back from England, back to work
03.12.2010 
0h15England was wonderful! We were only gone for 8 days, but it felt like much longer. Part of the problem when you live abroad is that vacation time is usually spent traveling back home, which isn't very restful. Whenever I'm in the US, I have so many friends and family to visit, things to buy, and restaurants to eat at, it turns into a whirlwind!
Having a significant other doubles the stress, especially because his family lives close to where I live. If we decide to spend part of our vacation in Clermont, we have friends to see here, plus his parents in vichy (50 mins away) and his brother near pont du chateau (20 mins away). The time ends up flying by, as we rush around from one thing to the next.
Don't get me wrong, I love the life that I'm leading, and I know how lucky I am to be here. But when your 2 week vacation flies by in the blink of an eye, and you're more tired at the end than you were when it began, well, that's not much of a vacation!
In England, we didn't have anyone to see or any plans to stick to. Each day was up to us, and we chose to explore a couple of little villages, a local castle, and some traditional English pubs. I've posted the pictures on Facebook but will also upload them here.
This week, I've been hard at work on my thesis and planning for my upcoming presentation in June. I feel like I'm finally making some progress, which feels good after all these years!
I'm also working on a French to English translation for my advisor's university (Sciences Po Lyon). It's pretty interesting, albeit long, but i'm hoping to finish it before the end of next week.
If I can get everything sorted by the end of next week, I plan on heading to Paris early, before my flight (March 26), to spend some time with Damien before I head back to the US for grandma's 97th birthday party.
