Kùssi

Traveling to another country, I expected to learn words in the native language. I knew that I would be trying new foods and seeing the world through a different lens. I knew that I would build stronger relationships with my classmates and meet new people.
I didn't expect breathtaking views to stun me into silence. I wasn't expecting the locals to make me feel at home. I didn't know that I was going to make friends with the Sammelweis students. I didn't know I was going to dread leaving them. I didn't truly know how much this whole experience would mean to me until today.

We've slipped into such a routine that I forget that this isn't normal. Chicago feels like a lifetime ago, and Georgia seems to be even more distant. I've grown accustomed to staying up late with my roommates comparing clinical days and food choices. I look forward to walking around this beautiful city every day and talking to my 'local' friends. Somehow, I know that I will just as easily slip back into my routine back home, but I don't think this experience will soon be forgotten. I hope to never forget the sunset on the Danube, the view from the top of the Basilica in Ezstergom, or the architecture. I want to always be inspired by Annita and Dora's passion for their patients despite the lack of supplies and support. I want to remember the stories of the Holocaust victims and the incredible doctors and nurses who worked in the underground hospital during the wars. I have too many memories from this trip that I keep grasping at in the desperate hopes that they won't fade. For some things, I know that pictures will be the only link I have to that moment in time. Other memories have dug themselves into the core of my brain, never to be willingly lost in the battle against time. My brief homesickness that I struggled with over the weekend has been replaced by a strong desire to soak up every second. This week is flying by and I'm struggling to cram everything I had planned to do into the few remaining days.

I know that Sunday morning will come far too quickly and that, unless I get the opportunity to return to this amazing city, these next few days will be the last time I see some of my new friends. I know that I will miss the cobblestone streets and beautiful hills. I know that I will always carry this experience near and dear to my heart. I know that, though I will be happy to see my family and friends again, I will miss it here and I hope that someday I will be lucky enough to return to the banks of the Danube and the sunny parks. I hope that I can find some way to express my intense gratitude to everyone who has made this experience so incredible, but I know that I will never be able to find words that even come close to adequately relating my thoughts.

I am relieved to be able to say that I do not yet have to say farewell. I still have a few days to soak up the Hungarian sun and gain new experiences. Even with projects and final exams, we still find time for fun. And, to end this week on a good note, the Hostel is throwing us a party on Saturday night to which all of our friends have been invited. We are ending this trip just the way it began, with one heck of a bang.