Reflections of Summer

Reflecting on my many experiences from the summer, I have come away with one discernible truth: I am ruined for dining hall food this year.  The men and women of dining services do their best to provide three tasty and healthy meals each day for the thousands of members of our Tribe.  But it is difficult to compete with my French Mom, as I have affectionately come to call my host in France, who is a fantastic cook.  She lovingly made dinner every night that I was home with fresh ingredients bought from an open air market that day.  And each morning she would have two hot pain au chocolats (bread with chocolate inside... great invention) and orange juice waiting for me on the patio table in the back yard.  Now back on campus I must force myself out of bed in the morning and trudge all the 300 or so steps to the Caf to get my eggs and French toast.

Not only was the food exquisite, but I found the pace of life in the south of France agreeable as well.  Rarely was I in a hurry to get anywhere except to catch my tram for class in the morning.  I now find myself back in the usual routine of moving briskly to class or meetings that I am so used to at William and Mary; always in a hurry to waste no time.  Indeed, it has been a bit of a shock to readjust to the pace of life here at home, which has made me think of two things in particular.  First, that I may miss the slower speed of Montpellier, France, where I studied this summer.  And second, that perhaps I neglect something by moving so fast here.  Perhaps it is only a little peace of mind that slips through the cracks of my packed planner.  I want to succeed after all, which requires diligence and persistence, and often little free time.   But maybe my hurry to waste no time is exactly the problem, if there is a problem at all.  Is it possible that that little peace of mind is advantageous?  In Montpellier, I found myself with some time to simply sit in the park and think or enjoy the day.  I found it rejuvenating, in some cases even enlightening.  There was no hurry, no purpose.  It was just time to be.  The time certainly was not wasted despite the fact that by all outward appearances I was doing nothing.  I gained from it what I think so many of us search for, that is a contentment that comes from just being.  On campus before the trip I may well have thought that such a use of time was wasteful.  I think differently now.  I hope to find some time this semester just to be, like those times in the park in Montpellier.