My Favorite Home Away From Home

“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.” –Ernest Hemingway

Well, now I will begin my attempt to fill you in on everything I did over the past two weeks—which is most likely more than I did during the first four weeks of my trip combined!! Fortunately, I took little notes along the way so that I could remember everything I wanted to say. I think, I’ll probably just recap the trip using these bullet points and add in a few feelings and thoughts! Hopefully you’re interested enough to read the majority of it J

So, it all started with me arriving very early to the train station in Montpellier, thinking I had gone to the wrong train station because I couldn’t find information for the train to Paris, asking the person at the information desk for help, finding out that the final destination of my train was Lille Flandres (not Paris) which would explain why I couldn’t find it on the screen, sitting down to wait for my train next to a very cute guy who asked to borrow my phone charge to which I agreed because….well, because why not, and eventually finding the train with no problem and boarding. It was a double decker train, which I haven’t been on before, and I was on the top level which was nice because I had a really nice view of the scenery. I’m slightly obsessed with the TGV (high speed train in Europe) because 1. It runs all over Europe so it makes traveling fairly easy; 2. It is usually the same price or sometimes cheaper than flying; 3. It is not necessary to go through a security check at the train station, so it isn’t necessary to arrive 2 hours early—in fact, you can’t even board the train more than 20 minutes early; 4. Train rides are one of the most relaxing activities for me (right up there with going to the beach and grocery shopping….seriously); 5. The scenery is much more interesting on a train than on a plane! 

On this particular train ride, I was able to see the beautiful countryside of France which included fields of lavender and vast vineyards with a backdrop of mountains and hills. I slept for a little while, but I was too anxious about missing my stop at Charles de Gaulle to sleep for too long. 

From Charles de Gaulle, I had to take the RER B into Paris—the same line that I took to work every day when I lived in Paris two years ago!!! It felt so familiar and natural. The only difference was that the subway cars seemed to have been renovated because they were much nicer than I remember them being two years ago. On the ride, I saw a kid wearing a Saint Louis Rams hat!!! Of all the Saint Louis sports teams, that would be the one that I would least expect to see in France!!

When I change lines at Gare du Nord in Paris, I was quickly reminded of how hectic, crazy, busy, and fast-moving the subway stations in Paris are. Quite a contrast to the speed of life in Montpellier! A lot of things began to look very familiar to me though, and in no time at all, I had readjusted to the “Parisian lifestyle”—a much faster adjustment than my first time in Paris ;). 

Not only did I remember the color and the number of the line I needed to get to Josephine’s house, but I also remembered which stop I needed as well….yes, I was very, very proud of myself. Though it has been two years, when I exited the subway station and climbed the stairs to the busy road above, I felt as if it was only yesterday that I was returning home from work to this same street. Josephine came to meet me at the stop which gave me a very intense bout of deja-vu since it was the same stop where she had met me when I came to visit her for the first time from Orsay-Ville. Ohhhhhh, how wonderful it was to see her again! I hadn’t even realized just how much I missed her and her family (and Paris in general) until I began walking with her back to her house and the memories came flooding back to me as if a flood gate had just been broken. And the sensation only intensified as she opened the gate to her house and then the little side door at the bottom of the three steps which leads into “my” room in the basement. Despite a few rearrangements, it looked the same cozy, welcoming, homey, happy room that I remembered. 

I had a second intense episode of déjà vu when her mom arrived home and asked me how it felt to be home!!!! Words cannot describe. I just adore the whole family—their kindness, their friendliness, their humor, and their concern for me. The only people that make me feel more taken of than the Starons is my own immediate family! We had dinner at home that night (the whole “family”) and it was so enjoyable. They all have the same sense of humor as I do and so the entire meal was spent laughing and joking while also catching up on the past two years…none of us could believe that it had been so long!

In the morning, we woke bright and early and had a quick breakfast before Josephine’s dad took us (Me, Josephine, and Josephine’s friend, Adeline) to the airport. It was a short trip since the Starons live in the very north of Paris and CDG airport is just north of Paris. I was surprised at how simple it was to not only get through the registration line but also to get through security…short and sweet. I was also really surprised by the fact that Adeline was able to buy me a ticket with just my name and I just had to show a valid form of ID at the desk to check-in…….I don’t think anything is that easy in the U.S. However, the greatest part of the whole encounter was going through the process with the company of some friends because it has been forever since I have had company while traveling and it truly makes all the difference. I was not nearly as anxious or stressed…in fact, I was anxious or stressed at all!!!

 “What matters in life is not what happens to you, but what you remember and how you remember it.” -Gabriel Garcia Marquez

"There's No Place Like [A] Home"

“Home is not where you live, but where they understand you.” –Christian Morganstern

Isn’t it a bit stunning how relative the term “home” can become? Over the past three or four years saying “I’m home” has taken on so many different meanings that I’ve had to redefine it all together. “Home” used to mean Southern Illinois where I grew up, went to school, and where my family lives still. For about 19 years, that was the only home I knew and the only place I wanted to call home. After my first year at the University of Louisville, the city of Louisville began to feel much more like home than I could have imagined. I found myself getting confused as to when I should say “I’m going home” when I was travelling between Illinois and Kentucky. 

Then I complicated the situation even further when I spend two months in France the summer after my freshman year. At first, while living in a creepy, secluded room in the biology lab building, all I wanted was to return “home,” whether it be Illinois or Kentucky. But then I moved into Paris and lived with Staron family for the last half of my trip. It didn’t take much time for me to grow to love the Caroline, Thierry and Josephine or for me to feel like I was a natural part of their family. They were so welcoming, helpful, friendly, and comical and so much like my parents and family that it wasn’t hard for me to “make myself at home.”  I distinctly remember the day I came back to the Staron’s house from a weekend trip to Germany and Mrs. Staron said “Welcome home!!!!” I was a little surprised at how much I really did feel like I was home. I had all the sensations that people attribute to “home sweet home.” I was relaxed, comfortable, happy, and completely at ease. I even had my own bedroom, my own bathroom, a place at the table, a daily routine, and my own set of keys for the house. 

Even more surprising was how “homesick” I began to feel on the day I was leaving Paris to return back to Illinois. I even cried in the cab ride to the airport because I already missed the Starons. That’s not to say that I wasn’t ecstatic to see my family again because I most certainly was, but the moment was entirely bittersweet, because I didn’t know if I would ever return to my “home” in Paris and I really, really grown to love the place. 

This year I decided to come to Montpellier, France instead of Paris and so I was forced to adjust again to a new environment, new people, and new living place. For the first few weeks that I lived with Peter and Claire, I was extremely “home”sick for Illinois—and Louisville too. A little bit before I left for Vienna though, I began to adjust to my new routine at Peter and Claire’s, and by the time I left, I really enjoyed spending time cooking, listening to music, and watching movies with Peter and Claire. So when I arrived in Paris two Wednesdays ago, I was both excited to be back at my previous “home” and yet still slightly “homesick” for Montpellier. I can’t even describe the feeling of returning to the Staron’s house! Not only did I remember which subway line and stop I needed, but I even remembered how to get to the house from the stop! Walking through the front gates and down the little stairs into the room that had been temporarily “mine” was unbelievably exciting! So many memories and feelings and emotions and thoughts came rushing back to me and in an instant, it was as if I had never left despite the two years that had passed. 

Once again, when leaving Paris to return to Montpellier, I was torn between an excitement to return to the place that has become so comfortable for me and the sadness that consumed me when thinking about whether or not there will ever come another time that I will be able to return to the Starons’ house in Paris—a house and a home that I have grown to love with a very large part of my heart.  When I finally arrived back at Peter and Claire’s this evening, I was greeted with such warmth and affection from them both that I immediately felt “at home” again. And this evening back with them has been so comfortable and relaxing in way very similar to and yet still very different from the “at home” feeling I have at the Starons’ in Paris, or in my life in Louisville, or at my house in Illinois. Somehow each place provides me with unique and particular feelings of comfort, happiness, and love. 

And, in all, I’ve realized that “home” is most definitely not a place at all. “Home” is a feeling that one receives in the company of particular people. And these people that make one feel “at home” are “family”—another very relative term. I’ve realized that family is just as much a relative term as “home”. The people I now recognize as family are not just blood relatives, they are the people that provide me with feelings of warmth, joy, happiness, ease, comfort, affection, and care. I am very, very fortunate to be able to say that I have family and “home sweet homes” not only in Southern Illinois, but also in Louisville, Kentucky; Paris, France; Tamale/Accra Ghana; and Montpellier, France. And I could not be more grateful to have had the chance to meet and form lasting relationships with such wonderful, goodhearted people from around the world!!!

Well, I obviously have a lot of events to catch up on considering I have been all over the place the last week and half, but I just returned from a jazz concert, it is 1:15 a.m., and I have work in the morning, so I will begin playing “catch-up” tomorrow!

Bonne nuit!

“I have been very happy with my homes, but homes really are no more than the people who live in them.” –Nancy Reagan

New Friends, Good Shopping, and Wonderful Food

“At the end of life, what really matters is not what we bought but what we built; not what we got but what we shared; not our competence but our character; and not our success, but our significance. Life a life that matters. Live a life of love.”

Since last weekend will be my last weekend in Montpellier for three weeks, I made sure to do it up right!!

Friday night I met Cami in the city center for a night out on the town! We were originally supposed to go to les Estivales (the wine festival), but due to the Tour de France being in town, it was cancelled that Friday. Unfortunately, I had also forgotten about the Tour de France being in town, so I didn’t see that either…whoops! Anyway, Cami said that instead of going to les Estivales, we would just go to a local bar where a lot of people hang out on Fridays. So I met her, her boyfriend, Thomas, and her boyfriend’s friend at la fontaine des Trois Grâces (Three Graces Fountain—funny little stories about that: for some reason when I first read the little plaque, I read it as la fontaine des Trois glaces; “glace” in French means “ice cream” so now every time I talk about the fountain, I picture it filled with ice cream…..I think that would be a much neater landmark!). 

The bar where we went was in a really neat little cobblestone area surrounded by old buildings in the typical southern France architecture and the sun was setting slowly around us….it was beautiful! There were 20 or 25 little round tables outside on the cobblestone patio and they were all full, so we settled in on a couch inside until one of the tables opened up. Cami and I both had a Mojito Royale to start; it was super delicious and very, very sweet! More and more of Cami and Thomas’ friends showed up as the night went on and we ended up growing to a group of 10 or 12. Everyone was so wonderful and the majority of them could speak English, so that was helpful! I attempted to speak French from time to time, but as the night progressed, people slipped into English when they were talking to me. One of Cami’s friend, Leila, could speak excellent English because she had just returned from an internship where she was working with a German lady who couldn’t speak French, so they only spoke English. I had such a good time with them. Thomas was hilarious; he has some Spanish blood in him that tends to make him much more outgoing, energetic, and a bit crazy—but I loved it! 

For the first time, I felt a little bit like I was hanging out with friends from home and it was unbelievably relaxing! For some unknown reason, it surprises me when people from different backgrounds, cultures, and countries have the same humor and sarcasm as me and my friends, but I appreciate nothing more than meeting people with similar senses of humor—if you’ve met me or my family, you would know that sarcasm is our go to form of communication. I remember once when I was much younger I got very upset because my uncles kept “making fun” of my mom’s Jell-O creation at Christmas. When I asked my mom why they kept doing this and why it didn’t upset her, she said “Your uncles (and aunts, cousins, etc) use sarcasm and humor to show they care. If they didn’t poke fun at me, I wouldn’t think they loved me.” At the time it didn’t make complete sense to me, but I was obviously a quick learner, because I now know no other way to show that I care about the people I love!!! 

Anyway, I really enjoyed being able to communicate in the way that I know best with a bunch of people I just met and it made me feel instantly closer to them! Originally I had planned to stay with Cami and Thomas at their apartment because they live in the city center and then I wouldn’t have to worry about getting a tram home—since they stop running at 2 a.m. However, somewhere in the course of the night, Cami, Leila and I decided we wanted to go shopping on Saturday because all the sales are going on right now in France so basically everything in every store is on sale—like up to or more than 50% off!!! Then Leila and I realized we were heading home on the same tram, so we managed to get the second to last tram (at about 1:45). We met some lovely drunk lads on the tram celebrating their friend’s last night as a single man—Bachelor party! One of the guys had just married an American woman, so he spoke really good English and enjoyed filling me and Leila in on the events of the night.

Unfortunately Leila was getting off at a stop after me, so I was left to walk home through the dark, empty streets all alone again. Immediately, the horror film scripts began writing themselves in my head again. I called my mom (like 5 times), but…..no answer….THANKS MOM!!! ;) I made it home fine though and eventually fell asleep. 

Morning came way too soon, and the effects of the alcohol consumed the prior night hadn’t totally worn off yet. Leila, Cami, and I had agreed the night before that we would meet in the city center around 10:30 so we could get out Odysseum (the big shopping center—with an IKEA) at a decent hour to beat the mad rush that accompanies the sales season. I was in the process of convincing myself that I would feel better if I just got up and made some coffee when Leila texted me to let me know that she was not planning on getting up anytime soon due to the same issues I was facing ;). Neither of us had heard anything from Cami, so I decided on some more sleep.

We ended up meeting up in the city center around 11:30 and decided to just stay there to shop because there is a decent amount of little shops and a moderately large shopping center in the city center. And shop we did!!! For hours!! Not only did I make some nice purchases for myself, but I was also able to check off a significant amount of people from my rather lengthy list of “people to buy for!” Finally around 6 or so, we were all shopped out, tired, hungry, and HOT!!! It has been getting a bit warmer here every day and the heat is really starting to take its toll from about 5-7p.m.

Saturday night I went with Peter and Claire to an outdoor jazz concert which was SPECTACULAR! I’m pretty sure I was the only person there below the age of 40 (besides the performers), but I enjoyed every second. There were six guys playing various instruments—Banjo, trumpet, clarinet, violin, bass, guitar, washboard—and a female vocalist who had amazing spunk and energy and an awesome voice! I find it a bit comical when French musicians perform songs in English because they clearly don’t know/understand all of the words, so quite a few of them end up being more just sounds than anything else. Either way, her voice was good enough that I got chills even when she was singing random sounds as opposed to actual words. The band’s name was Emily Cole and the Hippocampus Jass Gang (yes Jass is spelled correctly!) In all, it was a very enjoyable evening.

Sunday morning, I went with Claire and Peter to a flea market type thing that was set up on the Promenade du Peyrou which is right behind the Arc de Triomphe. There were some really neat things there, but they were a bit pricey and I also had no cash left due to my escapades the day before—the best strategy for me to avoid buying more stuff!! So I just roamed around and looked.

When we got back to the house around 11, we set to work on cooking a very demanding spread for dinner—a gigantic Cornish Pasty Pie and an even more gigantic Lemon Meringue Pie!!!! Peter and Claire were very excited to teach me all they knew about both dishes. I felt like a little 8 year old in the kitchen with their grandparents—“okay stir this in here,” “pour this sugar there,” “do you want to lick the spoon?”…--haha, but it was wonderful and I had SUCH a good time! We had the jazz band’s album playing in the background and huge mess of utensils, bowls, vegetables, and random other things scattered all over the counter. After over 3 ½ hours of non-stop cooking, we were all ready for a nap, which we all took. I fell asleep on the sofa in the living room while Peter and Claire watched a movie and when I woke up about an hour later, the both of them were passed out! What a GREAT way to spend a Sunday!!! Seriously, I had so much fun…and now I can add two spectacular dishes to my list of recipes J! 

Monday and Tuesday were pretty productive days at work…I only have about 150 pictures in my second round left to mark before I finally done….with the marking part, that is….then we have to analyze the data points and enter all the health data for the cohort….blah. But, Monday afternoon I got a good break from that to go with Fred and Marion to a meeting with three other people who are also working on the same cohort of individuals, but less with asymmetry and more with sleep. However, Fred wants to bridge the gap between the two studies, so that has the potential to be really interesting. The meeting was conducted pretty much completely in French with Fred filling me in on some of it in English from time to time. Surprisingly, I understood way more than I expected to—I think knowing a bit of context before it got started really helped me understand more. So now, when I return from Vienna, I’ll have probably 2 or 3 more days of marking and then we will get started on assessing some of the data. Everyone at the meeting was very excited about that and they all seemed impressed at my progress which made me feel good!!! 

Today I spent pretty much the whole afternoon working with Cami—she’s awesome! It’s amazing to me how easy it is to become close friends with some people! We are already making plans for when I get back from Vienna—les Estivales is first on the list!!! I may just be lucky, but I have found that once you get to know someone in France and you become friends, you are friends for life. The majority of French people are so dependable—at least the majority of people I’ve met in France the two times I’ve been here have been. As I said, maybe I’m just lucky, but either way, it is something I appreciate SO much and unfortunately, I have found it much more difficult to find in America which is a bit of a bummer. 

As an example of the “friends for life” claim, I am going to Paris to FINALLY meet up with Josephine—whom I lived with for the second half of my trip two years ago when I was working outside of Paris. I could not be more excited about this!! Not only do I get to Josephine and her parents whom I literally regard as family, but I get to spend a week in Vienna with Josephine and two of her other friends! Woohoo!! Talk about a good friend! I met Josephine two years ago when I was in France. Eventually I ended up moving in with her and her family because they could not stand the thought of me living alone in the single biology lab bedroom and showering down the road in the greenhouse—yes that happened and yes I was more than happy to move in with them. After moving in with the Staron’s, my trip took a total 180 for the better. I adore everything about that family and I am certain that if it was not for their kindness, my stay in Paris would not have been anywhere near as magical as it was. I saw Josephine one other time when she was visiting a family in Northern Kentucky near Cincinnati—I drove up from Louisville for a day and we went shopping. When I told her I was coming back to France, she invited me to join her and her friends in Vienna—ummm, yesss!!!!

So, tomorrow I leave for Paris! I will stay with the Staron’s tomorrow night. Then Thursday, Josephine, her friends, and I will head off to Vienna for a week of wonderful festivities. When we get back the following Thursday, Josephine will leave for another trip, but I will get to spend the rest of the weekend in Paris with her parents….yay!!! I’ve missed Paris! Although, I must say, I might like Montpellier better than Paris—mostly due to its proximity to the beach—, I still reallllllly miss Paris. I fell so in love with the city when I was there last time. And this time, I won’t have to spend two weeks trying to figure out the crazy metro system. In fact, I still remember the name (and color) of the two lines/stops that I can take to get to the Staron’s house just like it was yesterday that I was heading “home” to their house. Crazy how much time can pass and yet some things still feel so familiar and comfortable. 

It’s a bit of a given that I probably won’t be writing for a good two weeks while I am gone. I won’t even have my computer with me in Vienna, and I doubt I’ll want to spend time writing while I’m in Paris. I’d do some writing on the train ride (4 hrs each way) but my computer has to be plugged in to work because my battery is shot. Oh yeah, and somehow my Nook completely reset the other night, so now I have NOTHING to read…..AND, I can’t download new books onto it while I am abroad, so there is pretty much nothing I can do that I know of….so that’s a bit irritating. BUT I now have friends to spend my spare time with, so the only time that I would really need it would be the train ride. Looks like I’ll just have to resort to my old-fashioned, hand-written diary ;)! That won’t be horrible! I’m so excited to tell you all about my trip when I return!!

A bientôt !!

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You’re on your own and you know what you know. You are the guy who’ll decide where to go.”Dr. Seuss

IRELAND!!!!

 First day in Dublin!

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 Part of Dublin Castle.

 Picking out some Belgian Chocolates!

 Saint Stephen's Green

 Kiely's Bar (with the cute, but blurry) bartender ;)

 The Upper Lake

 The Upper Lake, again.

 On the walk down to the lower lake.

 In the cemetery of the monastic city of Saint Kevin

 Our Tour Bus!

 A Kilkenny in Kilkenny!

 The Fish and Chips I have been raving about!

 Cheers!!

 Pouring my own Guinness :)

 First part of the pour complete...

 ,,,topping it off...

 VOILA!!

 My perfect pour!

 Kinda like a milk mustache for adults!

Officially a perfect pourer :)

 Wicklow Mountains

 Monastic City of Saint Kevin

 Kilkenny Castle

 Kilkenny or Guinness.....tough choice!

 BEST fish and chips I've ever had!

River Nore in Kilkenny