La Maison Est Où Le Coeur Est

Eiffel Tower Noodles 

     Hello! It has been a while. I have decided to write my blog every two weeks. My writing hasn’t improved much since my life has become very routine and normal. I don’t need to write about my new experiences as often because it’s all become so normal. Hopefully, I won’t end up being late because of this. Or in this case, my blog is three weeks late. It has been a busy few weeks, and the best part of it was my trip home! I don’t think I realized how much I missed home until I was there.

     Most of the week before coming home was spent getting ready to come home. The decision to come home happened on a whim. The kids got a two week vacation from school and the family made plans to ski in the French Alps. My mom suggested that I come home for a little visit. I thought “Why not!”

The Street Art of Paris is Amazing ALL the Time

     I have been traveling for most of my life, thanks to my mom’s ambition and her great opportunities, but this was the first trip that I was doing on my own. As in, packing, getting to the airport, checking in, and boarding the plane by myself. It wouldn’t have been so bad if a few things hadn’t gone wrong.

     First, after getting to the RER (train station) that would take me to the airport, I stood with several other dozen people watching the sign flashing “Train to Airport cancelled due to construction.” After the shock wore off, I found that they were offering a bus from another station to the airport and it was just a matter of getting to the station. Luck was not on my side. As I was getting on the train that would take me to the new station, I pulled my giant bag onto the train with me and succeeded in pulling the handle right off the bag. I don’t know how, but I managed to get to the airport with only a very tired arm and excited to go home.

We Found a Cupcake Place in Paris! 

     I wasn’t sure what I expected from my trip home, but it didn’t end up how I thought it would. It was very good to go home and see all my friends and family. I now see how much I have missed my home. It was so easy to come home; easier than I expected. In many ways it felt as if I had never left, as if I had only been gone for a few weeks rather than a few months. Meeting with friends was something that I thought was going to be the hardest. Being away from friends during this time in my life is when I get to see who true friends are. It was so nice to know that my best friends haven’t left my side, even after I decided stay another year in Paris.

     Speaking of which, I hit my 6 month mark last week, but the day came the week that I made my journey home. Does that still count as my six month mark if I wasn’t even in Paris at the time? It was only a difference of three days… I’m counting it anyway! So there goes another mark off my Bucket list. Live in another country for 6 months. If I add on there that I would like to live in another country for two years does that count as a bucket list or a goal?

Hot Springs In Utah

     It was so good to see my family. I have felt guilty for leaving them, especially since things with my younger brother became difficult to manage. I was so happy to find that my parents are as brilliant and persistent as always, and have been hard at work to find the help that my brother needs. I was there for the beginning of a new treatment for my brother. It’s not all fun and games, but lucky some of it is. My family has been traveling up to the hot springs in Honeyville for several weeks now, and I was fortunate to go with them on my last visit. It really was a wonderful experience, and it was this travel that made me realize that I could never leave my home in Utah permanently. I have missed the mountains so much. I have missed the long open valleys of dessert land. I would much like to have a great big garden on an open property out in Honeyville one day.

     I can’t let my youngest brother, Geoff, go unmentioned. He is the one who has changed the most. He is taller than me, and has been for a while now. He is driving, and took my place at my old job. My family has had season passes to Hale Center Theatre for more than 10 years, and I have grown up going to the theatre. I was lucky enough to go to play while I was home, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and it was a really good. The whole time I was thinking of Geoff, and how good of an actor he has become.

Last View of Utah before Returning to Paris 

     After 10 days of a wonderful time in Utah it was time for me to come back to Paris. My journey back was more stressful than I imagined, and it was all due to bad weather in Paris. I might have thought I had entered into some sort of parallel universe. I left Utah with beautiful clear skies and came to horrible weather in Paris. It was very backwards for me, and I will say that Paris does not handled bad weather very well. The whole city nearly shut down due to an inch or so of snow. Flights and trains were delayed, everyone was under staffed, luggage wasn’t being pulled off the planes... It was a mad house at the airport. I might have thought that the world was coming to an end. The whole ordeal took me an extra three hours to get home.

     Coming back to Paris was very strange. More than I was expecting. Although nothing had changed, the house felt different. It didn’t take long for me to fall back into routine, especially after seeing friends from Paris and catching up on all the stories. It’s hard to think that I might have two different lives, but I do. I live in two very different worlds, and both have taught me so much. Going home was amazing, and I will take full advantage of all the opportunities I have to visit again. Still, I know that my life is here right now, and it’s a good life. I have been so fortunate to have a strong support group in Utah as well as in Paris. I am truly blessed in all that I do.