Last Days

So these are my last days in Paris, man how the time flies, I've already been here for a year and now it's time to leave. I'm heading off to Egypt on the 2nd of July and then spending a few days in Italy before flying back to Australia and into the real world, ie finding a job and all that jazz. I finish my job on Friday and I'll try not to get too self-indulgent here but I guess a bit of reminiscing is in order.

I have enjoyed this year and I feel I have been incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to live in a pretty cool city somewhere completely different for a year. I guess what I'll miss most over here is the little weekend jaunts I've been able to do. The ability to just on a weekend go somewhere with a completely different culture is fantastic and one of the best things about Europe. I love the attitude that the French have to life also, they understand that weekends are important and that you aren't your job, which I really appreciate, being the lazy slacker that I am. I love the food too, especially the bread, wine and cheese (the classics I suppose).

I think I've learnt a new-found appreciation for immigrants or visitors, that it is difficult when you move to a new country and that any friendly gesture on the part of the locals is very much appreciated. I definitely have a greater tolerance for people how can't speak English too, after spending a year as a non-functioning illiterate I can understand how hard it can be to learn another language and how isolating that can be. And just because someone can't speak English doesn't mean they are a moron or are willfully ignorant.

Though I will miss Paris I'm looking forward to touching down in Sydney airport. I guess I'm looking forward to being back in a country where I speak the language and understand the pop culture and just "get it" because that's certainly been one of the hardest things over here, constantly feeling like an outsider. I'll see how this blog pans out, but I'll have to keep it going for at least a little while so you can all see my adventures in Egypt and Italy as well as the pain of getting a new job. That's another thing I'm looking forward to, I've learnt a lot this year, and funnily enough most of it hasn't been to do with physics, and I'm certainly looking forward to finding a job that isn't in academia. I'll let you know how that works out. I'll have to change the name of my blog though as I won't really be taking on the French anymore. Hmmm, I'll have to think about that one.