ça fait environ un peu plus que une semaine

since I've returned. (It's been about a little more than a week). I was supposed to leave the 20th and come back the same day. However, with all the dodgy weathe

r that Europe was experiencing combined how ill-prepared they are to deal with such circumstances (no snow plows for example), I didn't leave til 6 hours after my flight was originally planned. I had two connecting flights which I obviously missed. When I arrived in Newark that night, I was told I basically had to spend the night there but I had a direct flight in the morning to Grand Rapids. So I rechecked my checked luggage and basically jumped into this white van with tinted windows which dropped me off at the Hotel. True Story, plus ou moins (more or less). But before I get into more detail about leaving France, let me highlight all the important points since my last entry...

On the Tuesday before my last weekend in Angers, the 7^th of December, I had crêpes with Laura and some other friends, since she was leaving to go home that Friday. It was very enjoyable and I miss Laura so much already. We have skyped though since then, but only via IM. The next day I got a hair

cut which I very much enjoyed. It was not what I had wanted originally but I loved it and I continue to enjoy it haha. I had coffee later on with Melissa and Casey and we discussed many things, such as leaving Angers and Marcel the Shell. J The next day, Thursday, was the Soirée International. I believe I mentioned one at the end of September. I did not participate in this one due to mostly time constraints. But I enjoyed watching it very much and I had the urge to go to Japan next fall after watching the Japanese students present their beautiful country with a slideshow, music and dance. Afterwards, some of us went to Soft, including Matt Joss (yes, another Matt). Matt went to GV last year actually, so it was great to see a familiar face when first arrived in Angers. I had barely seen him though, so it was nice to hang out with him, if only once, before I left. Matt Cullen, Katie B., Dave Joyce, Jenna, Betsy, Julien Petit, Élise, Annie and some others. It was loads of fun. Definitely a week to remember.

And then, my last weekend in Angers was definitely what I had planned it to be: memorable.

The friday of that weekend, I hung out with Matt Cullen and some of my Erasmus friends, many of them I met that night; Kirstin, Sophie, Dave, Jill, Cathy, Laura, Julian and others. These folks are from Ireland, Scotland, England, Germany...it was lovely. We first hung out at Sophie's then headed to the bus that would take us to Dome, a discothèque in Angers. Or maybe it was on the outskirts of Angers, seeing how we had to take a bus to get there...hmmm...Either way, it was definitely worth the bus ride. Fridays were free for everyone in december so we just had to pay for the bus ride there and back, the coat check, and any drinks at the club. We had a great time

dancing and enjo

ying ourselves. I actually saw this one guy there who I had met near the beginning of my stay in Angers and only saw him once before. Ifelt things were coming in full circle. We took the last bus to Angers which was fairly late/pretty early and enjoyed a great sleep.

The next day, I had lunch at McDonalds with Marcela, Matt H., Tatis, and Katie I think. Very French of us lol. We then were walkin around and checked out the Marché de Noel (Christmas Market) in Angers. We met up

with Katia and Gaby and hung out with them for a bit and we got some café except for Katie and Tatis who wanted to check out the market some more.

We got some café that was comme-ci comme ça and after we went to the supermarché (supermarket) I decided to head back to chez moi (my place). In a little bit, I went to my friend Elise’s place and met some friends and

met some others. A little before midnight, we decided to go to the discothèque, DO-RE-MI. After we got there (by bus as well), we ran into Matt, Marce, Gaby and Katia as well. We had a great time. I think I might have enjoyed Dome better but

it was still fun none the less. I got home later that night (or the next day rather), than the night before-Marce and I watched the night turn into day together! We were so tired but stopped at the bakery on the way home. Like I said…a very much memorable last weekend in Angers.

After some papers and tests the next week, Katie and I had pizza at this pizza restaurant on Rue Bressigny, a street my friends and I often visited. It was very excellent and we talked about our friends, from back home and the ones here. We shared stories and it was an excellent bonding time. We stopped at Benji before heading home. We had to

get up early the next day because we were going to Lyon the next day with about 20 other students! Some of my Erasmus friends, like Dave, Meike, Charlotte, Kathy and Laura, as well as Matt C. and Jessica were going. Victoria also came. This weekend in Lyon was the Festival of Lights so it was an especially good time to go.

The train left at about 7 in the morning so needless to say I woke up pretty early. The group often did things together but we also had time to do things in smaller groups. I often hung out with Matt, Jess, Maelle, and Katie.

At about 8 we all split up again and we had some dinner. Where at? At a pizza place of course. Chez Maria or Mario (we couldn’t agree on what the restaurant was called). It seemed a bit dodgy at first but it was fine. We eventually met up with Guillaume, my Lyonnais friend I hadn’t seen in 2 ½ years! It was so great to see him. I met his girlfriend, Marion and we also met Matt’s friend, Mia and her friend Katie. Guillaume and Marion brought us to this park where they had parts of it on fire-part of the theme of this year’s Fête des Lumières (Festival of the lights). It was really neat. We hung out for a few hours before it was getting late and Marion had a concert to practice for the next day. I wish we could’ve hung out more but I’m sure I would have felt that way if we had hung out the entire weekend. It was really neat to hang out with them and I’m sure I’ll see them another day soon. There were talks about them coming to the U.S. sometime this summer so….on verra J

We left for the hotel (we had to take a bus to get there-not sure why there seems to be a bus theme appearing all of a sudden) at about 1 a.m. and I shared a room with Dave. After having some initial difficulty getting the door open, we barely spoke before we collapsed on our beds. We were carrying our bags all day long which turned out to be quite tiring, especially when we walked up this enormous hill to be on top of Lyon. Quite the exercise.

The next day, we looked around the town, stopped at the marché de Noel (the one in Lyon) and stopped at this miniature museum. Pretty neat stuff. Many miniatures from movies, especially set equipment and props from Das Parfum – Die Geschichte eines Mörders, a german film apparently. After this, we headed back with everyone else to la gare (the train station) and headed back. But we just made the train actually. We were runni

ng throug

h the crowds running from one car of the train to the other, not sure which one was the one we were supposed to enter. We made it just in time though. J

The week followed was my last in Angers. I was done with all my finals on Tuesday. Tuesday night, I had my last dinner with my AFIA family (a family who we see a few times and spend time with) and Pauline, another student, from Poland, who had the same AFIA family as I. It was very nice but I felt pretty somber when I left. This was the first time I was getting sad about leaving Angers. I mean, I knew it would be sad and I would miss it. But this was the first time when it started to show.

Afterwards, I went to Mardi Café of course and hung out with the usual crowd. The next day, Katie and I went to the château d’Angers (the Castle of Angers) and it was pretty nice. It was pretty chilly but I really enjoyed the castle. Beautiful views from atop it and the tapestries inside were pretty riveting. Loved it.

That night was the last-minute-prepared last Beer Pong tournament for us. David Hayes and I were TBA (that was our team name…long story). It was one of many last great get-togethers. It was also Rémi’s last day in Angers because he was going to be leaving for St. Louis the next day to visit his fiancé. I left somewhat early that night, only to arrive at my home with the door double-locked! Double-locked in a way where my key wouldn’t work L Apparently, my host mother, Brigitte, thought I was home already. But c’est pas grave! I went to an after-party with des amis and I spent the night at Meike’s apartment. The next morning I was saying bye to Meike when I left her apartment which was hard. I somewhat rushed to the Catho to say bye to Matt Cullen, one of my best friends I made in France. After lunch, I said good-bye to Jessica, even though I said good-bye to her the night before at Beer-Pong. It was harder this time though.

At night, I hung out with Marcela, Matt H., Katie B., that crowd at Ambers.. Very fun indeed. There were a bunch of us. Later on, we went to k’lypso and it was a blast. A very fun and memorable last-get-together. The next day was my last day of classes but we mostly just watched stuff about Noel (Christmas) and ate food and talked.

Good times. I said my many good-byes to Keisuke of course and took a few more pictures with him. Later on, I grabbed my bag from Amber’s and said bye. I kept thinking that these were ‘the last times’ I was going to do these things. Kind of déjà-vu from when I left home to come to France…

Later on, I went to Soft an

d hung out with Dave Joyce and Jenna. It was pretty good but I was not feeling too well. I eventually went to K’lypso and said bye to everyone there. I said my final good- byes to everyone there who I knew, which was pretty much everyone. Hamadi, the owner announced my parting to everyone as I headed to the doors and everyone wished me farewell haha. It was very nice. Before I actually left Rue Bressigny though, I got a couple pictures with

Hamadi. What a great guy.

The next morning, Brigitte dropped me off at the train station and I met up with Katie. Katie and I were spending the next couple days in

Paris before our flights left on Monday. Marcela came to tell us good-bye as well as Tatis, Daniela, Alexa and Majo. When we finally left, Majo and Tatis were pretty upset and so was Katie. Thisdid not help my situation of course. Eventually the train took off, and we knew that we would see them someday again.

We arrived in Paris alright, after some difficulty with my luggage mdr. After we checked into our hotel, we had dinner at a pretty nice restaurant. Paris was pretty rainy/snowy. I was fortunate enough to have brought my hood. Katie, however, was considerably soaked. Afterwards, we looked around for stores but many of them were

closed. We stopped at a grocery/convenience store and bought some conditioner. We got back to the hotel, Katie made some tea for us, and we fell asleep watching this odd, British fim, with Bill Nighy. It would have been nice if he was in the movie! Just kiddddding J

The next day, on Sunday, we wanted to climb the

Eiffel Tower but it was closed because of the snow. “Too dangerous” apparently. So we went to the Arc de triomphe, but that was closed as well. This did not help Katie’s theory that we were going to be stuck in Paris forever and never able to go home. Afterwards some shopping which was quite fun, we stopped by Napoleon’s tomb and museum and then to the Louvre. It was pretty neat, and we saw the Mona Lisa along with other neat paintings and sculptures. I would have enjoyed it more if we weren’t walking all day though haha. It was still pretty neat. I just think it would have been better if we had more days in Paris. But we worked with what we had and it was pretty neat. We stopped at a starbucks and

the way out and I tried to get ahold of the other Vincent Panozzo. The one who lives in Paris. I wanted to meet up

with him and meet this man but it just did not work out. Maybe the next time I go to Paris?

We had our Last Supper at a quaint little restaurant where the table next to us kept glancing over which

made me laugh and made Katie a little irritated. But it was all good fun in the end. We thoroughly enjoyed our dessert and headed back to the hotel. After Katie made some tea, we watched Love Actually while we packed our bags.

After some intial confusion and frustration in the morning with the hotel, Katie and I got to the terminal where I had to be. Eventually, Katie left me so she could get to her terminal and we said our good-byes. It was really nice to spend the last few nights in France with such a great friend.

I eventually got in the line with my bags so I could get them checked-in, along with myself. I was very delighted to see that my flight was on time. My passport got checked and was fine. I was not sure about my bags because my host family’s scale was broken. Luckily, everything was below the limit and I was clear. I eventually was in the waiting area, somewhat sweating (since I did not know how much weight I was carrying in my bags, I was wearing 4 shirts, a light-weight jacket, my winter jacket and two pairs of pants. I am a very serious packer.

I found Sergio, a fellow student at la Catho, and found out that his flight to Newark was cancelled. “That sucks” I said. “I’m going to Newark too but mine is the 10:05 one”. “Yeah…that’s mine too.” Surprise, surprise. Apparently, it was going to be about noon when we left. No big deal I suppose. The snow in Paris was too much for the plane to land so it was waiting in Amsterdam. When Noon came around, we were informed that our flight would be arriving at 1:15 but with refueling the plane and all the maintenance, we would not be able to board until 2:45. Yet, when 2:45 rolled around, we were not boarding Yet, when 2:45 rolled around, we were not boarding yet. When we finally were boarding the plane, when I got random checked by TSA. This actually did not bother me. I was actually relieved that they checked me, and not the stereotypical Arab, Mexican or other minority. Being the skinny, light-brown haired, blue-eyed white boy, I was the definition of the average, safe A

merican. (Boy, did I fool them! ;) Just kidding again folks J). And the TSA officer somewhat joked around with all the junk in my trunk. And by that I mean all the stuff in my bag. I eventually packed it all up and found my seat on the plane. We eventually left about 4:00 p.m. 6 hours after I was supposed to leave. Needless to say, I missed my connecting flight to Cleveland, OH, and I was on my way on missing my connecting flight to Grand Rapids, MI.

*Side note- I met some people who were sharing the same flight as I was (some American, some French), and it was great meeting and conversing with them (in English and French). So I suppose there was some light in this dark waiting.*

The flight to Newark was not too bad. It was awfully long, and I do dispise long flights. I get awfully bored and antsy, especially with no iPod to keep me company. The movies and TV shows being shown were being repeated which is quite the drag on a 9 hour flight. We eventually landed with our filled-out custom forms and we were in the good ol’ U.S.A.

I did not expect this kind of reverse-culture-shock. I guess I was not sure what to expect exactly. But I did not recognize America. First thing I noticed-why on earth do our security personal, foremost of all, at airplanes, which transports people from all cultures, only speak English? A lot of the people going through customs could not speak English, or if they could, it was very limited. The security personal seemed to have very little patience for the non-english speaking travelers, which is understandable. However, it should be more than expected that working at an airport would require working with people who speak a variety of tongues. When I arrived at the Customer Service line, which was relatively short when I arrived thank Goodness, I found out that there was no flight to Grand Rapids that night. I could either have a direct flight to Grand Rapids the next morning at 7, or wait til the afternoon for a connecting flight to Cleveland, then to Grand Rapids. I took the former.

There were a number of shuttle vans to take from the airport to a variety of hotels. First, I wanted dinner

however. I received two meal vouchers from Continental due to the flight delays. First, I thought that my first meal back would be McDonald’s but it turned out to be Subway (very good decision on my part I’d say). I used one of the meal vouchers entirely on that and saved the other one for the morning (which I eventually forgot about). I took the “Air Train” or whatever it was called to the point where the shuttle vans take you to to your desired hotel. I jumped into a white van with tinted windows and spent the night at Best Western, Robert Treat Hotel. Not too shabby. I should mention the second thing that really took me by surprise about the states. Highways. I do not understand why they are so large and long. Granted, at this point, I was sleep deprived, jet-lagged, somewhat upset, tired and just wanted to be home. Shortly after I got in my room, I skyped with the parents, then my sister, and fell asleep around 11:30 or so, woke up at 5:30 I think and then took the van shuttle back to the airport. I got to Grand Rapids around 9 and saw my Mom as I walked down the ramp; I was so incredibly happy to see her. Very glad that she was the first person I saw when I arrived in Grand Rapids and that she was the one who picked me up.

So I’ve been home for about 9 days now. Hung out with Kendall and Stephanie quite a bit since I’ve been back.

Hung out with Lauren a little who has been so nice and considerate through my entired French journey, including the effects of reverse-culture-shock. La letter était très gentille et je l’apprécie tellement. I hung out with Anthony a few times. However, I’ve facebooked chatted and skype –chatted with many of my friends I made in France and….la France me manqué beaucoup. Mais, as Gandalf once said, “One Stage in your journey is over, Another Begins.” I’ve ended my contract with Verizon and began one with Credo. The New Year is coming in approximately 27 hours. And I am looking forward to going back to GVSU and getting back to activism, and moving into a house in Grand Rapids. My Christmas was wonderful and it was nice to see all my extended family and especially wonderful to have all seven (plus Jezebel!) of us home for Christmas, if even only for some of the day.

This is an especially long blog post but seeing how it is my last, I think that justifies it. I appreciate all the prayers, thoughts and positive energy that has been sent my way and it means a lot to me. Thank you for reading and I highly recommend you study abroad or at least visit a differently in your life. It really opens your eyes and brings a whole new perspective to your life. It changes you for the better. As I have said many times, it is definitely one of the best decisions I have made in my life. Thanks again for reading and who knows? Maybe I’ll start a blog one day about my adventures in Japan ;)

Much Peace et Love, Namaste, Bisous,

Vince