I'm looking forward to the flight home.

But only because I will be wearing my Rotary blazer in the airports and will get some perplexed looks from a lot of people and amused smiles from others. Walking around somewhere with this garment on tends to attract a lot of attention and it's kind of funny. Katie and I had some experience with this phenomenon in Lausanne. Some random tourist-y guy took our picture as we walked past him in the train station. And while we were waiting for the train we got some funny looks from people. There was also a guitar-bearing, dreadlocks-sporting dude that approached us, but we ran away.

The front.

The back.

If not for the promise of future blazer / airport fun, I'd probably hang around in Switzerland a bit longer. Really, I can't decide whether I'm happy or sad to be leaving in three months. I'm excited to see everyone and to start a new adventure as a member of the "Jayhawk family," as it is called in so many promotional letters and e-mails. But I'm really going to miss Switzerland. I've made some amazing friends here, and it really does feel like home. Last weekend after my orchestra concert, I was riding the train back to Fribourg and had my first realization that since the orchestra season was over, I had just played music with those people for the last time and might not see them again before I leave.

I also realized that even as much as I sometimes miss the convenience of being able to drive a car, I am going to miss public transportation a lot upon my return. There's something really neat about being able to travel across the country at pretty much anytime of day and then just watch the scenery go by without having to worry about driving. You can also meet some very interesting people in the bus or the train. Once I and another Rotary exchange student met a Buddhist monk from Cambodia in the train who tried to explain Buddhism to us in broken German and English. And taking the train or the bus with friends is a lot of fun as well. Unfortunately the States are on such a large scale that it would be virtually impossible to construct a transportation infrastructure as widespread and at such a high quality level as the Swiss one. Of course public transportation does exist in the States, and there are some great metro systems in some cities, but it's just not the same.

In fact, I'm a bit afraid for everyone on the road when I come back. I may have to spend a weekend in the parking lot and side streets to regain my skills. I haven't been behind the wheel in exactly 9 months. (Today is the 9-month anniversary of my arrival.) So watch out, Kansas drivers!