Believe it or not, the semester here in Toulouse is starting to come to an end. I currently take six courses, which translate into five credits: three courses at l’Institut des Etudes Politiques Toulouse (2.5 credits) and three courses at the Dickinson Center (another 2.5 credits). The Dickinson Center courses end next week, my IEP courses end in two weeks and the final exams are in the middle of May. So, my time here in Toulouse is limited.

However, I’m not too sad about this. I’ve enjoyed being here in France, living life in a different culture, with a different family, and at a different school, but there are just some things about home (and the U.S. in general) that I miss, and can’t wait to see again.

For example, it’s amazing how much you miss your favorite foods when you’re outside America. Good instant mac and cheese is tough to come by, and forget about finding Cheez-Its or peanut butter. I also miss buying large coffees. It sounds weird, but it’s also not easy to find a big, American-style coffee here in France. I’m talking about one of the large ones from Starbucks or Dunkin’ Donuts that you can get and walk around with. Here, if you just want a plain black coffee, you almost always have to settle for a small espresso the size of a thimble. It tastes delicious, but it’s gone in a sip and you have to stay at the café to drink it. For me, happiness is a large, black coffee to go. It will probably be the first thing I get in the airport in Boston when I fly back in June.

So you’re probably thinking, wow all this guy thinks about is missing food. Well that’s not true, because there are non-food related things I miss as well. For example, the time difference makes it hard to watch American sports games, and working out a time to Skype with your friends, family or girlfriend is not a piece of cake. When you go abroad, you also realize how inherently linked we humans are to people of our own societies and communities. Once you go abroad and are immersed in an entirely different culture, you see how much you miss just being physically around people of your own culture. This doesn’t mean that I feel alienated or especially foreign in Toulouse, but there is definitely an energy – an American energy – that I am used to and that is lacking in my everyday life. And I think the French would feel the same if they studied in Carlisle; it’s just a cultural thing.

There are many things I will miss about Toulouse. The antiquity that surrounds the city, and European cities in general, is truly amazing. When you walk around a city like this, you are constantly surrounded by tokens of history – churches from the 12th century, walls from the Roman Empire, the café where members of Young Bosnia planned the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand and the oldest operational canal in Europe. There is something special about the history. I’ll also miss the dynamism and the diversity of Toulouse. There are over 50,000 students in the city alone, from countries all over the world. The nightlife is limitless, as are the student activities. I’ll also miss the ability to travel around France and Europe, seeing sights I may never get an opportunity to see again. The entire experience is unbelievable, and luckily it is not quite over.