Dinner with the gang (Left to right). Elvin taking the selfie, Wolfgang my ”walking to school each day” buddy, Patricia hidden a bit behind with the red hair, me, Lea studying to be a doctor, Jan there for 9 months, Daniel a new arrival.
Well I hardly know what to say. It has been so many days/weeks since my last update. A lot went on in the UK before I left for France, but I will do my best to pick up those stories later. It has been busy as holidays usually are and I have been bad at keeping up! So here we go…
Two week ago, I went by train from London to Montpellier (via Gare du Nord / Gare de Lyon in Paris) to attend a French language school and live with a family. The family bit proved not quite so accurate. It was more like a college dorm. There were six of us, 3 Swiss, 1 German, 1 guy from the Philippines who is working to qualify for Swiss citizenship (he must be able to speak one of the four official languages to qualify) and me. Our host, Patricia, would come each day and cook dinner for us. We ate late, 8 to 9 pm. I thought I would gain tons of weight, but I walked between 14,000 and 22,000 steps each day so I was saved by my steps.
I must say, my roommates and our dinners together were some of the best times there. There was a real sense of family. I was also lucky in that all of them spoke excellent English so I could chat with them. My French is not good enough for a conversation! I know, it feels a bit like cheating. But I was grateful none-the-less.
Being on the road this long, three months, I realized how much these family experiences have kept me from feeling too alone. Most days on this journey, I have been with someone I know… or got to know. Just wandering aimlessly is not for me. For me, life is all about human connections. Dinners, activities together, discovering new things, and sharing life stories. I have been so fortunate to see my amazing friends and have met a couple of new ones on this trip. I feel blessed. -Pam