Dear France,
I will miss the cobblestone streets of Lille's centre-ville, its beautiful Grand Place and the streets that wind around it. I will miss the bakeries, cafés and restaurants with some of the best food in the world. I will miss visiting the open air markets on Sundays and cooking together in the kitchen every night. I will miss after school trips to Auchan (even if I won't really miss Auchan itself) and stops at the Friterie in Villeneuve D'Ascq for fries, mayonnaise and fricandelle. I will miss saying "bonjour" or "bonsoir" to every passerby in Triolo, even if I never really met them or knew their name. I will even miss my tiny room, with its minuscule bathroom and linoleum floor.
I will miss Lille 3 and its labyrinth of hallways. I will miss eating lunch in Club Ulysse, Florés, and "le moins cher." I will miss hearing the cashier at Florés shout "Panini Chévre!" in that distinctive voice at least three times a day, and the man at Resto Etudiant knowing my order before I can even say it. I will miss Maxime saying "How are you! I love you!" in his endearing French accent. I will miss talking about classes and gossiping about professors with my friends over paninis each day.
There are admittedly some things I will not miss, like the difficulties of dealing with French administration and the constant uncertainty that comes with speaking a foreign language every day. But, then again, I may even miss those things, too.
There is nothing I will miss more, however, than the people I've met.
I will miss Alexandre, with his hilarious snapchats and interested questions about my day. He was one of the first friends I made, and one of the best.
I will miss Claire and Fleur, the two French students brave enough to be partners with Ginny and I on the first day of our communications class. They always put up with our bad French, constant confusion, and worrying when we worked on the final presentation together.
I will miss Marie and Nicolas, the fearless leaders of Club Ulysse.
I will miss Nicolas' excitement for English expressions (you can't hang!) and his willingness to teach us just as many in French (Il pleut comme vache qui pisse!). I will miss his warm smile every time I walked into Ulysse and his exaggerated fibs that I could never identify. I will miss Marie's constant sweetness and her welcoming demeanor. I will miss her kind questions and her thoughtfulness. And I will always envy her charisma and sense of style.
I will miss Elodie, my amazing Tandem partner. I will miss her patience with me, her wonderful stories and her sense of humor. I will miss just talking with her, in French or in English, and learning about her life and teaching her about mine.
I will miss Laetitia, and her wonderful sass. I will miss talking about boys with her and having her correct my French mistakes. I will miss sitting with her at lunch in Club Ulysse and going to movies in the centre-ville.
I will miss Valérie, the best Erasmus marraine I could have asked for. I will miss cooking American specialties in her kitchen and discussing current events. I will miss her kindness and her caring smile.
I will miss Julie, one of the sweetest people I've ever met. I will miss dinner parties in her tiny apartment, and her constant call for one more glass of wine. I will miss her fondness for tupperware and her stories about studying abroad in Bulgaria.
I will miss Daniel, our trusty Dutch friend. I will miss his accent and his stories about the "horrible lady" and the students at the Lycée Professionnel. I will miss cooking dinner with him and his instinct to give us food whenever he could (usually Dutch). I will miss his Friesian pride and his awkward hugs.
I will miss these people, and so many more. Thank you so much for helping to make my study abroad experience such an amazing one. I promise I'll be back soon.
Bisous,
Meg
...