More goodbyes than most

All of us feel some regret as the year ends but maybe for me and exchange students all over, saying goodbye to the past year was harder than for others. When a single year means more to you because of the rich experiences you’ve had it makes it that much harder for you to see it end.

As the year 2010 drew to a close a wave of nostalgia and sadness washed over me. Going to a foreign country for a year as I did to Germany in august 2009,I knew that I'd have some unforgettable experiences. I however did not expect to get as attached as I did to so many people coming from so many different lands on the planet. I also did not know how hard it would be to say goodbye when the time came. Harder after it all ended to the year that had passed. It wasn't hard at the time I said bye to some not knowing it would be the last time I'd see them. It wasn't hard when I said goodbye to some months before leaving even when I knew I wouldn't see them again because it didn't seem that real then. Also it was not as hard as I'd expected to say bye to people I saw every day in school. The hard part came later with the realization that I did not know when, if ever, I'd ever see them again. When the January to December exchange students (ones from the southern hemisphere who come for a different period) started leaving last month,5 months after I came back home, it severed my last link to exchange year going on in Germany.
The hardest part was changing things in my mind, weird though it may sound. In 2010 I could still refer to everything that happened during exchange even things that took place in 2009 as this year. Now however it will all have to be referred to as last year like a door of experiences and memories that won't ever be open again; that I’ll be able to walk into only in my mind.
Then again, maybe the goodbyes won't be permanent, maybe I will meet them again and the euro tour reunion we've been planning will take off in the near future. And so with promises of new experiences and memories that will keep everything interesting, life goes on :)

By Nirmitee Mehta