Fini.

Well, this afternoon I triumphantly turned in the very last assignment of the Fall semester.  I thought such a monumental event deserved its own blog post even if my brain is too tired to try and come up with something  interesting to say.
At the very start of the semester, I was hopeful about being able to finish it.
One week in, I was sure I was headed for something much, much harder than expected.
A month in, it was going okay as I still hadn't had any big projects due yet and my grades weren't terrible.  At the two month mark, I was sure they were trying to kill me.
Three months in and I knew death was not only imminent, but may in fact already have happened and I was really just a floating specter trying to absorb French through osmosis.
I hit four months and by then I knew I wasn't actually dead even though my GPA was about to be.  I knew I could finish my finals, but at this point I was reduced to studying in ten minute chunks alternating with any and everything to motivate me to complete the next ten minutes.

a not very good picture of the snow this morning

Four months, one week, and two days brings me to today.  Today I spent from 7 to 4:45 with minimal breaks translating my eight page paper into French. It was supposed to be 10 pages, but I truly have nothing more to say about An-Nawawi, Les Quarante Hadiths, freewill, qadar, qadariyya, qadarisme, qadari, or any other version of the word "qadar."  I sent it to the professor along with the English version for good measure, and that was it.  A whole semester over in one little attached file on a hastily written email.
When as tired as I am now, it is hard to focus on one's achievements, but I do have to admit, I've come a long ways.  I was hands down the weakest in the group when I arrived with a French comprehension level that was practically nonexistent and that made me question the judgement of the professors and advisers who sent me here even though I realize now that they were right.  Somewhere along the way though I learned to ask for directions, answer the phone, read bank forms, understand the weather lady, order a sandwich with extra pepper but no mayonnaise, and simply have a conversation.
After my Art History oral exam, the professor looked at me and basically said, "I was really scared at the beginning of the semester.  I didn't think you could do it, but you have improved so much.  You are a hardworking student, and you have done well."  I do believe "bosseuse" was the word she used.  My grades may be a C- average for the semester, but the toughest teacher in the program actually gave me a complement, so I'm gonna take it and use it as a substitute for any grade that doesn't meet my usual standards.  You take what you can get when you have the language skills of a four year-old and are expected to do college level work with those skills.
Obviously, school has not been the only aspect of life here despite how I may make it sound.  I have come to call this city home and everyday I feel less like a tourist and more like I belong.  I walk around my quartier and it really is mine.  It's kind of crazy because when I first arrived, I felt less at home in the Chinatown where I lived than in the places around the city where I visited because they felt more "western".  But now, I know I'm home when I see the McDonald's with the Chinese characters, the little cluster of stark, high-rise apartments, the old ladies doing Tai Chi in the community center courtyard on cold mornings, and all the men fighting for a place around the small TV at the corner shop, waiting for the lotto numbers to be drawn while smoking their cheap cigarettes and speaking a melange of languages I can't even recognize.  It's mine now too.  Don't worry though, I don't currently have any plans to stay past my visa.
Thanks to all of yall back home for being so very supportive and helping me get where I am today.  That whole "takes a village" thing actually is true, and I am very grateful.  One semester down and one more awesome semester to go!  I have hopes that my evolving French skills will make this one easier academically and thus make room for even more adventures.
Au revoir, bon courage, merci, et grosses bises!
-Kate Alice