An ode to my exchange year in Belgium from my dear friend Gomo

May 5, 2005
This time has moved so far forward some memories just feel too far gone. I found a box of old letters from you guys, more particularly those you wrote to me on my departure.

I guess one real thing about my life is the depth of my bond with the few incredible souls I've been blessed to befriend here on this earth. Some things one can't explain and for the most parts some things I wish I could embrace forever with the same degree of warmth and closeness...but as this journey moves on, things get relegated behind the scenes as others more pertinent close in..memories are lost in the motion of things...People I once had right next to me become abstract souls existing only in my dreams, my memories or the objects we exchanged.

This is how I found each one of you and for as long as I live, I will love you dearly missing with each passing moment your presence in my life:

Ruby: I don't know many people who have set a target, focused on it and actually hit the mark on point. I don't know many philosophers who can cook and play just as well as they philosophise. Your warmth toward me and our endless "deep" conversations, our exchange on issues of life and the heart...nothing can compare with that!

---my response on July 23, 2005
Gomo,

Thank you for your kind words. I have to say we must have all been put in Verviers for a reason. I haven't found the same mix of a fun, deep, and adventurous crew all in one place in the past 5 years since Belgium.

I remember being very deep and philosophical that year and I know I am at the core that way. I loved our conversations. I find that that part of me doesn't come out easily unless I find like minded ppl. As I am about to finish 13 months abroad within the next 2 weeks, I am sort of searching for that deep, introspective side I experienced as an 18 year old in Belgium. I hope that comes back and something sparks it inside me. I hope that the underlying truth about adults mentioned in the Little Prince is not what I am experiencing.

Thank you for being you. Thank you for keeping in touch with us all. And as I try to contemplate my most recent year abroad, I will try to reflect once again on the year that affected me the most in Belgium.