While three weeks is hardly enough for one to claim to know a place, my impression of this country is that of one which is really easy to like - the pace of life may seem slower than that at home, but from the conversations with AB and his friends, it's clear that they are by no means laid back. People here work hard too, except that outside of work, there is much more space (literally and figuratively speaking) to breathe, and an abundance of nature to appreciate. Of course, you do need to actually like being out in the cold, otherwise you will quite likely get bored rather easily, being confined indoors for probably the better part of the year. Me, I love the cold (the irony of growing up in a country of eternal summer), so I absolutely thrive in this environment.
Most of our days were spent with AB's family, and I was glad to have done so in the midst of the Christmas and New Year celebrations. While being physically with family for nearly a month is bound to bring out some tensions and conflicts, it's generally jovial and the spirit is mostly of thanksgiving, to have each other, and to be able to spend the festivities together. While I don't know for sure AB's family's impressions of me, I am quite confident that they at least don't detest me, heh. Pretty sure I didn't come off as a rude snobby brat, and I thank my upbringing for that. Language is a barrier to really getting to know each other, and hopefully the next time we meet I can carry on more meaningful exchanges with them beyond the daily greetings and the occasional faltering but interesting dialogues.
All in all, it was an awesome trip where I rested, ran, wrote, played, ate, drank and slept very well, in my favourite kind of weather, all while getting to spend lots of quality time with the man, and got to know his family better too.
It was so lovely to meet you for the first time, Luxembourg. I hope you liked me too, and I look forward to seeing you again in the hopefully not too distant future.
 |
| My daily view |
No comments:
Post a Comment