Saturday, January 17, 2009

Long Overdue Mumble Jumble

I have been wanting to write a final post about my trip (as if I haven't annoyed you enough), since the day I got back (January 5th at 3 PM). But, I couldn't bring myself to write about the amazing time I had. So here goes, all the things I have been wanting to say about my trip, in no particular order.

1. My first trip where I did not read a book or the newspaper. (Do I sound a bit proud of my ignorance?) I had taken Dickens's 'A Tale of Two Cities' with me but I forgot it on the plane.

2. My first adult trip without parental supervision. I had travelled to Pakistan on my own once, but I stayed with my dad's parents. I spent the one month I stayed there, thumbing through Margaret Atwood's 'The Handmaid's Tale' and Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'The Scarlet Letter'.

3. I made a trip itinerary and named it 'A Tale of Two Cities'. I wanted to make sure that we would make the most out of our 12 day trip. I got teased about this particular schedule. But it saved us time. We also ended up losing the itinerary in Paris, but luckily my friend had a copy.

4. I found maturity in the fact that I have an international, British to be exact, friend, whom I met for the first time. You know how in the movies, the grown-ups always have globetrotting friends, who they meet for dinner, and later they discuss world affairs with them. My dad has friends like those all over the world, and now I do too :D. Well, only in one country. Hmmm...I guess, I should start stalking more people :).

5. I had the best hot chocolate of my life in London, which I can still taste. Ahhh...

6. I had the best chocolate in France. I loved the French chocolate so much that I even forgot to have my favourite, British Kit Kat. Previously, my tradition had been to bring oodles of Kit Kat and Dairy Milk from London. But this time I forgot all about the chocolate, until a friend in Toronto asked, if I had brought any Kit Kat for her.

7. Had the best crepes in Paris at Le Sevigne. It is a small restaurant in the Parisian suburb Marais, where we were staying.

8. Met American expatriates. I had read about cultured Americans, who learn French and then move to Paris to pursue art. Meeting them made me feel cultured in association. Man, I am sounding really full of myself.

9. Towards the end of the trip my sister and I ran out of conversation topics, so we relied on our eavesdropping skills to keep ourselves entertained.

10. I became more aware of our own Canadian culture and mannerism.

11. I have realized the importance of travelling. It increases a person's breadth of knowledge, not only about the world, but also about themselves. I would like to travel more of Europe, and leave South America, Asia and Africa for when I meet the guy. I have these grand plans for me and my husband to visit a new country every year, where we not only get to experience a new culture, but also have an opportunity to do our bit to help the global community.

12. My friend and I have made plans to visit a new Canadian province every year. Europe may have all the history and impressive architecture, but Canada is beautiful.

13. I have realized, the more we travel, the more we get to learn about ourselves and our own country.

14. There is a bridge in Paris, which is nicknamed "Love Bridge". I told my mom about it, and her reaction was: "Did you pray that God would bring you a nice boy?"

15. There are no words to describe how...hmph...different (?) French men are.

16. I miss my holidays, and the lack of responsibility and accountability you feel when you are away from home.

17. In a year's time after the economic crisis has settled a bit, at least that's what Paul Krugman predicted, I am planning on applying for a job in Oxford, England.

I think this is all. Hopefully, the trip is out of my system now :).

Okay, one more thing. This trip has taught me that you can't predict life. Earlier last year, I was first planning a trip to Israel, and then to Nepal. Neither of these trips worked out, and I unexpectedly ended up going to Europe...

2 comments:

Maria Sondule said...

Lol, how in the world will you get all the money to go to each country every year??
I myself only have 200 dollars saved up...
I volunteer to be your US friend!! :D

Zany said...

LOL! That's funny, Maria. Clearly, rationality is not my strongest suit. Awww...thanks for being my American friend. You guys are so much more cooler now that Obama is your next President :).