Winslow

I have neglected posting for awhile, due to travel and busyness, but I will cover the highlights of the last couple of weeks in several blog posts. My family arrived for Noël (Christmas) and new year’s, and we have been doing touristy stuff, hopping around Europe a bit. My Swiss cousins and ex-pat uncle met up in Paris a few days later. In Paris we stayed at an appartement that they rented that was properly in Paris, 6th arrondissement. The appartement was a mish-mash of ancient relics (e.g. wooden heads looking like they belonged on the helm of a ship), and ultra-modern conveniences (a towel-heating rack in the bathroom). I quickly forgot my modest and frugal Orly abode, and adjusted to a temporary lifestyle of wealth and consumption. We did a lot of walking in the ... read more

One of the reasons that I was excited to come to France was simply to live in a culture where I was the outsider, not knowing the language or the customs very well. It would have been better in that respect to go somewhere even more different from America, say Africa or China, but France is good for a start. I think going through life in your comfort zone, or at least without challenging yourself in a number of different ways, is a rather limited way to live, and only leads to limited possibilities for personal development. One thing that definitely sucks about grad school and a lot of jobs I see my peers in is the sheer amount of time it demands from you. This is a huge cost, especially in our youth. I don’t ... read more