normality

This past Sunday, Val and I enjoyed the pleasant surprise of having one of our friends from France, Keturah, unexpectedly show up in Maryland.  The three of us found ourselves driving to dinner and although we hadn't seen her since last December it felt like no time had passed at all and it was the most refreshing reminder that the friends I made abroad would be friends I would have forever.  Similar to my ASP friends, when you share a certain connection or experience with people, you realize distance or time spent apart really doesn't matter all too much.  

Anyway, as we're driving, Keturah asks us each how long we've been home.  Without even thinking, I blurt out "oh, about two months" and its not until I'm actually speaking the words out loud that I realize "wait, it's been three."  Three months and one day, to be exact.  And my mind was blown.  Almost as blown as it was 10 days ago when I realized that July 31st, 2014 was the day that I left for France last year and it was already a whole year later.  As blown as it was again when I skyped my host family a week ago and realized that was the first time I had seen their faces since May 8th (faces I miss a lot, by the way).

As I said in this blog many times before, time flies. 

I've always been a person who likes to stay busy, make plans, have something to look forward to, and coming back home has been no exception.  So I guess what is just still so hard to grasp is how quickly my life became so normal again.  I was home less than two weeks before I was heading off to a friend's wedding, less than a month before I started a brand new full time job, less than 6 weeks until I was taking normal summer weekend trips to Ocean City.

And I love all this, by the way.  I love that I'm the type of person that can easily adapt to my situations.  You could stick me in a pick-up truck hauling gravel in eastern Kentucky or a cafe drinking espresso in Paris and either way I'm gonna figure out how to enjoy myself.  Learning where you fit in back in the town you grew up in is a little bit different though.  

The majority of my childhood and high school friends are gone, just as I was.  I'm lucky that a vast majority of my college friends ended up (for the time being) in the DC area, but even hanging out with them sometimes takes planning and advance notice.  My ASP friends are literally all over the country.  

Frequently, I find myself thanking God for my Jazzercise girls, and their unconditional support and friendship.  And let me just say how much I love these women real quick.  Besides my new job, my other major occupier of time this summer has been my Jazzercise instructor training with my friend Jen.  It's been an eye-opening, intense, sweaty, and super fun experience so far that has made me appreciate the women I've come to love through this program so much more.  (And for those of you who need to step into 2015 and see how awesome this program is, watch this video and then report back about when you wanna come to class with me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BBXh4d2pb0)

And here's Jen and I before our first workshop rehearsal last weekend!  Cute was an understatement, am I right?

(Also, you also know you've become addicted to your workout when you decide to take a morning off from working out and your body wakes you up anyway.  I had fully planned to sleep in until 6:30 this morning, but I was up and alert at 5.  I have always been a morning person, but even this feels a little extreme.  So, I'm blogging instead.  And I'm totally not trying to be one of those people right now who talk about how awesome they are for getting up early...please don't hate me.  I'm only successful at this because I go to bed at 10:00 pm most nights and have like no social life.)

So back to the point I'm attempting to make: schedules and routines, for the most part, occupy our lives.  I think for a lot of people, that's what forces them to get out of the country and try crazy new experiences.  They want the thrill of something completely different than they are used to.  That both was and wasn't the case for me, because I love schedules and routines.  Get me a list to check off any day of the week and i'll make it happen.  I wanted to get out and away just because I knew that most likely I wouldn't have as little commitments as I did at the age of 24 and I might not have an opportunity to travel as freely as I did for 9 months at another time in my life.  But here's the thing: routines follow you abroad just as they do at home.  Even though you're living amongst the French Alps, you still get into a rhythm.  I still had responsibilities, people that were counting on me to be in a certain place at a certain time every day.  My weekends were unpredictable, but my weekends at home can be unpredictable too, if I choose to make them that way.  Adventure can be in the little things just as much as it can be in the big things.  Perspective is all that matters.

As long as I'm still enjoying my day to day life, I don't get scared of getting stuck.  I'm an adult after all; I should be waking up every day, attempting to contribute to society at large.  And lucky for me, I have found a job that I do want to invest in and enjoy going to every day.  I have my jazzercise certification and teaching to look forward to, weekend trips out of the state to keep me excited, moving out of my parents house this fall to plan for.  My life is good and you won't hear me complaining.  I guess I just didn't think it would all come together so fast.  Am I selling myself short by being as surprised as I am that it did?  Am I being cocky if I say I'm not surprised?  I don't know, I have far from all the answers.  All I can do is make the most out of every day.  (Yeah, that's pretty cliche, get over it.)

Wrap Up

Sunday, April 19th, 2015: The date of my last blog post.  Location: London, England.

Wednesday, May 27th, 2015: Today's date.  Location: Clearwater, Florida. 

Yikes.

As I think everyone knows by now, I have made it back safe and sound to the states.  I think I've been putting off writing this last blog of my European life because its unbelievable that this whole experience is actually over.  From gearing up to leave, securing a visa, flights, living in France (and Belgium, and London), learning french, driving a manual car, traveling my butt off and above all else gaining the patience and tolerance it took to take care of those little twin boys...all over.  And that is so hard to believe.  

Flying home I was definitely feeling every emotion in the book; excited to see my family and friends, already missing the friends I made in France and my host family, uncertainty about how going home would feel, nostalgia for all the beautiful places I saw abroad, relief, sadness, anxiousness, joy...and hunger.  IcelandAir does not give you a meal, even on international flights.  Word to the wise. 

The week prior to leaving, my mom came to join me in London, and we enjoyed a great few days in England together, and even a 3 day cruise, stopping in both Bruges, Belgium and Paris, France.  I think given the chaos of those 8 days, I didn't have a chance to process that I was actually about to leave Europe until I was actually in fact leaving Europe.  The 4 months after Christmas went by much faster than the August-Christmas time period. 

It's still nothing short of a miracle that I even got myself and all my things home.  It took my mom and I upwards of an hour to rearrange luggage and throw unnecessary items away in the middle of London Heathrow Airport to get all my bags at the proper weight limit.  (I am sure bystanders were amused by this.)  And I ended up getting extremely lucky with IcelandAir allowing me to check 3 bags for free (two included, and one extra because my flight was full and they were checking extra carry-on items for free that day.  This doesn't completely make up for the lack of food, but it certainly helped.)

The morning we were leaving England, we stopped back by my host parents apartment to get all my luggage and say goodbye one last time.  I was not totally shocked but still a little surprised at how sad I felt leaving them, and I think they felt the same way; tears were definitely shed on both ends.  But we have already been in touch a couple times since I left and I'm sure we will stay that way.

Now that I'm home people keep asking me a lot of the same questions, so let me try to wrap up a few of those...

1. What was your most favorite place you visited/favorite thing about living abroad?

I don't know!  Okay, I just don't know.  Please stop asking.  I loved everything!  I went to so many places and saw so many different things, for me it is truly impossible to pick just one.  But, if I had to choose, my top highlights would probably be Oktoberfest in Munich, the Christmas Markets in Colmar, France and the overall vibe and energy of London.  And I was extremely lucky to live near the cutest town of Annecy, France.  But I don't think I went to one place I wouldn't go back to.  (Except maybe Geneva, that place offers quite little.)

As far as living abroad, every day was an adventure.  Every day I was going somewhere new, trying something new, meeting someone new.  Nothing ever got boring and I will miss that lifestyle just as much as the places I went.

2. What did you miss the most from the states and now what do you miss about Europe?

This one is a little easier, and yes, they are both food based.  From America I missed Chipotle and Dunkin' Donuts and now I miss the quality of french bread and wine. 

3. Would you do it over again?

I wouldn't necessarily do it over again, because one year was enough for me, but there are things I would have done differently.  But at the same time, I wouldn't have traded the 9 months for anything.  I learned so much about myself, people in general, and another part of the world that I may not have ever learned had I not put myself through this experience.

For example...

• I am organized.  I am efficient.  I like to have a plan.  And not everyone operates the same way I do.

• Navigating public transportation, reading maps, and following signs in a foreign language in a foreign country is not easy, but it is possible. 

• There is a big difference between being 3 hours away from home for college and being a plane ride away over the ocean.  I am so lucky to have a home and a family that I truly missed.

• It is not easy to live with someone else's family, even if you get along with them.

• No matter how cute, kids are demanding little things that require an overabundance of patience, time, and energy.  And I have no need for that in my life for quite a few more years. 

• Good friends are not just important, they are necessary, and I couldn't have made it through my year without a few of those.
• But at the same time, you are your own best friend, and learning to enjoy your own company is essential. 

There's no good way to sum this whole thing up.  I don't have any profound advice, and even if I did I would feel snobby and pretentious sharing it.  I've always loved to travel and see new things, and this experience has certainly fueled that fire even more.  I have already successfully secured myself a new job however so I can start to save up for my next adventure, wherever and whenever that may be.  This world is so big and complex and I will certainly always have a running bucket list of things to see and do.  But for now I am content, happy to be home and getting back into a new routine.   

Adventure is out there, and I have no doubt that I will find it again. 

P.S. - Should I keep this blog going?!  I know my life will probably never be as fascinating as it was this past year, but sometimes I do have thoughts I want to share, and I do really love to write.  And maybe some of you guys might still like to follow along.  It's still up for consideration...I'll have to create a new title I guess.  But Chasing the American Sun doesn't have quite the same flair now does it?

Easter Weekend in Belgium

Apologies, but I'm going to back track for a moment - I just don't want to forget anything that happened when I look back on this blog later! 

Two weeks ago, Easter weekend, Michelene and Lauren made the trek up to Belgium to see me and spend Easter in the land of chocolate and beer!

To briefly recap the craziness that was that weekend:

Friday night: 

• Spent an hour trying desperately to track down our air bnb in the suburbs of Brussels, to find that it was right under our noses the entire time, if only we had had proper directions from our host or phones with google maps. 
• Wandered around the center of Brussels trying to find a fun bar, only to find ourselves being ushered into a club in the bottom of an art gallery by friends we had just met on the side of the road. 
• Found a fast food place that was open past 11 pm (which may not sound all that exciting to you, but never successfully happened in France).

Saturday:

• Woke up, got coffee, went back to the center of Brussels to see the Grand Place and Manneken Pis, and get waffles and fries.

• Took the train to Bruges, ate delicious beer&cheese soup, took a tour of the oldest sixth generation family owned brewery in Bruges, went to the town square, ate more french fries, drank more beer. 

• Went back to Brussels, found an Irish Pub, hung out with a team of English rugby players until 2 in the morning. 

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Sunday: 

• Decided to try to go to Amsterdam, got to the central train station on time despite the 4 hours of sleep, realized all the trains and buses to Amsterdam were full for the day.
• Went back to our original plan which was to go to the city of Gent, Belgium instead.  Took the train to Gent, wandered through the beautiful city center, drank more beer, saw canals and cathedrals, ate chocolate, ate escargot, tried to understand the flemish language, failed miserably at trying to understand the flemish language.

• Went back to Brussels, had dinner at a mexican restaurant (with free chips and salsa...also something that never happened in France), made the relatively short but slightly complicated journey back to the grandparents house where I was staying.

Mich and Lauren, I love you two so much for wanting to and successfully (although stressfully) making it to Belgium to spend the weekend with me! Always an adventure with you two. Until the next one. 

London!

Well, it's official. 

I. Love. England. 

I think I could live in this town forever.  I won't, but I could.

My host family has relocated to a suburb of London called Richmond.  It's the last stop on the green line of the tube, so it's a little far out here, but it is amazing.  All i've done during my free time in the short amount of time I've been here so far is walk around and explore this fantastic place.  Within walking distance are coffee shops, pubs, a couple movie theaters, restaurants galore (hello sushi, thai, indian, and mexican!), the Thames River, Richmond Park, other outdoor garden spaces, and the  friendliest people with the most wonderful accents I have ever met.  (Does anyone ever get tired of listening to the English accent?  I don't think so.)

Everywhere I go, people are open and active and smiling and enjoying themselves and the day.  The vibe from this town is just so good, so different from the french, or any other place I've called home.  This is the type of place I need to be permanently. 

Pictured here is my new backyard. (Okay fine, its a 3 minute walk up the road.)

The Thames River, just beyond my backyard garden.  

This beer all over the place. 

And those telephone booths.  They are real. 

I really don't want to leave.

Except for the fact that we are living in a tiny apartment.  It's a 3 bedroom, so I still have my own space, but other than the bedrooms and a small living room and a kitchen, that's really it.  It's really well located, which helps, and once I get out of here, I think they will be okay.  And speaking of, I am out of here in just two weeks. 

I don't know how that happened.

But two weeks from today, my mom flies in, and 8 days after that, I am America bound!

My schedule is crazy and unpredictable right now, mais c'est pas grave.  (Yep, still speaking french.  It was/is actually still weird to be surrounded by english again and not have to concentrate to understand what people are saying!)  Yesterday, Sophie and I went to the zoo with the boys, which I'm sure you can imagine how that went with two 4 year olds.  They're cute and enjoying themselves...until they're not.  Long day for all of us.  But a really well done zoo!  Expensive, as is everything here, but easy to navigate and lots of shows and presentations all day long. 

Tuesday, I had the afternoon off, so I had some solo sushi and shopping time.  Well, not too much shopping, as my bank account right now is not equipped for that, but so many shops and stores to wander in and out of.  This morning I had some time off as well, so I rented a bike and explored Richmond Park, a huge nature reserve area right near by.  It was bustling with people exercising or strolling with their kids and dogs.  Everyone smiles at you, everyone is happy to give directions or offer suggestions, I just can't say enough good things about this area.  When I was in a smoothie shop this morning, a woman recognized my accent (still weird to think I am the one with an accent, because my voice is just so normal and boring to me) and invited me to happy hour with her and a group of American ladies all living in this area next week!  How nice was that?

Also in this park...deers roam free!  They're not scared of people, and there are literally dozens of them just hangin' out and enjoying the sunshine.

Speaking of sunshine...don't people always say that it rains a lot in London?  Because I haven't seen any yet, and the weather has been in the 60's and 70's since I've been here, and it's not supposed to change any time soon.  Either I've got good luck, or everyone is wrong.  Doesn't matter to me. 

If anyone has suggestions on things to do and see while here, I'd love to hear them!  I'm planning on getting out to do the touristy things (Big Ben, London Eye, Buckingham Palace, etc) when my mom is here, but will have time this weekend and next to adventure and see what else this city holds.  I know there is so much and I can't possibly see it all in 3 weeks, but I'm willing to give it a good shot.  

I have recently discovered that there is nothing worse then packing up and moving.

Unless you're doing it with someone else's family.

I am writing this post from Brussels, where we finally arrived last Friday night (March 27th) to spend a week or so before we move on to London, but it took a lot to get here.  

I don't want to get too ahead though, since I still haven't talked about my amazing last weekend in the south of France!  So quickly, lets do that.

It seems as though we probably picked one out of like 3 weekends that the south of france gets rain.  So, weather wise, it was a little disappointing.  I definitely looked, and sort of felt, pretty stupid walking around in sandals half the weekend.  I had high hopes.

We (Lauren, Michelene, and I) left bright and early Saturday morning and were in the mediterranean coastal town of Cassis by lunch time!  It was an amazing little port city right on the water, about 20 minutes south of Marseille, which was our ultimate destination.  But Cassis was better.  We had an amazing seafood lunch, walked along the beach, and strolled the cobblestone streets.  Then we took an amazing scenic drive from Cassis to Marseille, with some of the most unreal views I have ever seen. 

After Cassis we drove to Marseille, and fought traffic and an incompetent GPS for a good hour before finally deciding to call it quits and just find our air bnb.  We should have expected that, knowing that Marseille is the second biggest city in France, and all cities come with traffic and headaches, but some of these streets we accidentally took barely even fit Michelene's Twingo, maybe the smallest car that Europe produces.  We finally checked into our air bnb (a tiny but tidy apartment), made some dinner, got ourselves cleaned up, and headed out to find two Irish pubs that were recommended to us.  Can't go wrong with a decent irish pub. 

(I left France 5 days ago and I already miss these girls!  Thank God they are coming to Brussels this weekend!!!)

The next morning we attempted to try and sight see around Marseille, but again got frustrated and ending up just heading to our third and final destination, Aix-en-Provence.  About 30 minutes north of Marseille, a smaller, more manageable, picturesque city.  The weather still kind of sucked, but we had the best time just wandering all around, trying pastries and coffees and ice cream all day long.  Aix is also known as the city of fountains, claiming to have about 100 different ones throughout the whole city.  Here's the most impressive one I saw:

I wish it had been better weather, and already spring, because I can just tell how wonderful this place would be in warmer weather.  Lots of trees and cobblestone streets and an overall easy going vibe.  Next time!

Now in Brussels, everything is well.  The boys and I are staying with my host dads parents, who are so pleasant and wonderful to me.  I had been carrying around a bag of dunkin' donuts coffee with me (Thanks Ms. Faith!) since I arrived, but have been using a keurig like machine for coffee since I've been here.  This morning I finally had the chance to brew everyone some American coffee and they loved it!  The boys have been mostly good, they love being in Brussels with all their family and love the idea of London because that's where Peter Pan and Harry Potter live, of course.  We're all pretty excited about London in fact, and it looks like we will finally be there this coming Monday (April 6th)!

Packing up the house was nothing short of a nightmare, but thankfully a nightmare that is now behind us.  The movers were there for two straight days, two solo guys packing up this entire house.  They were frustrated because they wished there were more of them, we were frustrated because we wished there were more of them, and the boys were running wild among all of this.  Talk about a headache.  

Pictured here: my last night in France, complete with boxes, a taped up couch, and wine out of a plastic cup.  Going out in style.  

Next stop: Becoming best friends with the royal family!