So far, I haven’t really experienced reverse culture shock (besides the cold that was inevitable after switching from summer to winter).  Everything seems so familiar, my memory doesn’t seem to have faded much.  In some ways, it seems like nothing has changed.  My friends still have the same personalities.  My family still lives in the same home.  My room is still the middle-school yellow with dainty touches of purple.  And yet, I know there are subtle differences that I will notice as I’m home more.  It is a little strange to meet friends again that I haven’t seen in six months, knowing that I have missed their lives as much as they’ve missed mine.  But I know that in the end, we can catch up with each other’s lives.  Although it might take a couple more hours of talking to be on the same page, it’s amazing to know that I can come home from a study abroad and be met by open arms.  So many hugs, so many excited greetings, so many times of showing my pictures.  It’s so good to be back.

My last week in Buenos Aires helped me prepare for coming home.  As I said in my previous post, my boyfriend came to visit.  It was incredible to be able to show him where I had lived for the past four months, and then to do a little traveling with him.  I readily acknowledge that we are both incredibly blessed to have the resources to do this and to have the families that supported this (especially considering we both missed Thanksgiving).  I showed him all around the city and then we went to El Calafate, in the south of Patagonia.  I’m pretty sure there is no way I could describe this trip in a length appropriate for a blog, and the picture uploader doesn’t seem to be working, so I guess you’ll have to ask to see pictures.  

Well, I guess it’s time for me to say goodbye to this blog.  I’m happy I studied abroad, as I learned a lot about myself, but I would caution that you should have a purpose for studying abroad.  It’s not for everyone, as there are days of loneliness and questioning why you travelled so far.  But, if you have a reason you want to learn about another country, college is a great time to travel.  Thanks for reading my blog everyone.  Now that I’m home, I expect to see you (friends and family) in person.  And yes, I will gladly go through my slideshow of pictures again.