We people often fail to value time. As soon as we depart for exchange lots of thoughts pop up in our minds. There are two kinds of people. The kind who is so excited to leave that at the airport he leaves his parents in a hurry to catch our plane because he desperately wants to go on exchange and do lots of stuff, and then the kind who is so lazy that when he is at his host house he feels like doing everything "later" because he has one year to do stuff, so he feels like there is no need to rush.

I definitely belong to kind one. I left my parents kind of in a hurry because I was excited to leave, but I should probably advise you to hug your parents one more time before you go because one year is long without your family.. and you feel it, especially during Christmas. I don't belong to kind two for sure though because one year is not so long when you have to bond with new people, pick up a new language, learn about your host culture, traditions, try new things, be social and so on. It is barely enough to let you "taste" all the fun, and when you finally feel like an insider, all is taken away from you. It is time to leave, which means no more American breakfast, drinks on the go, road trips or house parties.

There you are, at the airport with 50 plus kgs and a head full of emotions you can't even explain to yourself. As your plane caresses the clouds, you look out the window for the last time. The airport fades and you are left with your feelings, your headphones and airplane food.

I spent eleven months in the USA and yet I wish I had more time. I don't know how people choose an academic semester over one full year. It makes me sad to think that some people had half of the time I had. In spite of feeling like I needed more time, I know that I did all I could during those eleven months and I regret nothing.

The first thing your family and friends tell you when they see you after so long is probably "Oh, you gained weight." that's the first change they see in you. It's okay, it is concrete and it would be hard not to notice. It is not okay when they only see your body change and nothing else. I feel like I changed so much as a person that it would make me sad if people only noticed my heavier body.

I wish I had more time because there are lots of things that I did not have the chance to do in Colorado, like going to a concert at Red Rocks or hiking, but stay tuned Coloradans because I might come back sooner than you think!

Read also: "Fulfilling my dream of visiting New York City."

- Cris