Realization of our trip’s end officially set in with a reception dinner. Dressed in our best, we gathered in the Park Hotel’s formal dining area to formally thank the town for our experience and to acknowledge the sanctity of our international union. We listened as professors, students and council members expressed an appreciation for our union. At every other ceremony that I have ever been to, the repetition becomes tiresome. Thanks to this person; thanks to that person; when can we leave? The sincerity of this town has made the words spoken that night unmistakably genuine and unfathomably true.
As we said our final goodbyes, sadness consumed us. We weren’t just parting with a country; we were parting with an experience; with our new friends and with what we learned to call home. After clearing out the last of my things, I sat on my bed in silence. The empty room that I first came to was different than the one I now sat in. My experiences gave it meaning and in many ways they gave me meaning.
One-hundred-thousand thanks to the town of one-hundred-thousand welcomes.
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