Thanksgiving in Paris?

In honor of Thanksgiving, I wanted to give a shout-out to everyone in my life who I am thankful for:

Parents: Thank you so much for always supporting me in everything I do, and making my dream of coming to Paris a reality. Thank you for always being there for me. I would not be the person I am today without you. And thank you for giving me and Hann an amazing childhood! J I love you guys!

Friends from home: I am so thankful to have so many great friends who have remained in my life for so long. We have grown up together and made so many beautiful memories. I love you all and can’t wait to be reunited with you!

Hann: I’m still convinced that nothing beats the relationship between sisters. You know absolutely everything about me and you just GET me! We have our own language, our own sense of humor, our own memories that no one else will ever understand. You are my best friend, I love you so much.

Family: Anyone who has ever met my family can back me up on this one. I have THE best family in the whole world. For real, you guys are just awesome and I can’t wait for the clan to be all together again! Love, love, love you ALL!!

Lane family (and everyone related): Even though I have only been in the picture for a little over 10 months, you have welcomed me with open arms and have made me feel as if I have been a part of your family forever. Thank you. It means so much to me. Love you all!!!

Parisian Friends: Never have I grown so close to a group of people in such a short amount of time in my whole life. You have all made this experience 1000x easier and I love every last one of you so much. You are my family and I look forward to many more years of wonderful memories J

And of course last but certainly not least:

Casey: Oh my, where to start? Thank you for being the kind, patient, loving person that you are. It is so hard being far from you and I miss you everyday. Not even 6,000 miles can sever the connection we have. You are the only one for me. Thank you for showing me what true love is. I love you forever.

Un amour interdit

So I've been extremely horrible at keeping up with my blog lately, and I apologize. A ton has happened in regards to continuing to explore the city and discover new things, but the biggest change has been my state of mind. As I cross off days on my calendar, I am noticing how quickly time is passing which makes me realize how temporary this whole experience really is! I grow more and more saddened at the thought of leaving this beautiful city in a mere 6 months! And before all of you get upset and think, "What?! Simone doesn't wanna come home?! Ah! She hates us!" No, let me finish. It's not that I won't want to come home, it's that I won't want to leave Paris. If I could some how do both, that would be magnificent! I am growing incredibly accustommed to my life and dare I say it, I love it here. If I'm already feeling this way, and it hasn't even been 3 months yet, how am I going to feel after another 6? I am beginning to feel torn between 2 lives, the new and the old. They feel like two completely separate entities, and I'm wondering how they are going to meld once I return home. I feel like I have already changed so much from this experience, so I'm curious and excited to see how I am going to fit back into my old life. They warned us about this in the beginning; they said that we would no longer feel completely American, but we would not feel French. I thought they were crazy, but now I completely understand the identity crisis that they were talking about. But I am oddly fine with it, if that makes sense.

One thing that I do regularly, that has helped me grow content with my new life, is take walks without any destination in particular, and see where it takes me. Yesterday I wasn't feeling too incredibly ambitious, so I decided to just take a stroll around my neighborhood. I was walking by les Invalides and saw all of the beautiful trees flaming with their vibrant yellow leaves. It was so stunning with the gold dome as a backdrop that I just thought "Yep, I am in love with Paris". I get really overwhelmed with the feelings that I am starting to have for this city and I am growing attached to it. I am even starting to understand the locals and their mindset, which makes life a whole lot easier. The French are really beautiful people when you peel back the layers. Words really cannot describe how strange, yet amazing, this experience is. I am already looking back on certain things with great fondness, so I know that I will remember this for the rest of my life with only positive feelings.