La fin... de la premiere partie

So here I am almost on the other side of my first study abroad experience. I'm looking at a month at home, a week in DC, and then six months in Argentina. And then life goes back to normal (or what passes for normal...).
Exams are over, my bags are mostly packed, and I have a couple of euros in my wallet for one last pastry. And I have realized that I both really don't want to leave and really really want to be home. Aside from the things I have done very well without but miss all the same (dryers, Chipotle, Target), there's a comfort in living in the culture you grew up in that I always took for granted. It's tiring living day in and day out where your instincts, reflexes, and ingrained knowledge don't really mean anything. That said, there are things I've really come to love about France (the accessibility, the abundance of fruit, the absence of cheap consumerism). I also think I've come to realize that it's a place and people with pluses and minuses like any other, which is a realization that comes from really knowing somewhere (that may seem like a very obvious conclusion, but I think I used to put France on a pedestal because I enjoyed my vacation here and cultural allusions back in the States--I've got a more realistic view now). I've also found myself being really proud of my own country--when we talk about democracy or separation of powers in class, I find myself nodding approvingly in a "yeah, that's right, we're awesome" sort of way. So I guess the point of that long ramble was that I have developed a more realistic view of both cultures.
Right now I'm just looking forward to sleeping for a while, but I have a hunch it's going to take a bit to wrap my head around all I've seen and done.
Still, no regrets. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
Which is lucky, since I'm off on another adventure soon (which still doesn't seem real).
I updated a photo album. The link's in the last post, I'm feeling too lazy to search for it and repost it...
Just a few more Christmas presents to buy, a farewell party, and hours and hours on a plane until I'm back in the 3 oh 3.