Leavin' On A Jet-Plane

Well, hard to believe but it's almost over. The Mitchell's left for vacation yesterday and I'm here in their empty apartment. It's sad thinking that in less than twenty four hours I'll be leaving some close friends here that I won't see again for at least another year. On the other hand, it's exciting to think that I'll be seeing all my friends back in Salt Lake in just a few days. I talked to Jon on the phone a few hours ago and that helped to cheer me up a bit about leaving. I wrote a few weeks ago that I was torn between wanting to live here in France and wanting to stay in the states. I've given this some thought over the past few weeks and I've come to the conclusion that that if it were just a matter of me and the city, I don't think that I'd be able to handle the move, mentally, physically, or spiritually. It's exhausting and depressing being away from the familiar. That's where I was at at the begining of this trip; everything was new and unfamiliar and exciting and tiring, and the prospect of staying here long term seeming very daunting. But I found that after a few weeks, little by little, that which was once unfamiliar started to become familiar. I've come to the conclusion that a city is more than a geographical location comprised of terrain and buildings. A city is a place where people live, where they laugh and cry and struggle to live together in community. It's the people you know and who know you who make a place livable, which is why the prospect of leaving is bittersweet. On one hand I've made friends here who I sorely want to see again, but don't know for sure if I ever will. On the other hand I'm part of a community back in Salt Lake that I miss and would have a hard time saying goodbye to if I decided to come back to France.

More later. Right now I'm off to enjoy my last few hours with my friends in Marseille.