It is finally over.

So, even though I have not taught for the last two years, the semester end still marks a time when schedules relax, campus quiets down and pressure subsides. It is a good time for a great deal of free thinking and organization of ideas. Anyway, the semester finally ended here in Germany today, though having it go on this long has been tortuous for someone like myself who has not been in school past mid-May since I was 14 years old living in Southern CA where school went until late June. It was a great semester, but I like the quiet halls and streets of a University suddenly abandoned by all the students who usually buzz about with tremendous energy. It is like a giant organism finally coming to rest after a long period of stressed activity. The rest for me as a tiny component in the organism is welcome and long overdue. These two years have been amazing in many ways, but trying and exhausting nonetheless. My time here is now limited to about five weeks, which hopefully I can enjoy to their fullest. I will miss my work, life and friends here very much I believe, though I am ready to lay my head down on my own pillow and fall into the deep slumber you only find possible at home.