Oh how time flies, already leaving in three week! When I first arrived I felt as if I were a tourist visiting Paris for the first time, and now the end is near and I feel like I could have extended my trip longer. So many things I still want to see and new things I keep discovering. I finally moved into the 5th district where I have a tiny studio in the heart of the Latin Quarter. No seriously, absolutely tiny, as in my shower in adjacent to my kitchen sink, (and no there is not door dividing the two). But I do kind of feel like a true writer in residence. My ground floor apartment over looks a backyard garden which can be either of two things, good AND bad. Good for morning sun and fresh air and a silent view, but bad for the critters who make their way into the apartment without any given permission. Yes I have killed two spiders already.
I go to my favorite cafe everyday where I am finally meeting my dose of real Parisians and even practicing my French. I made particular friends with an old man who spoke seven languages. I'm not quite sure why I stayed and spoke to him for so long, or why I took his cell phone number but very glad that I did, he had old stories that kept me wanting to hear of more. He was balding with gentle crisp blue eyes. I spend most of my time listening, and interestingly enough, he has inspired my writing more than any other person has here.
It's also going to be quite sad leaving the group of friends I have made here, just when intimate stories have began exchanging and drunk nights you will never forget have begun happening, I have to go. But for some reason I have this gut instinct that I will be returning to Paris, maybe to write my second book or even to see the people I have come to call my family away from home. Who really knows? I am certain of one thing though, I have learned more about myself than I expected to. My strengths and weakness, my will to get over random sad nights. The other night I had my first extreme sad night where I was severely missing my mom, to the point of tears. It's crazy how you don't realize how much you miss your mothers embrace until it's completely out of your life. And all the fights and annoying things about her, are suddenly forgotten and you can't even completely remember what she does to annoy you. But for some reason I'm sure I will be reminded of that one as soon as I return home
I appreciate things he more, the random nights out and all the people I meet, dinners with food I have never tasted before, and walks down winding streets with cafe's and shops only one would find here in Paris. This inner emotion has only been triggered here, I now crave more and yearn to taste something new, and I only want to explore more and more.
I went to the north of France last week and stayed with a friends family. In this beautiful house not to far into the country. The city itself was absolutely charming, and the food! Well let's just say if you want good French food, I wouldn't come to Paris. I ate so much while in Metz, and absorbed something that was completely foreign to me. I almost didn't want to leave and was saddened that I had only seen this one gorgeous city outside of Paris. I wondered if this was comparable to the south.
Next stop is Morocco, after all who knows when I will have time again to see this country and it's been on my to do list for quite a while. I feel extremely privileged to be able to keep making new dreams come true for myself. Privileged by whom, I don't really know...one shouldn't always analyze these things.
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