My internship in Israel is drawing to a close. In a matter of days, I'll have given my last talks, completed all the paperwork related to the termination of my employment, wrapped up my final report, made sure there is at least one person who knows when and how to use the code I wrote, and maybe even gotten some results, although I'm not very optimistic about that last one.

Then, if everything goes well with my visa (I have no reason to think otherwise but better be cautious, everything will be between the hands of the Ministry of the Interior tomorrow), I'll pick up my mum at the airport, and we'll set off for a week of tourism in Israel and Jordan. I want to show her Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, and maybe Masada. I've also booked a three-day tour of Jordan for the two of us. Although I still don't have the final confirmation on that one.

On September 10 I'll close my bank account and my P.O. box. On September 11 I'll hand over the keys of the apartment to my landlady and pay the phone bill, then we'll fly back to Paris. I'll be in France for eight days, visiting family and friends as much as the short period of time, busy schedules, and distances allow. Then on the day before the quarter kicks in I'll fly back to California, where I'll be happy to be reunited with friends, lab, pleasant weather, dance partners, an apartment.

It's been ten years since I moved out of my mum's for the first time. Over the years I've had less and less belongings left at her place, and I've been back less and less frequently. We've moved from talking on the phone almost every single day to roughly once a week. I've lived in three different countries other than France. I've had about ten different bedrooms, although I might have lost count. I've accumulated knowledge and knowhow, friends and places to miss dearly, degrees, health issues and ways to deal with them, cultural shocks, heartbreaks, happiness, reasons to laugh until I my abs ache and reasons to cry until there were no tears left in me. I've grown up, tremendously.

It's been four years since I moved to California, as I wrote about in French here, where I've been, overall, the happiest of my adult life so far.

So don't be surprised if I'm busy pondering, assessing, planning, reviewing, and generally overthinking what my life has been so far and where I want to take it. Not mentioning how to take it there.