Appreciation and anticipation

Either because you enjoy these posts, or because you haven't seen my constant plugging on various social media sites, you may have noted my absence of late. Two and a half weeks, in fact. I do apologise.

The reason, you see, is that I have been on my travels. France is rather fond of its school holidays and after two weeks of actual teaching, afforded me two weeks off. Thanks very much, indeed. Now that I am "on the continent", I seized the opportunity to get out of my tiny rural French town and head out into the rest of Europe, specifically Switzerland, which was entirely new to me, and the rather familiar Spanish Costa del Sol.

It was a long journey into Paris, the nearest good international airport to where I live now. A walk, a bus, two trains, an underground train, a suburban train, a shuttle and four and a half hours after I left my apartment, I made it to the bizarre, doughnut-shaped terminal 1 of Paris Charles de Gaulle International, and boarded my first flight to Zurich. Flying business class (not because I am rich but because it was oddly cheaper and better value than the economy flights) provided me with a few perks, the likes of which I am not accustomed to, being used to Ryanair, and all. Free newspapers, food, and actual legroom later, my arrival into Zurich's gorgeous excuse for an airport was only marred by my iPod falling out of my pocket and into the toilet. I kid you not. I have no luck with Apple products, it seems.

Switzerland's public transport is a dream. Even in a town with a population less than Wolverhampton, like Basel where I stayed with my friend Anita, there are regular and frequent trains, buses and a tramway around town. What are you doing, Wolverhampton? What are you doing, Bolbec? There was also plenty to see and do, and I wished only I was staying a little bit longer so I could have had chance to do it all and then some time to see Zurich too. I didn't even mind the cost that comes with Switzerland. But alas no, I remained only two nights there and then headed on my way to Malaga, where it was vastly warmer - by about twelve or thirteen degrees - to stay with my friend Kate, from Exeter origins.

Basel: beautiful but cold!

Although my main point of this post is not the numerous things I got up to during this last fortnight, I did get to visit the Alhambra in Granada, as well as the beach and the shops, of course. It was a lovely break, and a much-needed change of scenery that I hope to do every time I get holidays like these. It was a shame it had to be marred by some Spanish rain, Kate's onset of bronchitis and attack of the mosquitos (even in November) but you can't have it all, right?

Perhaps the title of this post may not be at all obvious to you, so this is where I make my point. I very much enjoyed my time in Europe, but it did come with a fair few realisations. From all the conversations I had, people I met, sights I saw, food I ate and activities I did, I couldn't help but relate them back to my own home and my own year abroad experience. Call them comparisons if you will. Anita became aware of what she really was lucky to have around her when showing me the city of Basel. Both Kate and I went through a couple of days of longing for the UK whilst in Spain, leaving me rather reflective. Even though you may not view it as very far away from home, the culture is suddenly very different, even here near the north coast of France. Spain was noisy, they really do wake up late and stay up late (upon leaving the flat at 6am one morning, Spanish people were finishing their night out), and although initially a joke, it became apparent to me that "no pasa nada" ("it doesn't matter") really is part of the Spanish way of life. Looking, for the first time, at Anita's home town after knowing her for three years really helped me to understand where she had come from when she lived in Wolverhampton for three months, and gave me an entirely new perspective. Stopping just twenty-four hours in Paris on my way back to Bolbec - and not really being a fan even when now able to explore it on my own grounds - made me crave London far more than ever I thought I would.

Chilling in Malaga.

Moreover, I became extremely sensitive of just how much English really is spoken worldwide. In Switzerland I felt guilty at first for speaking my language in another country, almost arrogant, even. It took me a little while before I realised how Switzerland is a country of many languages anyway, and the addition of English just makes it easier for them to do international business and work. People will speak to you in whichever language is easier. In Spain there was lots of English because of it being a tourist destination, and in Paris the same again, although I made a conscious effort to speak French on my plane into Paris (even though flying with the multilingual Swiss Air) and in Paris itself. Except the occasion when I met a Japanese girl whose English was better than her French. It really is the international language, and to be a native English speaker is to be very lucky indeed. I just wish it made fewer of us lazy, as there is so much more to be gained from knowing another language, even if I did have a few selfish, stroppy moments as I got annoyed when connecting from one form of transport to another.

But in the end, the flights and new places provided me with an opportunity to see the world and to appreciate, pardon the cliché, just how small we all really are, but just how much we can grow if only we take a look around ourselves, outside of our own lives. Perhaps this is the main thing I will take away from the year abroad; perhaps I am meant to. I certainly don't know, but I think I've come away from the first six weeks already knowing a lot less than I did before, but yet a lot more in the same breath.

I'm glad that I chose to do this and to wait a few more weeks to go home. I absolutely adored my trip. I absolutely adored seeing new places. And I absolutely adore Great Britain, and thanks to the travelling I cannot wait to go home for Christmas, queues and politeness.

I planned on ending this on a somewhat humorous note about needing to go shopping in the rain now, and if you think I've been quiet on the world of politics lately, just hang on a few days longer. Instead, I leave this post with these lyrics I found very much appropriate for now.


Change your heart, look around you.
Change your heart, it will astound you...