(Preface: i looked up "rhymes with vacation" to get the title. I wasn't going to admit it but I just had to be honest, it was tearing me apart.)
Hello everyone!
I’m sitting here at my kitchen table, waiting for the kettle to sing (metaphorically speaking of course, my kettle is oh so woefully electronic), and I thought I’d write a little update on what I did over winter vacation. It’s been about two months or so - that’s about my regular blogging interval!
So. Op! Got overexcited about blogging, and spilled my tea almost all over my computer. But not quite, phew. Funny story about this tea... I’m fighting, and have been fighting for about two weeks now, a nasty fever/cold/cough ensemble and so I thought I’d go to the Carrefour and buy myself some lovely tea to woo health back into my life. I found the tea section, picked up a tea that came in a soothing teal box imprinted with a faded image of a woman doing yoga on it (read: femininity, relaxation, health) and called it a day. However once I got home, my new “drainage and élimination,” tea, upon second glance, did not appear to be just a regular get-healthy-milk-and-honey sha-bang. It seems that I got a little carried away by the “drainage” part of the tea, wistfully picturing the end of my loogie filled days, and failed to consider how the meaning of “drainage” might change when paired with “élimination.” Seems I bought myself a little “suggestion for digestion” if you know what I mean. Constipation tea.
Needless to say, when living in Paris all year — waste not want not! My digestion has never been better, the flavor is slightly strange but fine, and I think there’s probably some sort of tea-placebo affect out there helping my cold anyways. I do like the idea of finishing my “drainage and élimination” tea box before holding any gatherings in the near future, and so have about 3 cups a day.
To continue: my computer was saved from liquid élimination, I just polished off a square of dark chocolate, the dishwasher (you remember Darling?) is running, and I get to sleep in tomorrow!!! Tout va bien.
I think I’ve gotten the long-random-story bug out of me with that tea tidbit so hopefully will be able to somewhat concisely summarize my vacation.
SciencesPo gave us what felt like an eternity off of school, but was actually just four and a half weeks. In the first two weeks, I trekked across the pond and went home for two weeks to have Christmas with the fam, see friends, freeze my tushy off, and drink legally in America. I had a wonderful time, however trans-atlantic travel is absolutely exhausting and I was happy to return to my lovely apartment in Paris (for a night) and then fly to Morocco the next morning for another two week vacation! In a few words, Morocco was stunning. It has been far too long since I have had the opportunity to travel to someplace so different from my norm. Memories of my semester in India came flooding back to me and dozens of future travel plans blossomed. The latest, and I’m posting it here in hopes of finding travel partners, take note, is a South-East Asia trek to take place the summer after graduating, with a month long emphasis on traveling around India... any takers? Essentially, Morocco awoke the soul of the vagabond who lives in my belly (and who, for the last four months, has been getting lazy and fat on brie and baguette), and reminded him how much satisfaction I get from traveling! Travel plans for the rest of the semester are currently in the works. Small detail: during the one night we spent a night at a surf hostel in a surfing town 15km outside of Agadir called Tanghazout I became convinced that the best way to see the world is by kite-surfing around it. Literally the coolest sport I have ever not yet tried. Who’s with me here?
I landed back in Paris on January 22 for good. Phew! After two very different vacations, and with loads of dirty laundry and a whopping cold/fever on top - I was home :) A friend from CC once told me during my first semester when I was still settling in, as I was a Winter start and beginning a semester after him, that I wouldn’t understand how much I loved the school until I had experienced a “return.” At CC I felt the effects of the return: how fun it is to catch up with everyone and immediately start pounding shots the Sunday before classes start... but with Paris, coming back to the first real home I’ve created for myself, was the first time I have felt so content to just. be. home. Ahh. Feeling sentimental.
Back to life in Paris. Round Two. Nothing that exciting to report just yet. I’ve finally decorated my apartment with some tapestries from India, silks dyed by my mom, pictures of friends and family back home, and postcards of Edward Gorey sketches (from mom -that i love! thanks mom!) and vintage Vogue covers (from Sophia bought at the art and design musée next to the louvre - that i also love! thanks soph!) I should take some pictures to post. Needless to say, the apartment is looking much more beautiful and homey.
Another entry on classes coming soon.
gros bisous à tous,
ariella
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