Today marks my last 30 days in Finland. Its so hard to believe my time here has gone by this fast. I remember every moment from the new friends I made, the days I felt the most homesick, and all the crazy weird new things I tried. It feels like just yesterday I was at the Portland airport saying goodbye. I have such mixed emotions about going home, I do and don’t at the same time.. Of course I can’t wait to come home because I miss my family/friends/city more than anything. Then I don’t want to because I have no idea the next time I’ll see any of my friends from Finland or IF I will ever get to see them again. Not to mention all the exchange students, I know I will never see all of them again because we all live so far away from each other. It feels like my heart is being broken into three pieces.
I will cherish all the great memories I made forever and for anyone who is even considering studying abroad, I really do recommend it. It has been the best year of my life. I learned and experienced things about other cultures that I didn’t even know existed. The best part about this exchange is that this Country I hardly knew anything about a year ago, now takes up this huge part in my heart.
I have been living in Europe for 300 days and although that doesn’t sound that long (or feel that long). It really is a long time. Do you know how much can happen in 300 days? First of all, lots of major holidays (Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New years, Easter, My Birthday, etc.), Also all the seasons (In Finland its a big deal, because one day you’ll have sun for 72 hours straight then you don’t even see the sun for about 5 months!!), In 300 days there are also a lot of huge school events (For example: Prom, tests, Graduation, School Trips), then there are friendships.. some made and some lost :(, speaking of friendships there are also many new relationships. Many new memories made from new friends and host families and believe it or not many tears shed from friends and family back home.
All in all I’ve had a great year full of memories, just mixed emotions about coming home.