In two days I'll be leaving for Amsterdam. After a day seeing the sights and such, I'll be taking a flight from Amsterdam to the states. That'll be the end of my time here, and last night I found a profound sense of sadness that settled over me like the blankets. This was helped by a nice spooning session with Laura (is there anything that spooning cannot fix?) and I found that I'm going to miss an awful lot from here. This is to be expected but I'm not armed this time around with the same rabid certainty that I'll be returning any time soon. And what of Laura, who I may never see again? Or my old host family? Or the nice fellow who runs the coffee shop near my apartment who knows my name?

The first time I left here I was so saddened by the many friends that I had made, the introduction and in turn assimilation of the culture, and the small things like chaotic traffic or old women walking arm in arm or crammed on park benches chattering away. This time, it's different. The experience wasn't inside a university but rather just by myself (and a few friends). The level of missing that I'm having is more personal now. In a way, it's deeper. Fucking hell, I'm going to miss this city.

But you know, there are so many other people that I'm looking forward to seeing on my return. I've been talking about you all for so much over here, anyway, that it'll be like returning to a story. I've missed you all and I'll be seeing you very soon.

Also, the Via Lingua language program in Rome should be firebombed.

listening to the strokes,

Jared