Arrival

I stared out the small window and tried to see past the clouds that drifted much like my mind. Twelve hours before I got on this Boeing 747 I was frantically packing, and only six hours before that I was having a festive going-away party. The reality of my decisions had not quite sunken in by the time I landed. I had successfully graduated early after Korea, was about to attend a university I had never seen in a country I had never been to, and was about to begin yet another one year journey.

At the airport, I was greeted by my good friend Lollye (and Louna, her friend who accompanied her), we had been together in Korea, and now were united after several months. Since I had not eaten any real food for a substantial amount of time, we went to a restaurant before taking the train to her house about an hour outside of Paris. The food was warm and filling, and Lollye and Louna told me more about life in France and survival in Paris. With my mind numb from travel, I followed them from the delightfully friendly restaurant to the closest train station.

It was dark, but I looked out of the windows on the train. My forehead was pressed up against the cool glass and I watched streetlamps zing by. I wondered if it would be alright to fall asleep listening to the rhythmic flow of French banter.