tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503729408884755809.post2614884957289221366..comments2023-07-23T07:30:09.817-05:00Comments on Texas Sarah: Ups and downs and all-aroundsSarahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06078386635713721679noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503729408884755809.post-34412575854606828492008-10-26T07:57:00.000-05:002008-10-26T07:57:00.000-05:00Hi girl, The funny thing is that what you're going...Hi girl, <BR/><BR/>The funny thing is that what you're going through is compeltely natural. That's how it was for me too. <BR/><BR/>When you get here you instantly have a phase of "OMG, OMG I live in PARIS!!!! Everything here is exciting and so magnifique!!!"... <BR/><BR/>In time, you move on to realizing that living in Paris is just like living in any other big capital of the world: nice but it comes with a big chunk of annoying and you can't help feeling that everything here is "worse off" compared to home. <BR/><BR/>The REAL test comes when you've begun to set roots here (usually when you've been living here for a few years) and you suddenly go back home (for visiting, vacations..) and realize that the roots you had once planted there have been .... well.... UPROOTED. Your friends have moved on, your city has changed, your hangout places are no longer cool...etc... <BR/><BR/>That's when it really hits you: Where IS home?? Is it where you're currently building one with your chéri and where you've begun to establish yourself socially, professionally ('cuz it will come, I promise you)? <BR/><BR/>Or is it where you grew up and where you feel you belong even though you no longer... exactly... do? <BR/><BR/>Ahhh ma belle... <BR/>Don't worry about it. Take it from a 7 year (and counting) expat who still hasn't figured this crap out. :s<BR/><BR/>Fned.Fnedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01193037294286635646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503729408884755809.post-79681175897510110702008-10-24T10:08:00.000-05:002008-10-24T10:08:00.000-05:00I, too am living somewhere that does not feel like...I, too am living somewhere that does not feel like home (albeit in the same country, but in many ways it is a different world), as we moved recently from Colorado to Tennessee. The way you described it was perfect, without sounding whiney or full of self pity. I seem to use whining and self pity as an art form!<BR/>I stumbled upon your blog as it came up on one of those blogher banners.Dazed and Confusedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08728618063366646062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503729408884755809.post-10607097658898266272008-10-24T08:17:00.000-05:002008-10-24T08:17:00.000-05:00zelda: thanks...and you're right. I just need to ...zelda: thanks...and you're right. I just need to stop looking for the easy button 'cause it ain't there! :)<BR/><BR/>candy: you know, it never dawned on me that you must have felt the same way when you moved...I remember you being homesick, but as I never actually saw or heard you going through it, it never really sank in. :( And, my nephews BETTER come visit their auntie soon...we should try to plan for next summer. Nathan would love it, I know, even if it's not a place he'd be at all familiar with. It's literally a different world from suburban KS. :)<BR/><BR/>ksam: you are such an inspiration, seriously. I definitely look to your experiences for guidance and I hope that one day I can embrace this country as much as you have. I'm optimistic for my future here, and it helps to no end having you around to get through it! You rock!<BR/><BR/>mum: I love you, too!! :)<BR/><BR/>diaryofwhy: I think that's why I love reading your blog, too...to get a well-told perspective of how someone like you (who "fits" in so smoothly) adjusts to life here. I hope that once I can master the language as you have, I'll feel more like I fit in, too. And, I'm totally going to update about my medical visit!!Sarahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06078386635713721679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503729408884755809.post-67969196321719674902008-10-24T04:31:00.000-05:002008-10-24T04:31:00.000-05:00Wow! Well congrats on receiving your medical convo...Wow! Well congrats on receiving your medical convocation. As someone who is waiting in nervous anticipation for my own, I hope you give us all a thorough rundown on medical visit itself, because I have no idea what to expect!<BR/><BR/>It's interesting for me to read your take on Paris; for me France has always seemed to "fit" me better than the U.S., and so I'm constantly trying to look for excuses (not having the benefit of a French husband) to get back here. But I love reading about France from your perspective as well, and I hope for you that day by day Paris comes to seem just a little bit more like home.Diary of Whyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10944615463613105859noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503729408884755809.post-69853156027948252432008-10-23T21:49:00.000-05:002008-10-23T21:49:00.000-05:00Sarah: Our lives (as you well know) consist of cha...Sarah: Our lives (as you well know) consist of change...and...more change. I know you miss your friends just as I miss seeing you around the house, but I knew you would grow up one day and get married or live abroad. We always leave a little bit of ourselves in the places we have lived, laughed, loved, and the "w" word....worked. Sarah, give Paris a chance to love you. Remember everything the French people endured during WWII and how all the beautiful churches, buildings, etc. that could have been completely destroyed but we saved for YOU to appreciate Paris. I don't believe you have to love Paris but you must learn to appreciate Paris to its fullest.<BR/><BR/>You know the old saying, "Home is where the heart is" but I believe, "The heart is always home" <BR/><BR/>I love you.<BR/><BR/>MumJosephinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16592512514957128355noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503729408884755809.post-4077577687477174642008-10-23T16:20:00.000-05:002008-10-23T16:20:00.000-05:00hello my dear. i know you know i know what you're...hello my dear. i know you know i know what you're going through, but i just wanted to say - the people you meet now and the experiences you are having will all help form the person you will be a few years from now. while my life here has definitely not been 'la vie en rose', everything i've been through and everyone i've met has helped me become the person i am today. i'm maybe a bit more cynical than i was in the US, but i'm also a lot stronger. which is why i think that despite everything that's happened, i have no regrets, and i hope you don't either. <BR/><BR/>and i really admire your attemps to learn french, it's not an easy thing to do, especially when it's been "forced" on you!!Ksamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05991667611234163617noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503729408884755809.post-7102449343427965142008-10-23T14:19:00.000-05:002008-10-23T14:19:00.000-05:00hi sarah jean castlebury. i miss you so much! rea...hi sarah jean castlebury. i miss you so much! reading your post makes me teary eyed because it reminds me of how i first felt (and still sometimes feel) when I first moved to barren Kansas. :(<BR/><BR/>I wish i could have blogged about it then because I would have conveyed the exact same sentiment about the place as you do about Paris. BTW, when did you become such a great writer?? You've always claimed not to be but you certainly mistaken!<BR/><BR/>Your nephews want to visit Paris sometime soon and N talks about it ALL the time, so for now just be the best darn Parisian you can right now so that you'll be their most enlightened tour guide. Don't ever forget that Home (Texas) will always be here waiting for you (and me!)Candy @ Mommypaloozahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00472046818295100973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1503729408884755809.post-70177084629661713122008-10-23T13:10:00.000-05:002008-10-23T13:10:00.000-05:00While I'm sure you get homesick & get crav...While I'm sure you get homesick & get cravings for a Mexican Martini every now & then - it seems like you've got a really great life with Gui. That truly is what matters where ever you may be. <BR/><BR/>Oh & I love those pictures you linked to... I love it!Raychellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11489173940745836974noreply@blogger.com