't bother me before like curious stares and questions about being a foreigner. The night before I left, my friends and I went to the lounge of the highest building in the city, where the views were endless. I made peace with the city.

There's a pattern I just noticed while writing—I like saying goodbye from a higher altitude. Today, a friend took me to a scenic location outside the city where I've never been before. The view smacked me speechless.

Photos from Vertelyotka Square:

Roman (a long-term student from Nepal), yours truly, and my CSers Marina and Sergei.

Katya (a friend to all foreigners), me a bit taller, Marina, and Sergei.

Tonight made my goodbye more real.