This is the end, this is the beginning, this is just a bump in the road

I have not set my foot outside of this country for ten months; it is the longest I have ever been away from home, it is the longest I have ever not seen my family, and it is the longest I have continuously lived in another country than Denmark.

Ten months like that leave a mark. It must do. I would even say that it should leave a mark. Would it not be sad if you returned from this chunk of your life—this challenge you had put yourself into of living outside your comfort zone (thanks for the expression A.J.) for a year—and didn’t feel anything? If you just shrug your shoulder and said “yeah, that was kinda fun” and went on with your life as if nothing happened. In that case you did something wrong this year. Any given year in your life should matter and evoke some feelings and a year abroad in particular.

It is such a unique opportunity to be given to be able to study for one year at another university, in another country, even on another continent. This has marked me in so many ways.

It’s not that I am another person. I am still me. People back home will probably not detect much difference. I might look a bit more tanned (the sun hasn’t been too kind on Denmark in my absence, sources tell me), might have some colorful pictures to show and stories to tell, and I might accidentally mix in some English phrases in my Danish and sound a bit like Sidney Lee. But overall, after a week or two, I’m quite sure it will seem like I’ve never been away. At least to my surroundings.

It’s okay; I’ve tried it before. I tried it four years ago (very exactly four years ago actually) when I returned from living almost five months in Nicaragua in Central America. Those months had the greatest impact on me in terms of personal development, broadening of perspectives, language skills and not least friends. Some of the people I hold dearest in my life I met in that volunteer program.

Still it did not flip my life upside down but it did mark me. It didn’t make me a different person but it shaped the person I am. A lot. I expect to “fit in” when I get back home, because I am still me. I took this ‘me’ along with me to North Carolina and it got shaped by the experiences I’ve had, the wonderful people I’ve met and the things I’ve learned.

I am at the end of a journey, at the end of “the American Chapter” of my life (at least the first of them, who knows..). Being at this thing people call “the end” is a peculiar place to be. It raises so many feelings of such mixed kinds.

I’m actually getting really excited about going home—and even more so the closer it gets. I miss my crazy little niece and nephew. I miss hugging my parents. I miss hanging out with my brother. I miss the drinking of alcohol not being a big deal but something you just do; preferably on the grass in the sun. I miss having a bike and using it every day. I miss home cooked food and dinners sat down around a table. I miss going to parties that do not end at 2 A.M. I miss Copenhagen. I miss having my friends in Denmark back in my everyday life.

There is so much I am going to miss. Most of all, I will miss the people that have been my life these past 10 months. It is incredible (and reassuring) to experience how it is possible in such a relatively short span of time to meet so many amazing people. I have made some friends that mean the world to me and that I will hold on to and never forget. I miss you already. I have so many reasons for going back to America and to travel the world—and I can’t wait see some of these smiling faces in Copenhagen.

I will miss the American friendly and extrovert attitude; I will miss answering the question “how are you?” at least 15 times a day. I will miss the beautiful UNC campus. I will miss being foreign and people finding that interesting. I will miss the cheap, good (but not so healthy) fast food places. I will miss the college specials that make drinking inexpensive. I will miss traveling around. I will miss being a Tar Heel. I will miss the queer parties. I will miss the North Carolina weather. I will miss the American enthusiasm and everything being awesome. I will miss meeting up for lunch out in front of Lenoir. I will miss discussing cultural differences. I will miss the red cups.

On Wednesday I will go back home.