Changes

I'm not an adventurous person. My idea of the perfect evening is a good book, some lapsang souchang tea, and maybe a cat purring somewhere in the house. But I have some adventurous sides. I like travelling, I like meeting new people in strange circumstances, and discovering new things.

This clumsy introduction to say: I sometimes surprise myself by doing out of character things.

Almost ten months ago, still shaky from my breakup, I asked a man for his number at a party and called him the next day. Subtle! None of the usual rules we are taught to apply in the seduction game counted then, because I was not after a relationship, just what we call in French an "aventure", a fling. I went for it with careless energy, not wondering if he thought I was crazy or weird, or investing huge amounts of emotion in our dealings. In retrospect, this probably explains why we got along so well from the start. Neither of us was pretending to be someone we were not. It saves time down the line.

Now of course we are going towards...something else. We have plans. He is cautious and commitment-phobish, and to a certain extent so am I. I don't want to move in with him, I am certainly not planning my life around him, but still. We have plans. Plans to spend New Year together. Plans when I come back from Berlin in November. Little plans, like making reservations in a nice restaurant to celebrate my academic success, and bigger plans, like vacations.

I don't feel secure with him. He keeps the distance, always, and I do too, in other ways. It's not safe and nurturing. It's something else. And I trust him more and more, with my feelings and with myself.

I never thought I would be happy in a relationship like this.

Maybe I am less needy, less insecure and less annoying.

But as my sister would laughingly point out, still a serial monogamist!

Visiting Greece II

After Athens, AD and I decided to wander around on two islands, Santorini and Paros. Santorini is a volcanic island in the shape of a crescent moon. The sand on the beaches is black, which is very impressive. It's also one of the most touristy places in Greece, so it was quite a feat to get it relatively free from visitors, May being the beginning of the season.

AD and I are both huge eaters, and we ate our way through Santorini. One evening, I slipped on a pretty dress, AD put on a shirt and we went to an excellent and very chic restaurant, which was entirely empty! New food crush: beetroot salad with yogurt ice-cream on top. Amazing.

So what did we do on the islands? We spent a little time on beaches...but not that much. We walked a lot, inhaling the soft, almost sugary smell of fig trees. We rented a quad bike and wandered around the coasts. We climbed up black volcanic rocks and ingested a huge amount of olive oil.

I loved Greece. Before I left, I was pretty nervous. It was my first trip with my boyfriend and we've been dating for six months-it's all very new and freshly painted still, and I was afraid a whole week of twenty-four/seven exposure to Sara would drive anyone mad. But it was wonderful. Even when I got earache on the plane coming home and dragged my suitcase through a rain storm to get home, before preparing for a gruelling week of hellish exams, it was so worth it. I'll never forget the colour of the sunsets, or the way I could feel the past come back to life around me.

Now that I'm preparing for new adventures in foreign countries, I'm thankful I had a true week of holiday, with sunburns, giggles and yogurt ice-cream.

A few snapshots, mostly taken by AD, so they look much better than usual!





Beautiful Santorini and its ridiculously photogenic troglodyte houses...


Enjoying the black sand beach with my partner in crime...


Looking ridiculous with my Birkenstock sandles on our vehicle.


Drying octopii. The fishermen bash them first before hanging them out in the sun. I was both repelled and fascinated by them.

OMG WTF

Mulled wine. And Class Christmas party.
Sara, the klutz, has just spilled her mulled wine on a friend of a friend. He's tall and nice and works for an environmental consulting firm. We were talking about his job and I just...spilled wine all over his beige trousers.

"You obviously did this to see me in my underwear."

By now he had changed into a pair of pants belonging to our host and I was helping him scrub the wine off.

"This isn't the first time we've met, you know?"
"No, when did we meet?"
"It was in a café, and you were telling these jokes, and everyone was laughing."
"Oh."

I didn't remember. But I liked him. He was funny and self-deprecating. We spent a lot of the evening sitting on a couch, laughing about everything and enjoying ourselves. I remember thinking:wow, I'm having fun! And I like him! I haven't liked anyone in ages.

As I gathered my stuff so I wouldn't be too knackered out for training this morning, he hovered around the door. I took a deep breath.
"Can I have your phone number, please?"
He smiled.
"I was about to ask you for yours."
"Well, that means you're going to have to choose the movie."
"Obviously."
"This is my finals week so..."
"No problem, I'll wait."

We smiled at each other.
"I like you."
"I like you too. Have a nice walk home!"

And I did.