01 January 2009

La Douceur du foyer

Sometimes it seems that vacationing can be equally, if not more, stressful than la vie quotidienne.

That is certainly how I felt the day before my departure, when I made my last post, and the sentiment persisted a number of times throughout my near two weeks of travel across Northern and Central Europe and back to Paris.

But, in all, I would have to say that I greatly enjoyed the trip. We made sure to keep things low-key, resisting my typical tourist-on-overdrive style in favor of a more laidback and leisurely attitude. Amsterdam, Prague and Vienna were all great. Although my obsessive compulsiveness regrets that I did not see everything that there is to see in these lovely cities, I am happy with what we were able to do and see. I got a great feel for each of the three cities and their dynamics which were all so different – from each other and, especially, from Paris.

I will be updating more about the trip and each city, hopefully with pictures – that is if I have room to save all 400-plus of them on my nearly-full hard drive – within the next few weeks as things settle back down for me.

During my vacation, I thankfully managed to free my mind – for the most part – of all the stress and work that plagued me before the break. Unfortunately, I have returned to face it all again in Paris. The decision to forget my troubles during the break was reasonable and psychologically helpful, but it is now becoming a bit regrettable; now back and settled into my home-away-from-home that is Paris, I am overwhelmed with the responsibilities and tasks before me.

My to-do list is chocked full of the things that I need to catch up on. From the practical (grocery shopping) to the silly (reading my favorite Slate columns) to the serious (preparing for a 3-hour, open-note final exam which will take place a week from today), each bullet point adds to my stress. Thankfully, having just finished writing it all down, the tasks are beginning to seem more manageable.

And being back in my cozy room in this intimate 6th-arrondissement apartment gives me the comfort and confidence to get to work.

At least for now, this feels like home.

1 comment:

Jamie said...

Also, BONNE ANNEE!!! Can't wait to see youuuu and catch up on everything. Also also, I bought MM her damn cinnamon Crest toothpaste after a lot of consideration. I almost was going to not buy it and tell her that security stole it from me.

Instead, I am going to charge her for shipping and handling.

Tu me manques, ma belle. J'étais sérieuse quand je t'ai dit que j'adorerais prendre un café avec toi au moins 1 fois par semaine pour parler en français. En plus, nous devons continuer notre boulot bibli; alors j'attends avec impatience the next time I get to see your beautiful face.

Also, my friend got me the dancing Wall-E that I almost bought for you that time we went to the Disney Store to inquire about Disneyland Paris. I will think of you every time he dances and blinks those cute little eyes.