Γεια σου!

I leave for the airport in T-13 hours.

I can't really believe that, but it's true.

After I leave Athens, I may never come back here, almost certainly never to live here again.

That's also true, and equally unbelievable to me.

I've lived here for three and a half months. I've spent one-eighth of my academic time in college here. Athens may not be home the way that Haverford or Bothell are, but it's still made itself a huge part of my life.

I'll miss it.

There are things that I won't miss, like the pollution and the traffic and the strikes and protests.

But on the whole, I'll miss Athens.

I spent this afternoon on the Acropolis and the surrounding sites like the Areopagus and the Pnyx. Looking out from the top of those hills, I realized that I recognize and can name most of the major buildings that I saw. And not only can I name them, I know about them and have stories about them. In a way, I know Athens better than I know either Philadelphia or Seattle, because I've been here on my own.

I'm almost all packed to go to the airport. I just have to throw in the last incidentals. Packing to go home is never as hard as packing to go away, because at the end of the day I know that I should end up with a bare room.

It's the goodbyes that make going home hard.

There are people here whose friendship I value. And I will probably never see them again after I leave. We can promise to keep in touch, but I know myself; I know that I'm terrible at keeping in touch with people. We'll probably fall out of touch, and that's the way it goes. It makes me sad.

My last night in Athens, and I'm sad tonight.

Tomorrow night I'll be in Seattle (barring any unforeseen circumstances), and I'll be happy to be home.