Parting is such a sweet sorrow

And there it is. Our New York City and Columbia adventure is officially over. Right now I'm sitting in my bed at home, drinking herbal tea and shivering from the cold. This is such a different environment from New York that it's crazy. I am glad to be home, but I miss the city vibe so much. I was so used to it and now it's just gone! I know I'll be back one day, hopefully soon.

I woke up early to get a start on packing, and I was happy to have finished before having to go to the Gazebo at 10. I took this time to say goodbye to my roommate Nathalie and my suitemate Nas. I had so much fun with these girls and was glad to have met them. Brittany stopped by before she left for the weekend - saying goodbye to "Texas" as we called her was so sad. I will really miss Brittany.

California and Texas (= 

The cohort met at the Gazebo, and we all said goodbye to Rowland before we took pictures and headed out to the street to catch a taxi cab. Saying goodbye to Rowland was hard as well. I feel like I made two really good friends here (Rowland and Brittany), and not eating pretty much every meal with them, hanging out after class, and going our separate ways...it hurts.

We took a van to Hotel Beacon, where we stored our luggage in Ms. L's room. Then we walked to Central Park, enjoying the sights. We ate brunch at the Boathouse, which has a great view of The Lake.

My French toast 

The gorgeous view 

After brunch, we walked back to the hotel so we could get our luggage and Ms. L could check out. On the van to the airport, it finally hit me - our adventure was over. We were leaving New York City. It was really hard to take in but I refused to cry. We got to the airport, checked in our luggage, went through security, and before we knew it we were on the plane and flying back to California.

Seeing my dad at the airport was great. All the families came together by the baggage claim, sporting "Welcome Home" posters and Lenny's mom even bought us leis! It was fabulous.

Group photo of all the families, us, and Ms. L! 

Saying goodbye to the cohort...I can't believe it. I have literally spent every day for a MONTH with these people! Separating was very hard. Tomi started crying and that really almost got me going. I love my Columbia cohort and Ms. L. I really do. In this one month we truly became a big family and I'm so grateful for that experience.


Seeing my mom and sister again after a month was so nice; they both really kept me going with phone calls and emails throughout the duration of the trip. I presented gifts to everyone when I got home and we were all pleased.


And so that's it. My 2 year ILC experience is officially over. Check!