I’ve already gotten a bit of a lecture about using “the world” to refer to back home in the States, but I’m going to stick to it. It’s Vietnam War-era grunt slang that comes up in almost every book about the war whenever someone leaves the war and goes home. It connotes adjustment, discomfort, anticipation, and, I think, the knowledge that the soldier in question is never going to look at things the same way again.

So I’m not leaving a jungle or a war, and the toilets here flush and there’s power and running water and everything, but I’ve started to think about what going back home is going to be like. There’s a lot to do in the next week and half–in addition to getting everything ready for the return to school, I keep getting emails about the Beth El youth group that I agreed to run and which is turning into way more work than was advertised (nothing unmanageable, but), and I’ve got gigs in August, September, October, and November to get ready for. Yikes.

So going back to the World means giving up, I think, most of everything here–the Housekeeping staff who clean my room, make my bed, and bring me fresh towels every morning (freaked me out at first, but I got used to more quickly than I’d like to admit), the people who make my meals for me, the proximity to friends that only comes from living in dorms (although, I suppose, that the Branch Davidians made a good attempt at this in their time). Back in the World, I can’t just wander down the hall, knock on someone’s door at night, and expect them to a) not call the cops, fearing a break-in or b) agree to come out to see what’s going on in town.

I was invited to see a few plays at the Fringe this week, but I’m skipping them. I’d much rather spend the time (and the money) somewhere where I can talk to the friends I’ve made and who I’ll probably never see again, mostly. We went out last night to Medina, where over a dozen SUISSers sat on pillows on the floor and just talked. Everyone, it seemed, was from somewhere else–Alek from Serbia, Zuzka from Slovakia, Mairin from Ireland, Roxanne from Italy, myself and Matt and Meghann from the US, Amir from Iran, Sweta from India, Rachel from Australia, Liza from Israel, and plenty more who I’m forgetting right now. That to me’s been the best part of being out of the World–meeting people from all over the place and forging a little community of expat temporary students from places with lousy exchange rates with the pound. Bliss.

There’s been some talk of setting up a message board to help everyone keep in touch after this is all over tomorrow morning. I’m all for it, but I don’t hold out much hope for its success. I’m afraid that everyone’ll go back to their lives, and barring the occasional email or Facebook message, this is all over. And letting go is okay–it’ll make going back to Connecticut easier, for sure, and it’ll give me focus. But I kind of want this to last just a few more days. The World’ll still be there.