Girl meets Boy. Boy
is French. At first, this makes Girl giggle, until Boy returns home to the Land of Baguettes. This makes Girl cry.
Fast forward
several months (or as they say in français, avance rapide!)
Girl graduates in
film studies. Girl comes up with a great idea: ‘maybe going to France will
help my career!’ Girl’s parents think otherwise. Then again with a degree in
Screenwriting, she can’t do much worse.
Girl saves
money, buys a one way ticket to Europe, and indulges in one last Chipotle burrito before embarking on the most uncertain nomadic experience of her life.
LOUD DRUM BEAT. FADE
TO BLACK.
Or rather, FADE
IN to the next chapter of my life, la film étranger de ma vie (cue in romantic
accordion music, s'il vous plaît!) Yes I, an ethnically-ambiguous,
verbally-explicit 20-something American girl, will board a plane tomorrow to willingly go live in a country whose
2012 total medal count barely surpasses what the US won in swimming alone.
The responses of
friends and foe with whom I’ve shared my planned ‘unplanned adventure’ have
been fairly predictable, from the enthusiastic “zomg no way!" to the puzzled "oh?"
to my mother’s daily counsel, “have you seen the movie Taken?”
But the reasons for
my sudden departure to the land of our skinnier, more fashion-inclined brothers should
not be based on the expectations of others, but rather it must be a
journey of self-fulfillment, where I will test myself emotionally, reflect deeply, and in times of
great discomfort, discover what it is that truly defines me. Which, if ever
realized, is probably best kept a secret.
Thus, I have decided
to chronicle every nasty, slimy, provocative, tantalizing and utterly unbearable
detail that I find time to divulge amidst my topless sunbathing and frequent wine
tasting flights. Because, what would a journey of self-reflection be without an
audience? =)
INSERT: To be
continued…
