When I first moved to the UK, I tried to keep track of when I started getting used to things, and when things started feeling familiar. Like the first time I was able to hand over change for a cup of coffee without having to stare at the coins for a few seconds to figure out what they were. Or when I started remembering all of the train times without having to look at a schedule.

Along the way, so much has become familiar that it's hard to separate it in my mind anymore. Like instead of having to convert 24 hour time to 12 hour time before I have any idea what time it is, I'm now thinking in 24 hour time. I don't convert the temperature from C to F anymore, I just have a vague idea of whether it's hot or cold (hint: it's cold). And I can recognize Canadians so clearly simply from their accents that it's scary, whereas before I would have struggled to notice someone wasn't American.

And this evening, I'm catching a train to Paris. I packed a bag for the weekend, I came to work as normal, and after work I'll hop a train to London and then catch EuroStar to Paris. Now don't get me wrong, it isn't like I do this every weekend. Hell, I haven't been to Paris since I was 17. But still, the thought that I can just decide to head off to some city in Europe for the weekend if I feel like it doesn't feel that weird to me anymore.

In a way that's kind of sad, because it means that being here feels less special now. But it feels a lot more like home, which more than makes up for it.