our friends are moving to france for five years.
yay for them and boo for us.
monte, kristy, and...
their two sweet monkeys, sophie and elodie
are leaving the delights of oakland
for this:
i think i would be content sitting on that bench for the next five years, no joke.
meanwhile, our friends nicola, rain, and jair are on a visit to the bay area from england and our friends lydia + anna talked about their honeymoon to tahiti, for goodness sake!
so all of a sudden i am struck with wanderlust, imagining where i would fly away to for a season of life. it isn't happening anytime soon, but it is always fun to dream of possibilities. i've been reading this great book for bookclub about africa, and it made me miss west africa. i told matt i would love to head back there sometime, especially if i could do work similar to the last time i was there, making drawings for storyboards about health related issues for villagers. not as sexy as the poisse, france.
it would also be fun to live in italy or france for a year or two. i don't know if i could do it for longer, i might grow too homesick.
pros:
a. way cuter kids clothes
b. good food + good wine
c. culture galore: old buildings, history, art...
d. the possibility of euro-hopping and galavanting from country to country for a weekend trip
e. maybe matt would pick up an accent - you never know...
f. proximity to our european friends: nicola and the girls in england, niki, robyn & chris in the netherlands, bono in ireland
g. little m picking up another language
h. in italy- gelato and cappuccino; in france, wine and crepes
cons:a. euro-smell (ie the underutilization of deodorant type products)
b. we would be so poor; "hello, weak dollar; nice to meet you," the euro
c. far, far away from our sweet ones here
d. the unfortunate practice of women of ALL ages and body types wearing very teeny bikinis + men wearing speedos. tragic.
how about you? where would you head off to?
I would go to Vallejo.
ReplyDeleteah, the glories of vallejo. good thinking scooter-maybe i should reconsider europe for vallejo after all.
ReplyDeleteI just got a prayer request for the group going to Kenya that I had been a part of the few years before I got pregnant. So now I am aching for Africa, wondering when I will get to go back.
ReplyDeletei love the part about matt getting a euro accent. awesome.
ReplyDeleteOK. I love this post. I laughed outloud (smelly people in bikinis and speedos!). And there is nothing I love more than feeding my wanderlust by imagining.
ReplyDeleteGut instinct: head to Mexico. San Miguel de Allende, Sayulita, Zihiantanejo for licuados and their awesome dairy products (LOVE Mexican yogurt and ice cream) and papaya.
But oh how I love Europe too - your talk of cappuccinos and gelato in Italy brought back very happy and tasty Italian memories.
And I'd love to return to England for Jane Austen moments.
And I'd like to go to Sweden.
And hang out in Croatia for longer than 2 hours.
And I'd like to see Peru.
And have I officially taken over your blog with this comment?
Thanks for the fun!
If not Vallejo, then I want to get back to England. The last trip was not nearly enough plus too many people traveling together to make it my ideal.
ReplyDeleteGermany would be fun.
A cruise around Scandinavia and the Baltics plus some time back in St. Petersburg.
France or the Netherlands. Belgium was surprisingly pleasant. And the botanical gardens at Oxford -- just drinking in the roses -- yeah, I'd live in Oxford. Not a speedo in sight.
ReplyDeletemaybe we can create a co-pastor deal in Poissy? I think i already have the euro-smell problem...maybe it's my prophetic vocation?
ReplyDeleteSicily. My family has one last remaining friend there- a very old priest who drinks lots of wine and takes you to very yummy but very expensive restaurants in Palermo (um-and makes you pay...don't be confused by "takes you"). I have heard about him from everyone in my family but I have never met him and he will be gone soon.
ReplyDeletePlaya Troncones. Seriously--been thinking about this place lots recently. Wondering how it has changed since we were there.
Italy. Eating every meal outside, drinking wine and eating pesto.
wait--i really want to go now.