This past month has been chaotic from a writing perspective. After an entire month abroad, I’m back. Honestly, I’m happy I went there because I desperately needed some “me time.” I had reached a point where pushing forward was very difficult.
As you may know, I’ve been living in the U.S. for a very long time now, but I’m originally from a small French island called Reunion Island. It’s a beautiful Island (somehow similar to Hawaii). So, I decided to go there to see my family, but also to take a much needed break. While it was nice to be with my friends and family, I used that time to find inspiration, peace, and the strength to push again.
I also visited the island as if for the first time, experiencing or looking at the sceneries with fresh eyes. After 6 years away, it was a fun experiment and I like challenging myself or try new things.
Here are a few things I’ll share from this trip.
What I particularly enjoyed:
Coffee
I rekindled with French coffee, tiny yet so strong they could wake up the dead. They are like tiny prepackaged walking bombs. You drink one, and I can assure you that you look like you just took a shot of vodka. In other words, you’re ready for the day.
I probably wouldn’t recommend that for the faint of heart.
Food
I’m a foodie, and I enjoy all sorts of food but the food there is to die for. Of course, you need to love rice, and I do.
The fruit tastes so much better. It’s like an explosion of flavor in your mouth. I had to go on a diet the last week. It was that bad (or that good)!!! Well, it did not feel like a diet. Whatever I ate, it was delicious.
Sceneries
Since 2010, the center of the Island (about 40%) is home to a Unesco World Heritage Site. I mean it gives you an idea of how beautiful the island is (Ok! I might be biased, but I assure you it’s beautiful). I found so much inspiration for my book there.
People
While I speak the creole there, I was a little concerned my kid would get even more confused, but that did not seem to bother him one bit. It was quite funny. He said hi or talked to them in English or French depending on the mood of the day. He got a few blank stares, but most of them were really kind with him.
Nothing’s perfect, so there were also a few things that weren’t ideal.
Sharks
Sharks are a real issue there, but it didn’t bother me too much because you have a few authorized places you can go swimming without any problems.
As far as I’m concerned, you’re also talking to the girl, who until she was 3, wouldn’t put her feet in the sand because it was sticky (Lol). I commend my mother for everything I put her through. I never really like the beach up until I was a teenager. It was kind of an annoying situation especially when you live on a tropical island.
Mosquitos
I think my skin developed some sort of natural repellent because they weren’t interested in me. It’s almost like I was old news (labeled already tasted, been there, done that), but I could see them lurking at night. They wanted fresh blood and were ready to do anything to get it. In other words, my kid was the perfect candidate – tender and sweet.
As a concerned mother, I ended up spending a lot of time with insect repellent in my hand chasing down my little boy. Towards the end of our stay, he thought I was playing with him and really made me run for it. My cardio was right there. It probably contributed to the fact I got here without any additional pounds.
Anyway…
As wonderful as my vacation was, reality is catching up with me now. Whether it’s about writing my book or posting on my blog, I haven’t been consistent. Needless to say, it’s never good to do so.
Now…
Would I do it again? Leaving an entire month without posting a thing? Probably not… Definitely not.
Am I getting something out of it? Absolutely! We usually learn best the hard way, right?
What exactly did I learn? Well, mainly three things.
1. Always be organized.
Learning to plan ahead of time is sometimes a challenge. I let myself lose track of priorities. As much as possible, you need to anticipate time off and schedule what’s needed, so you don’t lose any momentum.
2. Find a way to make it work!
We all have a set of excuses ready to go whenever we can’t find time. I wouldn’t go to a store the day before Christmas for obvious reasons – the principle is the same. Don’t wait last minute to do what’s needed. It’ll allow room for unforeseen events to happen without unpleasant consequences.
3. If necessary, relax but let everyone know.
We all know: Life happens. When it does, there’s nothing you can do. Let everyone know that you’ll take some time off because that is ok.
That’s my takeaway from this trip in a nutshell and, now that I’m back in California, I started writing full time. This is a nice change of pace, but I did not think I would have so much to do. My days are flying by so fast.
I guess that means I’m having fun…
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Modern technologies gave all of us access to an incredible amount of information. We have social media, newspapers, libraries, radios and many more ways of getting information. This amount of information is so important that quantity prevails over quality. Reading interesting content requires more research on our part and more research means more time. For those who watch the new TV show “The Good Place,” I’d love to have a Janet who basically appears every time you need information and tells you everything you need to know. Instead, we have no Janet and have to look through a crazy amount of articles, books, videos or podcasts to grasp the real essence of the topic. So, when I stumbled upon Flipboard, a social news magazine, it was a game changer.