Thoughts

It has now been a year since I arrived in France. I take stock of where I am . People are always asking me about the differences in living in France. There are quiet a few. I see them as relative . You lose somethings, you gain other things.

I think the most important thing to me about being here is the proximity to all the places that I have dreamed about. Being located in Nice is the perfect base to see Europe. Every place is just a short flight away.
It is also very beautiful here. You really have it all, the sea, the mountains, the woods, the city, the historic little villages. It goes from the super rich in Monaco and Cannes to the everyday folk in my little village, and everything in between.

What do I miss? I miss being able to see a film once a week. It is possible here, but very limited. I miss sushi. I have yet to find a good sushi restaurant here. Sometimes I miss the easiness of speaking English in daily life. I miss my little house and the garden. I miss theconvenience   of the supermarkets and life in general in California. I miss California from Los Angeles to San Diego.

I love that I am being challenged with the language. It keeps me learning and sharp. People are so helpful. I encourage everyone I speak to to correct me. The culture is wonderful. I try to go to as many festivals and events as I can. The beach is beautiful, and during much of the year, there is snow on the alps behind Nice.

Being more social would be helpful. I really have to force myself out. It's easy for me to pick up and go to a strange city all by myself , but difficult for me to walk into a restaurant here , in France, by myself. I can't think of place where I can go to meet people. I could go into Nice and sit in a cafe and drink coffee. I do that on occasion. I did join 2 ex pat groups and have been to some of their events, but they are not for me. I feel uncomfortable, not my type of people.

I have made some good friends and I am very happy about that.

I have cut off all of my hair. That's certainly something different. I have now to reevaluate all of my clothes as not all vêtements go with short hair.
Creatively, I am happy with what I am creating photographically. I'd like to be painting more. I'm a little blocked in that direction.
Living where I do is ok. It's just temporary, so no big deal. I do sometimes feel under a microscope. My landlord lives down the hill. I do like her, but she is somewhat noisy. She's a bit of a control freak. I can't keep up with her cleaning and organizing so I keep the shutter down so she can't see in.

I like the French people, I just wish I knew more of them. They are not as friendly as the Italians. I never see My friend C. that I knew before I moved here. I haven't seen her in months. She never introduced me to one person. She did tell me I should join "societies " that they have here for various subjects. I don't. Know. How am I to meet people?

My next trip is in February, to Luxembourg , Brussels, Bruges and Ghent....a combination of WWII battle sites and Flemish art. I will be flying to Luxembourg  and renting a car. Should be a different kind of trip than the usual.

To me, it seems that I am not doing enough. What does one do on a cold rainy January 2nd? Many things here are closed for the rest of the week.

I feel like I am not doing enough and something is still missing. However, I very much like it here. It's not the locations fault, it's me.
I hope to open some new and some closed doors in 2014.