Soon I will board Air France with a one-way ticket to the land of recent tragedies, macaroons and my prayers. I will be studying at La Sorbonne IV for an entire semester with the opportunity to stay the entire year, as I was granted a Student Long-Stay Visa until September 1, 2017.
I love New York, and one doesn’t need a tacky tourist shirt to prove that. It’s really a feeling that one acquires one day without meaning to do so, being enveloped wholly without the option of turning back. My home of many years is like that: it’s my one and only true love. But sometimes I think that I’m too young for a relationship that serious, and that’s when I decided to keep my options open and keep moving on.
They say, “When in doubt, travel.” While I don’t doubt my dedication to this high-tech grey Tetris-city, the feeling of being stuck isn’t one I tend to like. When I spend too much time in NYC, I feel utterly immersed in habits and routines that take over all aspects of my life. Here I am in a samsara of subway rides, classes at City College and home in Brooklyn. The main point of the Buddhist circle is to break out of reincarnation and reach the highest point of “enlightenment.” While completely absurd for a secular individual like me, I do want to break habit and begin a new cycle in which I will be discovering and exploring every new turn and crossroad.
What better place to start than Paris? I can think of at least a dozen. In fact, I don’t know why Paris is the destination, but it is. After having studied the language and the culture, pure life sentiments lure me in that direction. I care not about the Eiffel Tower, and only a tad about the macaroons. It's the thrill of modifying destiny that entices me in that direction. There's just more than one reason to go than not to.
It feels like the nearest feeling to going home. I might be awfully wrong upon arrival, but the idea of coming to a foreign city alone to completely reinvent every day appeals to me. I will meet my new commute, my new coffee shops, my new bakeries and my new people. I hope my horrid accent won't turn them away (I hear they can be quite judgmental when it comes to the fluency of their customs), but I cannot miss the chance to attempt to find the wonderfully openhearted individuals who can give me an inner scoop on the real France.
NYC is filled with fantastic people: my family and friends. They will always be here, and I will come back. I know that for sure. But being away for a while seems good for me. Habit strips me of direction and the motivation I have after an awfully exciting trip. Paris will hopefully only augment both of those elements. Studying journalism at La Sorbonne, French all around and meeting Simone de Beauvoir on every corner must naturally have its influence. I truly hope it will.
Plus, the romance of getting away (la romance de la fugue) will never grow old, especially now when location trackers and applications such as Skype, Whatsapp, Viber, etc. make it super easy to stay in touch with everyone. Moreover, now it's easier than ever to make a plan and slip away for some time with all the available information and opportunities. Curiosity is untamable, after all.
Adieu, NYC...
