Back home !

Last Saturday, I came back from a week in France. (I had way to many things to bring back). Here are some things I noticed about the quick journey :

♦ Ô sweet Lord, the temperatures. 

I saw the sun shine a few days that week. I took my coat & scarf off when I landed. And didn't put them back until later that night. Ave Maria was ringing in my ears. We've had a running joke with my flatmates, that back home we would wake up one day and be fascinated, no even scared by a disturbing phenomenon, long forgotten. A giant light in the sky, and the weird color it would have, a light blue instead of the regular cloudy grey. Where would the rain be, the constant humidity and freezing breeze.

♦ I took several planes in my life. 

Like a lot. 21 until today, if I did the math correctly, that I can remember. But no matter how rationally safe they are, how used to them I can be, I still get clammy hands. During every take off and every landing, there is a little judgment in my head. I assess how I've been doing so far, and tell myself that I lived a good life, and I can die in peace, so I won't have any regrets for dying this early, or this horribly (up in flammes, drowning, crashed on the road, you name it). It is my only way not to get scared : to be prepared. Also, I put my headphones on and blast some badass soundtrack for my ending. 

♦ I have a script. 

For seven day, I have been running a lot, to see family and friends, and eating a lot also (approximately 3 restaurants, 3 snacks, 1 family lunch and countless pancakes/tea/drinks/cheese offers). And I had to tell a few things for my four months abroad. ("It was cool, bad weather though" was apparently not enough, to my despair) So I had a little script, half rehearsed. I did not plan on giving everyone the same generic speech, it just kind of happened. For the next generation of friends asking me about England, here it goes :

Weather : pretty disappointing. Grey sky a lot, some rain, some cold wind, not much snow. Not a lot of daylight either (until 8:30 to 16:30). People : very nice. English people are so polite. But I mainly knew Erasmus student, and can count on my fingers the number of actual British persons among my friends. Lifestyle : not that expansive if you go to cheap supermarkets and go out during the week. Clubs are only £5 though.

♦ I was home everywhere. 

Last but not least. When I unpacked in my french house, I felt as if I never left. It is my childhood home, I lived there 20 years, with more or less attendance over the years. I will always be home. But when I unpacked again in Sheffield, I laid on my bed and enjoyed being back home.