See You at Notre Dame?

I had gotten accustomed to the gourmet breakfast; the cheese, the assortment of pieces of bread and the array of different meats. This breakfast was different however.  I found myself holding back tears. The time had come to leave.  It flew by as a matter of fact. The last thing I wanted to do was sit on an airplane for nine hours.  The very last things I wanted to do, however, was leave Europe, my Polish best friend and my second family.

Over the past two weeks, I had witnessed places that were both beautiful and heart wrenching.  I had learned information that I was pretty excited to share with my classmates once  I was back in the classroom.  Most of the way I had viewed the world had completely changed after everything I saw.

Kasia's mom leaned over to her and whispered something in Polish into her ear.  There was laughter and I thought they were talking about how watery my eyes were.  Then Kasia stopped laughing and said, "my Mom says she'll adopt you so you don't have to go back to the states".  At that moment in time, I really considered it, but I missed my family, friends, dog and American food, so I it was time to venture home.

There were so many questions flying through my mind; among the most haunting was when would I ever see Kasia next?  I knew that she had applied to some top schools in the United States for architecture such as the University of Pennsylvania, Notre Dame, Cornell, and Washington University.  I was hoping she would be accepted into one,  but they were all great schools with an even greater cost.

My thoughts were interrupted by Kasia insisting that I get all my things together because it was almost time to leave.  As I gathered my belongings, I took a second to step outside onto her balcony that overlooked the whole city of Krakow.  A year ago when I quit the varsity softball team and applied for this program, I never realized the impact that it would have on me. Not many people can say that they got a chance to learn about the Holocaust and visit various concentration camps throughout Europe.  Not many people can say that they turned eighteen in a foreign country.  Not many people can say that they have a European best friend.

As the bus driver threw my monstrous suitcase under the bus, the tears began to fall.  First I hugged Kasia's parents goodbye and thanked them for everything that they had done.  Then I went down the huge line of Polish students and said goodbye to each and every one of them. My last goodbye was probably my hardest one; at this point I was a complete basket case.  As I hugged my best friend goodbye she whispered something in my ear, "Shan , it's not a goodbye, I got into Notre Dame and I'll be attending school there in the Fall. I'll see you in the states, I'll see you later".