4 months ago i bought my ticket to france. since then i haven’t given much thought to my trip. it was always “4 months away” or “at the end of the summer” and i never want to rush through a summer. but eventually 4 months turned into 4 weeks, then 4 days, until today: august 31, the end of the summer (and a rather non-summer to boot), the beginning of months that end in -ber, my last day at work for two weeks, my bags still unpacked, preparations in full swing.
i’d forgotten how much preparation it takes to go overseas! getting my passport in order, remembering my tickets, notifying my bank and visa people of my absense, making sure i have all my maps and guidebooks and moneybelt. i became wisful today thinking about all this. the last day of august is always a wistful, nostalgic time for me, what with a few leaves on the tree outside our living room window turning red, and all the acorns i’ve been kicking around on the sidewalks near work. i’ve just recently accepted the month of september and what it has to offer: gorgeous indian summer days stretching into cool evenings and crackly air. it’s truly the best month in my city. but it’s been hard to drop my associations of september meaning school starting and fall approaching. oh, the beginning of fall and cold and rain and grey. shit. it’s nearly time to break out the wool sweaters and boots.
looking back on my life, big things happen to me in september: i moved away to college, i moved to france, i got a raise or started a new job, i took a vacation. it’s the same now— a changing of the guard, a change in my life’s atmosphere and mood. these are good things.
as much as i want to blog in france, to remember all the little details that make france so special to me, i might not be writing so much after all. i’m sure i’ll write in my journal (especially on the trains), but i might just find myself faced with an allergy to computers. i’m ready to unplug and introspect. drop out for a while. i’m not sure yet.
stay tuned!