My Transition Back to France

Hello, I’m back in France and so excited to be back blogging and posting more and more about travel, health, and self-development. I arrived in France a little over a month ago, and have been adjusting to my new routine. The first few weeks were quite stressful, and I can’t say that I handled it all too well. As most people know, starting a new job, moving, or living in a new place (especially a new country) can be stressful, and having to navigate all three at the same time was really tough. However, I am so grateful to be living in France, especially right outside of Paris. I’ve also already met so many fantastic people as well through the TAPIF program, and I’m so happy to have others who are in the same situation, and to have others help navigate and explore the huge city that is Paris.

Moving to Paris has been stressful, but I’ve already seen and done so many amazing things here:

In difficult times or times of change, I find it much more difficult to handle stress. I’m trying to teach myself to better deal with stress, because life is so much more tedious and difficult when you focus so much of your energy on it. Cultivating gratitude and being present in each moment allows for us to really focus on what’s going well, and put things back in perspective instead of spiraling out of control. Taking time to breathe, as simple as it sounds, can be an extremely useful tool.

Additionally, work has been going pretty well. Teaching is something that is a little bit outside my domain, but I have had a lot of experience working with other students. I’m also passionate about learning other languages and cultures, and my main focus through my job is to get students speaking in English and learning about American culture, so I do find it rewarding.

The gorgeous sights of my town and my views on my walk to work:

Also, for the past week and a half, we have been on break from school. France takes their school and work holidays VERY seriously- hence the two week break already. I am spending the whole break in Nantes with my boyfriend, which has been so nice. I got really sick during the beginning of break as I had a terrible cold (probably from all the stress), so it is so great to be here to relax and heal. I’ve also used this time to do some serious mindset work and refocus my goals, as well as to start my grad school applications. Every day, I’ve been doing yoga, meditating, journaling, and creating ways to put my goals into action. Even though I’ve taken a lot of time to rest and HEAL- which has definitely been necessary- I’ve still gotten so much done, and have been practicing so much self-compassion. Taking time to rest is often looked down upon in our culture, but it is so important, especially in times of stress or sickness.

I’m so happy to be spending my break here, Nantes in the fall is stunning:

Going forward, I’m very excited to implementing these routines into my daily life, in addition to teaching. I have a lot of things to accomplish on the horizon, and I’m so excited to do just that.

Thank you for reading, and be sure to check out my Instagram!