Beating the post-Christmas blues

I have arrived back in Paris after a fabulous Christmas and New Year with my family back in the UK. Originally I could not wait to come back to Paris and get involved in the Parisian lifestyle; however once I arrived back I discovered that I was missing home a lot more than I first expected. It was so lovely to spend quality time with my friends and family at home and catch up on the events in everyone’s life after being away for twelve weeks. Now that I am back in France it is time to settle back into work, attempt to keep my New Year’s resolutions and adjust once again to the French way of living.

I said to myself that a year abroad is such a privileged opportunity and so I need to make the most of every moment. I cannot afford to waste this opportunity by missing home, because all too soon I will be back in the UK and Paris will become a distant memory. Since I have been back I have found that the best way to combat my homesick feelings is to go out into the city and meet my friends here. On Monday evening I arranged to meet my friend under the Eiffel Tower. I thought what better way to beat these post-Christmas blues with a view of one of Paris’ most famous landmarks? My friend and I bought a crêpe together and quickly devoured this traditional French delicacy whilst filling each other in on all our Christmas holiday gossip. It definitely made me feel a lot better.

Yesterday evening one of my other friends organised a cheese and baguette evening in her flat. The only rule was that when you walked through the door you had to make a cheese joke; it is safe to say that nobody found my cheese joke that hilarious so I think I will save you readers from my awful attempt at making a joke! It was really fun to simply sit in my friend’s studio eating French cheese and baguettes whilst talking about the most random things, I felt very relaxed.

January is universally known as one of the most depressing months of the year and whilst I believe that it is important to recognise your feelings, it is also important to make sure that you are being a good friend to yourself. I allowed myself to feel homesick for several days to get all of these feelings out of my system and then I decided that it was time for me to move on and concentrate on having a good time in Paris. It is completely natural to miss home once you arrive back in a foreign place but the important thing is not to let the unhappy feelings rule you, you must be in control of them.

I am now busy filling my diary with lots of fun and exciting events for the term ahead and I am confident that very soon Paris will begin to feel like home again.