Hard to believe it has only been three weeks since we returned from France, because it feels like months ago! This is mainly due to starting up the new semester at school and finishing up reading UC Berkeley apps, which was completed this week. This is the first weekend I have had completely free since starting to write recommendation letters at the end of September. Taxes are up next, but I only have to do two sets this year (as opposed to the FOUR we have had to prepare since 2008)!
Reflecting on the trip, other than the house being so cold for the first few days, we are very happy with the purchase. It is solid and comfortable, but has a lot of areas where we can put our own touch and improvements. Jörg is already planning his trip for March, when he will deliver some furniture from Germany and my next goal is to start learning basic French.
An interesting observation I had on the trip that shows a basic difference between Jörg and I, both in the way we view the house and more broadly how we view life: When we arrived at Brussels and had to clear immigration, as usual Jörg sprinted to the EU citizen line with his German passport, leaving me for what he calls "the loser line". While we were having a coffee and waiting for our flight to Toulouse, I asked him, "what did you say to the immigration officer was the purpose of your trip?" Without hesitation, he said "vacation!" When I was asked the same question in my line, I hesitated, then had to say "because we bought a house here." I didn't want to sound pretentious, and the agent didn't care either way, but a) I didn't want to lie to an officer of the law, and b) I really don't view going to work on the house as vacation. It isn't that I'm not excited about it or don't love it, but I just can't see it as a "vacation" (that would be laying on the beach in Hawaii or a room at the Ritz in London).
No comments:
Post a Comment