This adventure of French living has been going on a while now, coming up to seven months, in fact, and it has taught me a lot. I’ve learnt how to truly fend for myself, how to entertain myself in all manner of ways I would have never have previously and of course I’ve picked up a bit of French… But most importantly, I have really come to terms with the importance of appreciating little things.
If you have been following this blog recently you will be aware that things haven’t been easy. Actually I don’t think it would be a push to say these have been the most emotionally challenging 6 months of my life. I’ve been away from all my loved ones in a country that doesn’t necessarily welcome foreigners with the widest of arms and yet I’m surviving. That’s not to say there haven’t been highs too, there are days even when I feel I’m thriving, but it is the minute details that are often the ones that have been the most enjoyable.
Even in my most cynical critique of the whole experience, it would be impossible to deny that my ability to understand the gravity and importance of certain things I would have previously overlooked with an air of indifference, has developed enormously. For example, a morning coffee whilst I digest the day’s news would have been something I would previously take for granted and not take time to appreciate. Now I realise that it is not only a privilege to have the time and facilities to be able to indulge in this admittedly very middle class activity, but it is an act that is exponentially increased in value when you take the time to slow down.
Unlike my busy life in the UK where I’m always working, studying or socialising, the combination of isolation from my comfortable social circles as well as the reduced workload has led me to a slower pace of life. In some ways I feel old, like some retired expat living out his retirement in the peace of sunny, provincial France. Joking aside, taking my foot off the gas has really changed the passing scenery. I’m no longer rushing towards whatever is next in an infinite state of hurry and this has given me more time to take things for what they are and not just tick-boxes on the day’s to-do list. The headlines become a way of learning about the world outside my bubble and not just as a mental filler whilst I tie my shoes with a slice of toast hanging out the corner of my mouth in a rush to get out of the front door.
However, above all this philosophical waffle about slowing down (I totally understand that for most of us, myself included upon my return to real life, slowing down isn’t always an option and I’m not here to preach it), one of the most important lessons that this exchange has taught me is the power of the relationships we have with our family and friends.
My parents and youngest sister are flying home as I write this and their visit was like a dose of some miracle drug. I was blessed with the same feeling when my perfect S.O. visited and one of my best mates too. They all had this innate power to transform this city that I live in into a magical place that I had the power to help them discover for the first time. It transformed the somewhat mundane into something completely new. Seeing Aix through the eyes of a new visitor meant that every time, I discovered something new too. Not only that but it lifted my mood beyond belief. I like to believe that I’m able to keep myself going in this place and I think I do a pretty good job, but there is nothing like sharing it with the ones you love the most. They each reminded me of how lucky I am to have such a strong support network and I am grateful to them for that every day. They aren’t going anywhere and they will all be there when I get back so for now I push on, enjoy every day as its own and do my best to make the most of this incredible opportunity, because it’s not going to come around again.
Sorry for the long post,
I’ll keep writing if you keep reading,
J