Last night I made the wonderful discovery that my study abroad funds have finally been distributed to my French bank account, which means I will finally be able to pay for my (now late) housing and real food. Surprisingly the discovery didn't have quite the reaction I was expecting.
I wasn't giddy. I wasn't rushing to make a list of everything I should buy. I was just sitting there, looking at the numbers on the screen.
This made me think of an email I received last week from my mother saying she couldn't imagine having to live with so few clothes and so little money. Until that point I hadn't really been thinking that my life was really missing anything that big - in my eyes I had enough clothes to last me until my return and just enough money to make sure I never went hungry.
It was a meager existence, but it was enough.
Sure, there are always days when I wish I had bothered to pack my favorite gray sweater or another pair of shoes, but those thoughts are fleeting. What I have are 15 t-shirts, 5 sweaters, 5 pairs of pants, 3 scarves, 3 jackets, 2 pairs of shoes, 2 belts, and enough underwear and socks to last me between laundry loads. I live off fruit, bread, cheese, and water.
Living this way for almost a month has made me realize just how little I truly need to survive and just how much I really have back in Virginia. Before France it seemed so important to have all these things. And all for what? Was having them supposed to make me happier or a better person?
Coming here and cutting myself off from all that, I now realize the only things I really need are those that can get me from week to week. All the rest is superficial.
I wasn't giddy. I wasn't rushing to make a list of everything I should buy. I was just sitting there, looking at the numbers on the screen.
This made me think of an email I received last week from my mother saying she couldn't imagine having to live with so few clothes and so little money. Until that point I hadn't really been thinking that my life was really missing anything that big - in my eyes I had enough clothes to last me until my return and just enough money to make sure I never went hungry.
It was a meager existence, but it was enough.
Sure, there are always days when I wish I had bothered to pack my favorite gray sweater or another pair of shoes, but those thoughts are fleeting. What I have are 15 t-shirts, 5 sweaters, 5 pairs of pants, 3 scarves, 3 jackets, 2 pairs of shoes, 2 belts, and enough underwear and socks to last me between laundry loads. I live off fruit, bread, cheese, and water.
Living this way for almost a month has made me realize just how little I truly need to survive and just how much I really have back in Virginia. Before France it seemed so important to have all these things. And all for what? Was having them supposed to make me happier or a better person?
Coming here and cutting myself off from all that, I now realize the only things I really need are those that can get me from week to week. All the rest is superficial.
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