Tomorrow is another trip

So at the moment, my emotions are running amok. I mean it in all sincerity. Now, it's not that I don't like Paris, because trust me, Paris is an amazing city, full of so much history- small yet stuffed to the core with culture, history, food, bread, nouggats, life. But (of course there is a but), it is not until now that I have realized just how much Madrid has meant to me. Not only was it the first time that I studied abroad in a country similar, though not really to my own culture, but it is also a place that holds many treasures in my mind. To this day, I appreciate the work we had to do to get our servers' respect at la Cafeteria Calvin. It really was all about building relationships. To this day, I thank Humberto for organizing the program the way that he does. We got to know Madrid quite well because that was what was expected of us, and in doing so, we also enjoyed it. Here, I don't have the facility of going out and getting lost on a bus or going to a different city and deciding that there was the perfect way to get lost and somehow magically find myself.

Because of the way that he structures the program, I have been in Mali and now here in Paris trying to find the same medium and opportunities to recreate those activities. But, it is hard when the program itself is not geared towards getting to know the city itself. I can't wait to go back and roam the same streets when I was there about a year ago. Has the construction stopped? Is there more going on? Oh the chocolate and the churros! The metro- the wonderfully designed metro. Although, being there, I am curious to see how I compare it to Paris. Before, it was all about the comparisons to Mexico City. Now I will be able to compare it to another historical European city, and I wonder how that is going to work.

I guess that brings me to my next point- it seems that no matter where we are, it is just never enough. If we are in the US, we need to go out and explore. However, when we are abroad, we complain about the prices, the fact that we miss our friends, and how things are never open at night. Then we go back and we complain about not having the ability to move around quickly, how there is just too much food, or about the fact that living in the US is all about working and competing to be the best. Personally, I can say that such is the case with me. But I am trying to cope with it because I know that there will never be an opportunity exactly the same as now. To tell you the truth, I think that dealing with the feeling of "just not enough" happens to those who do travel ubiquitously. The way that I see it, it's helping me decide on where I eventually want to live. I'm learning about the things that I do and do not like- about cultural differences that I can support and those that I just can't wrap my head around... well, I may just start rambling, but I think that is how I feel at the moment. I love Paris. I love Madrid.

Which will I end up loving more? I don't know...but the process in getting there is certainly teaching me about myself and as confusing as it may be, it is also exciting and I feel fortunate to have such clashing sentiments because that means that I am learning so much more than I would in a classroom.

I leave you now for I have a big day tomorrow. I hope that you can understand what I mean about never being satisfied. It's not a bad thing whatsoever. It's because of it that I can't satiate my thirst for learning about different cultures, languages, texts, etc. The only thing is that it makes me wonder what will be the one thing (or perhaps many things) that will manage to quench that want. Well, I leave you to ponder the idea of contemporary art in an artistically conservative chateau- Versailles meets Takashi Murakami

Children meet the paintings

The name of this? The simple things...

Until very soon!

P.S.
If you're interested in learning more about Takashi Murakami, check out this website here: https://www.artsy.net/artist/takashi-murakami/works