(Written on a plane. Just to be a little cliche.)
It’s usually expected that people do a little reflection at the end of a life stage. ‘Look at what I did, everything I learned, this is really Susan 2.0, whoo hoo Paris.’ So here is an organized list of lessons I learned during my semester abroad in Paris:
1. no clue
2. nope, still don’t know yet.
3. I tried, really.
…
Ask me in a week. Or a month. A year, two years from now. Maybe then I’ll have a more thought-out account of what I’ve done for the last few months.
Even then, I’m not sure any dramatic life changes happened while I was in Paris. It’s a little the opposite. For me, being in a new context means I am spending most of my time on things otherwise taken for granted: grocery shopping, choosing classes (and then crossing my fingers that I can actually get credit for them), trying to understand everything that’s going on. so I would consider myself having done much less than usual in terms of work, organizing things, keeping up with the news, keeping in touch with people…
But then, that was kind of the point—studying abroad was a break from the break-neck pace of my life. Little did I know I’d be so occupied with all the little daily things in a new country (quotidien, one might say), e.g. not getting a headache after hearing and speaking French all day. So I suppose I still kept plenty busy. (Sigh.)
Going back to the other kind of busy may prove to be very difficult. I’ve been removed from the Harvard/American context for five months now, and I’m not sure I’m ready to jump back into the thick of things. Or maybe I’ll be more ready than ever to pick up my old rhythm. Like I said, ask me in a week.
Word.
