Every Journey Starts With A Single Step
This mantra was fitting for me this month since I spent a great portion of it alone in Paris. For the past 7 years I’ve rented an apartment in Paris and have spent stretches of time in the city that never ceases to inspire me. Truth be told, it’s my eventual plan to spend most of my time in Europe. Which city is to be determined, although Paris is number one on my short list. The first time I rented an apartment to stay by myself I was nervous. There was the apartment, which I’d only seen online (we know how deceptive those pictures can be), my French even after years of study being rudimentary, and all of the other unknowns about living in an unfamiliar city and in a different country where English is not the first language. Although I’d always traveled alone growing up since my parents were big believers in international travel as a way to learn, this first foray of ‘living’ alone in a foreign city made me anxious. Looking back, now that I’m in my 5th apartment, regardless of all my nervousness and anxieties, I’m glad I took that first step, which was a step towards a new future.
That first apartment taught me a few necessities Americans can’t live without like an elevator, a lesson I learned the hard way with my first apartment. Each time I’ve rented an apartment I’ve stayed in the Marais, but this trip I rented in the 11th, near the Bastille. With an eye toward a future where my life may be abroad, I brought my dog with me on this trip. The paperwork, the anxiety about the long flight with my dog could be a blog itself. Thankfully my dog did well on the long journey and has adjusted to his Parisienne life. Again, with an eye toward a future abroad, I took him to a vet in Paris to get his European passport. Ironically, he now has an EU passport long before I can get mine.
No one can predict what each new step will bring and where it will take you, which is kind of the point, I imagine. For me each step since that first one has brought into focus a life of living outside the US as a possibility and not just fantasy. Where all of this will end is still the unknown. No doubt there will be many hurdles, some I can imagine and others that will be surprising. Yet I don’t regret that first step and am glad I pushed my anxieties and fears aside to take the big leap.