paris and friends
sometimes it is good just to get away from things for a bit. i often forget how it is to be somewhere else when i get stuck in a routine. the idea of travelling is often alluring and it is something i know i should take a long time off in order to really appreciate it... but i guess one of the products of being a continent hopper is that i meet other travellers that give me an excuse to get away without feeling guilty for not spending long enough in another place.
about two months ago maya told me she was going to be in paris for a week before heading back to the states. since paris is a mere 3 hour train ride away (soon to be 2.25 in november when they get a highspeed train in!) i thought it would be a good idea to pop down and spend a day or two with her while she was so close. without thinking about it too much i booked my ticket and just assumed the rest of the logistics and time off from work would just take care of itself. as it happened, it did. it was so nice to see maya again. i forget that it has seriously been like two years since i have last hung out with her and it was great to reconnect - if even just for a day. talking with her and finding out all that was going on in her life, and talking about what is going on in mine, is just so great and in doing so i just kind of realised that she is seriously going to be a friend for life. there aren't many people like that in the world. i've met loads of people who say they will keep in contact and what not, but never actually do are just completely shit at it. but maya has not been. we've been good over the years and i remember that she was the person i called the night before i moved to Australia and was so scared that i was making the wrong decision because i was so happy in Colorado. this time it was a bit reversed because she was leaving someone she cared about this time instead of me... but she handles it much better than it did :) i'm glad i'm able to call her a friend and i know that will not change.
so that was my old friend in paris and now i have a new friend in paris. helene, a girl on my course, has a sister who lives down in paris. when i told her that i was going to be down seeing maya she said that i could probably stay with her and her sister and everything ended up working out on that front. she showed me around her old stomping grounds from when she was at uni and then thurs night we went out in montmartre, the place her sister lives, and just had an amazing night talking about things and having some drinks in the odd little village in the centre of paris. she is such a sweet girl and i think our friendship is pretty strong. we have been hanging out loads lately and have been studying together at least half of the time.
which brings me to that same ole spot again of having good friends leave. this time, i'm the one that is staying put and they are all going around. it sucks because once again i will be stuck with no good friends (minus my wife of course) in this place and will have to start over, kind of. i know it is not possibly the same because i will have someone, but it is like finding new people all over again that i have to get to know and crap instead of having people i can just be myself around. even the two people we're living with next year i am awkward around already and don't really feel comfortable. you know, where you like FIND something to say instead of it just coming natural?? helene is looking for jobs in london and paris, so at least she will be close. jo is going to be in norwich... which is a royal pain in the ass to get to, and who the hell knows where ben or alexey are going to be. ug, and i don't even have a job....... i need a job so i can go visit my friends.
about two months ago maya told me she was going to be in paris for a week before heading back to the states. since paris is a mere 3 hour train ride away (soon to be 2.25 in november when they get a highspeed train in!) i thought it would be a good idea to pop down and spend a day or two with her while she was so close. without thinking about it too much i booked my ticket and just assumed the rest of the logistics and time off from work would just take care of itself. as it happened, it did. it was so nice to see maya again. i forget that it has seriously been like two years since i have last hung out with her and it was great to reconnect - if even just for a day. talking with her and finding out all that was going on in her life, and talking about what is going on in mine, is just so great and in doing so i just kind of realised that she is seriously going to be a friend for life. there aren't many people like that in the world. i've met loads of people who say they will keep in contact and what not, but never actually do are just completely shit at it. but maya has not been. we've been good over the years and i remember that she was the person i called the night before i moved to Australia and was so scared that i was making the wrong decision because i was so happy in Colorado. this time it was a bit reversed because she was leaving someone she cared about this time instead of me... but she handles it much better than it did :) i'm glad i'm able to call her a friend and i know that will not change.
so that was my old friend in paris and now i have a new friend in paris. helene, a girl on my course, has a sister who lives down in paris. when i told her that i was going to be down seeing maya she said that i could probably stay with her and her sister and everything ended up working out on that front. she showed me around her old stomping grounds from when she was at uni and then thurs night we went out in montmartre, the place her sister lives, and just had an amazing night talking about things and having some drinks in the odd little village in the centre of paris. she is such a sweet girl and i think our friendship is pretty strong. we have been hanging out loads lately and have been studying together at least half of the time.
which brings me to that same ole spot again of having good friends leave. this time, i'm the one that is staying put and they are all going around. it sucks because once again i will be stuck with no good friends (minus my wife of course) in this place and will have to start over, kind of. i know it is not possibly the same because i will have someone, but it is like finding new people all over again that i have to get to know and crap instead of having people i can just be myself around. even the two people we're living with next year i am awkward around already and don't really feel comfortable. you know, where you like FIND something to say instead of it just coming natural?? helene is looking for jobs in london and paris, so at least she will be close. jo is going to be in norwich... which is a royal pain in the ass to get to, and who the hell knows where ben or alexey are going to be. ug, and i don't even have a job....... i need a job so i can go visit my friends.