Postscript to Five Countries in Seven Days

Well, as of tomorrow, I will have been home for four weeks. I continue to have delightful flashbacks of my trip and the wonderful people I met along the way. When I was a little girl, my father used to tell me, “You always have to have the last word!” Well, Dad, here is my last word on this trip which took me to five countries in seven weeks.

Daycare center from the top of the Cinema Museum.

I continue to play the game, “what was I doing two weeks ago”-or whatever date comes to mind. On Sundays I remember going to the Restaurant Fournaise with Pascale, Yves, and their friends, as we channeled Renoir and the Luncheon of the Boating Party. On Sundays I think of how "Serendipity" was with me when I met Mimi, who teaches English and German, in St. Pair sur Mer.  Saturdays I revisit the three hour train trip from Paris to Granville when Nicole and Jacques met me at the train station for my ten day stay at their home. My visit to Luxembourg and Expo and the cinema museum in Torino come back; etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.   

Many have asked me what I missed most when I was away, and at first I said, “Nothing.” But in the nearly four weeks since my return, I now know that there were definitely things I DID miss. Some will be obvious to you, and perhaps some things will surprise you.

Of course, I missed my children! Communicating via email and text is not the same as an in-person visit or live telephone conversation with either of them! I had thought about Skype, but actual laptop accessibility was erratic, and my Blackberry was my primary electronic source. I missed my siblings and friends as well. I have to admit, however, that I was really pretty busy while I was gone, so I was never homesick. (I do not think I have ever been “homesick”, but that is a conversation for another time!)

Entertaining my friends is higher on my radar screen than I realized. Cooking and especially baking-except the one apple cake I made in St. Pair sur Mer-are things I really enjoy. I certainly LOVED everyone who hosted and cooked for me!!! The wonderful hospitality was such a rare and special pleasure. I have described the huge frying pans of sautéed zucchini and potatoes which Cinzia prepared. Renee’s wonderful cooking was always such a treat! I so enjoyed Babs’ and Alf’s wonderful German cooking! Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.   

And when I did start to cook in my kitchen, I could not wait to buy some apples and make some apple delicacies, as I had so enjoyed the apple desserts in France. Mimi made an apple crumble, which she may have inherited from her time in the UK. My daughter Melissa is quite sick of apple crisp, truth be known!

I missed going to the movies, NPR, car radios, but not so much cars and certainly not Boston driving! Because I did not want my suitcase to weigh more than fifteen kilo, I did practically no shopping until the day before I left. So while I do not consider myself a “shopper”, I missed shopping; I opted not to look so as not to be tempted! This was true of all shops including the markets, which I really enjoy in foreign countries. (I do like to grocery shop here as well.)

Since I have been home, I have also had time to reflect more on what I really learned when I was away. The following doesn’t fall into the obvious or the factual. These are some things I realized through conversations or observations.

I heard different perspectives on many different points. (And how broad is that generalization!) I never felt that I was disliked because I am an American. On the contrary, there is still clearly a feeling of gratitude for what our forces and our country did during World War II. I was very impressed by Mimi’s student how asked about 9/11 or the recent hurricane. Probably everyone I met had a much more in-depth knowledge of our political environment than I did. (I am trying to improve this.)  

There are some things which Europeans just care differently about! I forget exactly the context, but someone said people in her country just don’t care as much about cleaning. By that she meant it was not the priority it might be in the US. Leaving breakfast dishes in the sink, for example, might not matter to many.

Speaking of caring, I felt that the people I met really cared about me and my well being. While I had known Marcel and Nicole and Gloria and Pascale and Yves before this trip, everyone else that I met was a new friend. People consistently went out of their way for me; there is a caring for others-certainly NOT just me!. Babs met me at the train station in Stuttgart. I was delighted at Steve’s meeting me at the Prague Airport. (I might still be trying to find my way!) Cinzia was so kind when my first words to her were, “I think I have lost my cell-phone.” Immediately upon getting to her house, she got on the computer to try to find the phone number of the place where I thought I had lost it. Mimi was very generous in her hospitality with wonderful meals, a ride to the market, and taking me around Granville. Clearly there are many more examples, but it was like everyone I met on my trip was “looking after me”! I am MOST appreciative of this still!

For gala events such as a night at the Vienna Opera House, the “natives” were inclined to get very dressed up; one could tell who the visitors were by their far more casual dress. We tourists saw that they viewed this as a statement of how important this event was for them. Similarly the audience did not need to be reminded to “turn off your mobiles”. There was a real respect for the performance. People were not talking during the performance.

Younger people were most respectful of older people. The students all called Mimi “Miss”, as in “Good morning, Miss”. People talked with me. Xavier on the train from Munich to Paris was probably some thirty-five years younger than I, and we happily compared notes on our travels. On an earlier trip, I had met Marie on the train to Metz; we are still in touch, but unfortunately we could not meet this trip. Pascale and Yves’ friends were very polite, and we also spoke, as their English is much better than my French! It is so pleasant to be included in a conversation.
Well, that does bring this blog to an end. Thanks for traveling with me! I'll let you know when I am leaving again....