4 months

So far, so good!  We're still alive, still enjoying France, still feeling American.

April had some definite positives: vacation in Rome and Barcelona, a strong finish to my second semester of graduate school, a great birthday celebration for me, and the beginning of my mom's visit.

I got to live a bachelor life for a week while Margaret stayed on vacation with a friend.  The verdict: fairly boring when you are in another country and have class every day.

I think we've made a little bit of a pivot in our mentality here.  Up until now, we've been using the time and the change of pace to learn, think, and imagine.  We've been able to see new perspectives, using the separation and foreign experience as a medium for thought.

Now that we are over halfway done, we're changing our focus to firming up the ideas and plans we will bring back with us.  I'm trying to figure out how to incorporate the IFP's international oil perspective into the Colorado energy scene I will most likely join after graduating.  Together, we're identifying plans for new endeavors and actions at home.  It feels like a natural time to shift mentality, and I hope it will lead to a productive two and a half months.

The shift from counting up (time spent here) to counting down (time till we return to CO) also makes it easier to feel homesick.  It's more natural now to feel frustrated with the effort required in daily life in a foreign country, and to miss Torrey!  The return is close.  I think the biggest challenge in the coming month is to stay in the moment and not let time disappear in the excitement of visitors, warm weather, and travels.