Time to start saying goodbye (or au revoir)

Wow, haven't these past 4 months flown by? I remember when I'd just moved into my apartment and panicking because the wi-fi wasn't working. But since then, the wi-fi has served me well - apart from a few glitches when Skyping - successfully accompanying me through 4 months of studying [and procrastinating - but we won't dwell on that one].

As well as few projects and presentations, I have completed two out of five "finals", one being for Speech where I delivered an informative speech about how amaaaazing Latvia is for a holiday destination, delving into its rich history, the language and the traditions. And yes, I mentioned being the only non-white person in my town of residence. I just had to. A few minutes before giving my speech, I did start to imagine how the class would react from me saying that. Would they look at me in complete horror? Would they see the humour in the idea? Are they actually going to be listening to me? 

Luckily, some people giggled. I did say it with some sentiment though: to not be afraid to explore, embrace cultures and share your own. I decided not to mention the one black man I saw though. Goodbye Speech, it's been a pleasure.

I took my second final exam for Business and Professional Writing yesterday. I spent all day before memorising three case studies. It's all well and good doing that, but I always find that two minutes before the exam, you get a sudden wave of stress. Hardcore stress. While the clock is counting down until you must enter the exam room, the following scenario vividly plays out in your head: you sit down in your allocated seat, desperately trying to hold on to each and every word memorised and then your trusted mind goes entirely blank. Luckily, this didn't happen and the exam went well. Goodbye "BPW", as it's most commonly known.

Among the great friends I have made in France are not only the other international students but also the Buddhists I met too. 

Our last Buddhist meeting/party together.

I may not have understood every French word they said in the Buddhist meetings... but they never failed to make me laugh.

Definitely one to remember.

I'm trying to keep this experience alive by soaking up as much sun as possible (I've heard so many horror stories about the weather in England) and eating as many French breakfasts as possible, consisting of a few croissants, coffee and pain au raisin. Yes, you read that right: coffee. I never drank coffee before coming to France. I'm undoubtedly an English tea girl. I never knew how one sip of sweet coffee would be so addicting. Last month, I went through a phase of drinking coffee every day. I was neglecting my tea bags. 

As the days went by, I became well aware of this developing coffee habit and knew I had to do something about it before it got serious. I started to slowly wean myself off the coffee and go cold turkey. It was hard, I'm not going to lie, but tea is my true hot drink. Now I'm just drinking coffee every now and then until I leave. 

I suppose one good thing has come out of it: I have plenty of tea bags left over for my last week in France! 

"The differences between people need not act as barriers that wound, harm and drive us apart. Rather, these very differences among cultures and civilisations should be valued as manifestations of the richness of our shared creativity" - Daisaku Ikeda