Oh.
There are a lot of things I miss, and I find myself way too often saying things like, "Ugh, I miss ______ so much," with ______ being some kind of food, sensation, convenience, or place that used to be a part of my daily life. It's not really that I don't think my present life is grand or that I want to relive the past; I just tend to be a really nostalgic person. It's probably the bohemian in me, and the fact that I've had every day for the past (check day counter widget on this blog to the right) days documented in writing, which prevents certain memories from turning vague and actually preserves them quite vividly.
So while it's rather hard to pick one thing that I miss, here I will write about Parthenay. In particular, just one thing about Parthenay that I miss, since this prompt calls for something. And this thing is the sensation of arrival into Parthenay after having been away from it for whatever amount of time, be it a couple of weeks or just a day. I am especially nostalgic for the ride on the bus that arrives from the north, because it approaches the city in such a way that in the distance, you can see the roofs of its middle age buildings behind the city's walls, all enclosing it on a rocky hill. When it was a foggy day, you could barely make out its silhouette through the mist as you approached it. I remember one day in particular, as the bus drove through the French countryside at the end of the day, and I saw the sun set in the distance over the sprawling fields and trees as eventually we reached the point in the road where I could see Parthenay from that perspective and that distance. I distinctly remember how surreal it all felt, like a dream. And now, that's pretty much all it is.
It's hard to believe at this point, since the year I lived in France was three years ago. A lot has happened, and I haven't since lived in such a rural area since. I love my life here in this students' city, always so alive and bright, but sometimes I find myself thinking nostalgically back at the life I once lived in that little medieval town, one that is so hard to imagine now. And while I do feel very nostalgic for that life, I'm very content with the one I have now as it was once only a dream, too. All I have to do is believe now that one day I will return to France, to Parthenay, and experience some of those familiar sensations that will take me back to one of the best times of my life.
There are a lot of things I miss, and I find myself way too often saying things like, "Ugh, I miss ______ so much," with ______ being some kind of food, sensation, convenience, or place that used to be a part of my daily life. It's not really that I don't think my present life is grand or that I want to relive the past; I just tend to be a really nostalgic person. It's probably the bohemian in me, and the fact that I've had every day for the past (check day counter widget on this blog to the right) days documented in writing, which prevents certain memories from turning vague and actually preserves them quite vividly.
So while it's rather hard to pick one thing that I miss, here I will write about Parthenay. In particular, just one thing about Parthenay that I miss, since this prompt calls for something. And this thing is the sensation of arrival into Parthenay after having been away from it for whatever amount of time, be it a couple of weeks or just a day. I am especially nostalgic for the ride on the bus that arrives from the north, because it approaches the city in such a way that in the distance, you can see the roofs of its middle age buildings behind the city's walls, all enclosing it on a rocky hill. When it was a foggy day, you could barely make out its silhouette through the mist as you approached it. I remember one day in particular, as the bus drove through the French countryside at the end of the day, and I saw the sun set in the distance over the sprawling fields and trees as eventually we reached the point in the road where I could see Parthenay from that perspective and that distance. I distinctly remember how surreal it all felt, like a dream. And now, that's pretty much all it is.
It's hard to believe at this point, since the year I lived in France was three years ago. A lot has happened, and I haven't since lived in such a rural area since. I love my life here in this students' city, always so alive and bright, but sometimes I find myself thinking nostalgically back at the life I once lived in that little medieval town, one that is so hard to imagine now. And while I do feel very nostalgic for that life, I'm very content with the one I have now as it was once only a dream, too. All I have to do is believe now that one day I will return to France, to Parthenay, and experience some of those familiar sensations that will take me back to one of the best times of my life.
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