And then there were...

Maybe it's just that this has been the longest, most drawn-out good bye period ever fathomed in the history of the world, but I'm not sad right now. Of the seven people I felt closest with this semester (although all of us 30+ exchange students definitely formed a family here), two of them still remain here with me. Some of them have returned to Germany, some to Canada, but regardless of the space that will divide us in a matter of weeks I still haven't been able to muster up more than a few tears in the last week or so. I'm just not sad. I actually tried to force the tears at one point, thinking I was just repressing everything and just needed to let it out, but it turned out that there wasn't anything I was holding back! At first glance this doesn't seem like me: I've always been a huge proponent of the once a month healthy emotional breakdown, and I haven't had one yet in the last four months. 

But I've been thinking...I'm more happy than anything right now. I savor the way I've spent my time here; I cherish the friends I've made; I embrace the ways I've changed and the circumstances I've encountered that led to those changes; I'm happy with everything I've experienced in the last few months. So why cry in sadness? These friendships are just starting in the long run, right? These people, this place, they're all snapshots in my life's collage. Some of them will show up again, and some won't. It's okay. Really. I feel good about everything right now. 

In related news, I'm taking the next step to becoming a true Minnesotan tomorrow. That's right, Sandra schemed us into a FREE afternoon of snowmobiling tomorrow! Don't ask me how she did it...she could sell sand to a camel...but for a few hours tomorrow we'll be shooting around her friend's private property on her brother's snowmobiles. Sweet!  Wish me luck. :)