Cher Paris (and all the lovely people I met over there),

Je vous aime et vous me manquez.

A full year has gone by since I first met you. Certainly doesn't feel that way, does it? A year seems like a long time, and one would expect that most events wouldn't be remembered in extreme detail when that much time has passed.

Yet I still have vivid memories of everything I experienced when I was with you last fall. From my very first day in your presence, to the moment I stepped on the plane to head back home (which is not nearly as exciting of a place to be, however much I may appreciate my friends and family). I still feel the sense of exited and nervous anticipation I felt when I walked through the French airport trying to find the staff member from my school. I remember how weird I felt attempting to carry on conversations in French with people during my first few days there (even after studying the language for 8 years), but then it became second nature to the point where I actually felt weird speaking mainly English once back in the US. I remember getting so lost trying to navigate the city during my first week or so there, only to have the layout memorized like all my favorite Disney songs in no time (still could navigate those streets even a year later if I go back, no doubt about it).

I miss how much simpler the lifestyle felt over there. I appreciated even just the little things that I can't experience (at least not the same way) in American lifestyle, like sitting in a cafe for hours on end just to relax and do some writing without anyone having second thoughts (because lingering in restaurants and cafes is normalized in Europe's culture), wandering into a bakery and coming out with a freshly baked, still-warm baguette, or taking swigs from two-euro bottles of red wine with my friends during metro rides to our favorite bar. I really miss those metro rides because they were a reliable means of getting around without needing to drive- I still can't readjust to paying for gas in a car or trying to guess how many minutes late the next SEPTA train will be. I miss knowing that even if I'd be a loner and sleep the day away some Saturdays, I'd always have something new to do and somewhere new to go that night, whether I'd be out with friends or just by myself. Somehow my anxiety about going places alone or traveling alone magically disappeared for that one semester- maybe because Paris is just a magical place? Who knows!

I most definitely don't doubt it's a magical place at least during the winter holidays, that's for sure.

I gotta say, around that time of year was when I found Paris the most beautiful. Although my semester there concluded close to the beginning of the holiday season, I will always be grateful I got to experience at least a little bit of Paris at Christmas time.

I vividly remember my favorite area of the city: walking out of that metro stop, you'll immediately see a crepe stand, a Starbucks, a sandwich shop, and a dessert store- which happened to have quite delicious macaroons. Wander down any small side street in that area and you'll see restaurants and clothing stores with things from all types of diverse cultures, likely owned and run by people from those cultures. Right in that area of the city Notre Dame is in plain sight- and it looks even more radiant at nighttime.

I recall the wholesome sensations I felt when I first saw �Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower, the Sacre Coeur, the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre, the Palace of Versailles, the Basilica of St. Denis, and any other monuments and historical places I'd grown up learning about only in history textbooks. To finally experience being up close and personal with something of such historical value, that you've only ever seen pictures of, is a feeling quite like no other. Especially Notre �Dame because there's a Disney movie about it! However I think I fell in love with the Sacre Coeur most of all.

This feeling extends to the other European cities I visited during my time abroad. Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and the real genuine Platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Train Station (I'm still not over this!!!!!!) in London. The Astronomical Clock in Prague. The ruins, Trevi Fountain, Colosseum, and the Vatican in Rome. The library, Trinity College, Book of Kells, and ancient cemeteries in Dublin and Wicklow. Upon visiting the city of Budapest I knew nothing about it, but wondered why I never knew anything about it because it was lovely. Every place I had the joy of experiencing was beautiful in its own unique way. That's another major aspect of European life that I really enjoyed- it's so easy and affordable to travel between different countries. In the US you need to pay hundreds of dollars to fly to another country, but in Europe you can for example hop on a Megabus in Paris one night and arrive in London by morning- all for just 20 euros.

On a slightly more serious note, I know for a fact I still clearly remember that night of Friday, November 13th, the night ISIS terrorists attacked Paris. I still remember everything happening so suddenly-- I recall going out to dinner with a group of AGS friends after finishing my babysitting job, then heading to a nearby bar with them after eating, which was where we first heard about the turmoil taking place. I can still feel in my bones the sense of urgency and panic around me as the news came on the TV in that bar. How we all suddenly got up to leave and there was a group of clearly frightened people running in our direction once we got outside. How it felt not being able to find a working bus, metro, Uber, or cab, until we walked all the way down the river to catch a bus. How it felt once I got back to my school's housing where I was connected to wifi and experienced an incoming flood of text messages and Facebook notifications from seemingly everyone who knew me back in the US. How I instantly became worried about the safety of the little French girl I nannied and her family (who were fine, thankfully). How sad my friends and I all felt for all of Paris and those who lost their lives when we visited the attack sites to pay our respects.

I could go on about that specific experience forever, but I won't because I already did in this article. But the bottom line is that gave me an immense appreciation for Paris, as well as my loved ones back home, even more than I already had before.

And I most certainly haven't forgotten the amazing American Graduate School, the lovely friends and professors I met there, or all the lovely people I met in general, including the family of the kid I got a nightly nannying job for. I learned so much from going to a global politics-centered grad school with students from countries around the world, from all different diverse cultures and backgrounds. I miss all of you guys and our adventures- from our Thursday night outings to that bar in my favorite area of the city, multiple conversations bonding over Harry Potter and comparing our babysitting experiences, and spontaneously dropping by each other's apartments to eat or drink wine together, to walking down the street to get food after classes, those multiple long afternoons of all of us in the library agonizing over papers and distracting ourselves with silly YouTube videos, and our fall break trip to Budapest. That's only to name a few; I could go on forever because I have so many memories with all of you.

I miss you, Paris. And I miss the wonderful bonds I created with many people there.

Je vous aime et J'espère de vous revoir bientôt. Jusqu'à la prochaine fois, n'importe quand ça pourrait être.

Amour pour toujours,

Anastasia