Arriving home makes me really sink in that feeling of nostalgia.
It’s been a few days since I last stepped on Parisian soil, since I last spoke French, since I last ate my everyday French cheese. My last days in Paris were filled by goodbyes, speaking more French than ever, getting to really know my host family, exchanging gifts and giving out Christmas gifts before than usual. That has shown me how Christmas unites people all over the world. The holiday decorations all around Paris served as a great example of that yearly tradition and of how we do not have to be so different culturally. Actually, the country seemed very similar in so many traditions related to Christmas time that it reminds me that it should not be so hard to have a life there one day. Surely it is a cold season, a snow-filled last days of the year, points which are very different to a barbecue on Christmas Day in scalding hot Brazil.
Even though Brazil feels comforting and reminds me of my high school days, I still am “hunted” by a lot of recurring memories from my Paris life. Oh, how I am going to miss the public transportation. The best 75 euros I have ever spent on my trip definitely went towards my unlimited use of trains, buses, and metro. Clearly riding 15 metro lines, 5 train lines, and dozens of bus lines whenever I want sounds nice, but the freedom these rides gave me had no price. Instead of calculating my travels, I got to know Christmas markets around Paris, got to revisit the great attractions of Paris (being that they are so many), and got to always take a quick stop near the Eiffel Tower after my day filled with school-related activities. That freedom is missed here. Even though getting a car and driving is also possible in Brazil, or even in the US, that feeling of being around everyone in the train, of being part of a system of routines, of a system of people getting on and off every bus stop, of hearing different artists sing, act, and play throughout the tunnels of the metro stations in Paris has definitely hit me hard.
While I struggle with adapting, I cannot wait to see what Winter Park has of new to offer me, and hold that feeling of nostalgia until the day where I live in Paris again, day of which we hope to be very soon. I tried to depict most of my memories in Paris through my Instagram, so go ahead and visit my page (@dumitt) if it interests you. Gladly I can try to answer any questions about Paris since it all is fresh off my mind, and since I have become a culture addict in this lovingly, cliché-filled, and soon to be home city of Paris. À bientôt, Paris!