"Face, il est six heures et demi!"

It was my last day in Aix-en-Provence and naturally, I woke up late. My host mom came rushing into my room hysterically shouting that I was going to miss my flight. It all happened so quickly: the getting dressed, the gathering my bags, and then the rushed and most difficult farewell.

As I sat waiting for my flight to board, wishing I had had more time that morning to say goodbye to my host mom, that the morning had gone too quickly, I realized that that's how the entire trip felt. It had been a month but it had also been just two days. We had done so many things but there was also so much more to do. And most importantly, I had made amazing friends but we could've grown closer even still.

That morning my host mom had started to say "au revoir" in goodbye then changed her track halfway through to "à bientôt" (I'll see you soon), with a smile. This meant the world to me and summarizes how I'm sure everyone in the program feels about not only the south of France but each other. Never say goodbye, we'll see each other again. Soon.

Faith Schweikert is a Summer 2015 CEA MOJO studying abroad in Aix-en-Provence, France. She is currently a second year at the University of Virginia.