A week back home

  Limoges, France
Monday, September 8, 2008

A week in France with family and friends, what could be better ? 4 months in South east Asia ? 6 months in Central America? No, not even comparable. Putting aside the fact that I had to spend a couple of days sorting out necessary things in England, opening the hundreds of letters and invoices that have been piling in the mailbox and attending to all the problems that have only been waiting for me to come back in order to give me a warm welcome back to real life, it was such a pleasure to get to spend time with my entire family.

Singing

We had a couple of late nights, just enjoying each other's company, singing, dancing, and simply being as happy as a family should be.

The gym the movie

We even "did the gym" together with the girls in the family. We stayed a couple of days on the beach next to Bordeaux and really, even after the beautiful beaches that I have seen all over South East Asia, this French Atlantic coast

French Atlantic ocean coast

still deserves one of the best reward for being so beautiful and wild.
 
 It was my aunt, "something...ieth" birthday so it was time to all bond together. My cousin did a brilliant job at writing and directing a play retracing my aunt's life. The main character was my aunt, role played by her daughter and all the other roles were played by my cousins and I. For obvious reasons and I have to be honest not to appear too ridiculous on the web, I decided not to post the hour long play on this blog... We had a laugh and the public...accessorily my family had an even bigger laugh.

The concert - the movie

We also made a little band just for the occasion, we drastically lacked time to practise, but we still managed to pull out a song or two. My brother at the guitar, his girlfriend at the base, my cousin on the guitar and vocals and myself on the drums. To the risk of appearing ridiculous again, I attached here a little sample of our "concert".
 
Apart from that, I had a pretty hectic week back home. First I had a funny belly for the first 3 days because of the food. I know, in France! This is crazy,  I had absolutely nothing when arriving in Asia, but going back to rich French food was a shock for my intestine It might have been this fatty stinky cheese or maybe this some of the animals organs I ate such as this delicious chicken liver...

Delicious french food - chicken liver

Oh well, I'd rather be sick at home than sick in Asia, so lucky me ! Also I got a keratite, nothing serious but a little eye infection which needed to be treated and accessorily a bronchitis which needed attention as well. Last but not least, I had my wisdom teeth removed which, as a lot of you know, is extremely unpleasant and comes with a very slow recovery eating soup and mashed potatoes for days. I should have done that the first day I got back, that may have prevented me from having a funny belly. So basically, enjoying french food while back home was not really an option for me. Needless to say, I had a fantastic time back home going from doctor to doctor. I was in better shape back there. I should just back on the road, it is much less dangerous and much more comfortable I guess.
 
I also took the time to properly hook up with all my friends and realised how much had happened during those 4 months I was away. It was all a bit much for me: my cousin had her second child, a gorgeous baby girl, my other cousin announced that he is going to be a daddy at the end of the year, my Nantes friend is getting married, my Paris friend has bought a flat, my other Paris friend has taken his motorcycle test, bought a bike and he is moving in with his girlfriend, there is a new shower in our family house and my parents have changed their sofa ! Crazy isn't it ?
And I only left for 4 months, what is it going to be about when I come back after  those next 6 months in central America ? Surprise !
 

My friends from LA ...and Bali

In the idea of continuing my hooks up with friends, I am now in Los Angeles with one of my best friends. Relaxing is the motto of my time here. Of course, there is a little bit of going from optical store to optical store but it is mainly about the dogs, the bunnies, barbecues, hikes and chilling out with friends, a good location to hook up with some people I had met in Bali as well ! What a small wonderful world.