My mood when I woke up this morning was nothing short of miserable. As I said before, there's still so much I want to see and do in the city, so leaving now just seemed much too soon.
After about 5 minutes of pouting in bed, I finally got up and said my finals goodbyes to my suitemates. Out of all things about this trip, I think that I'll miss my new friends the most. I've made so many great memories with them, which made having to say goodbye even more painful. We promised each other that we'd stay in touch, and I'm sure that we will,
When I was finished with my goodbyes, I gathered my luggage and began heading downstairs. While heading down, I met up with a few other friends. Each time it was the same; hugs accompanied with hearty well wishes and sad farewells.
After dragging my luggage half way across campus, I finally made it to the designated meeting place, the gazebo. Since Morvarid had arrived before me, we decided to pass the time by reminiscing over the past few weeks, and retelling our favorite moments. When everyone had arrived, we took one final group picture on Columbia's campus before pilling into to taxis to the Beacon Hotel.
When we arrived at the hotel, we put away our luggage inside Mrs.L's hotel room and set of towards Central Park. Mrs. L had plans for us to eat brunch at Boathouse, a lakeside restaurant with a beautiful view of the park. I had ordered steak paillard and eggs with a potato and gruyere tart. The meal was absolutely delicious and out trip to the park was certainly a great way to end trip. We took a brief walk through the park and then we returned to the hotel, where our shuttle soon arrived to take us to the airport.
I spent the majority of the 5 hour plane ride either sleeping or watching television. After today's long day, I wasn't up to much else, and neither where the others--just 15 minutes into the flight and half of them were already asleep!
This plane ride marked another first for me; this was the first time I had ever had airplane food; whenever I go to an airport, my mother usually buys me food from one of the restaurants inside the food court. However, since we were pressed for time, we were forced to eat on the plane. All I have to say is, when comedians make jokes about how terrible airplane food is, they are not kidding. I ordered a "hearty meal", which was just a bunch of packaged snacks placed in a box. As weird as it may sound, I'm actually happy that I was able to eat airplane food; it was a new experience, and since my main goal for this trip was to try new things, I really appreciate it.
When we finally landed, the first thing I did was call my mom. It's funny really, I didn't realize how homesick I was until I finally got back home. My homesickness didn't last for long, though as I was quickly reunited with my mother, as well as everyone else's family members--Mrs. Eisen, Lenny's mother, even bought us lei necklaces! The reunion was really heartwarming, but it was soon cut short as everyone was anxious to get back home. But while I was saying my goodbyes, I ended up doing the one thing that I promised myself that I wouldn't do; I started crying, or sobbing rather. If couldn't tell, I really don't like saying goodbye to those I care about, and after spending a month with my cohort, I've come to care for them all dearly. By the time I had finally wiped away all the tears, I was already in the car and on my way home.
This past month has been really special to me, and I'll always remember it, both the good times and the bad. New York was great, but now I'm come to realize that home is just as great as well. Right now, I'm safe and snug right where I truly belong--my bed.
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