Thursday, 18 August, 2022 – I texted with Elias briefly today. He said it was an easy day at work. He thinks tomorrow will be easy too and maybe he’ll get to go to the beach.
I thought I could find a picture of a beach near Arles or Le Sambuc. But, really, c’mon, I have no idea where Elias could be going, given the expanse of the coast he has to choose from. In looking for clues, I ran across another travel blog site that has some nice pictures and descriptions: https://juliaseuropeanadventures.com/tag/provence/
It appears this is the nearest beach to the farm. (Fair warning, remember, I get a lot of this stuff wrong, as Elias will tell you.) He said it was about a 40-minute bus ride to the beach and it looks like Plage du Beauduc is about that far, by bus. Who knows? But here’s a map of where he is in Le Sambuc; you can see how close he is to the water.
I think the time at the farm has been good. I get the feeling that he is feeling calmer, able to adapt and be okay, which is good, since he has months to go, still. Maybe I am just hearing what I want to hear.
I don’t think I ever got to the point where I was not constantly on guard and tense when I was traveling. Being in Hong Kong for 10 months, I stopped being so tense and vigilant when I left campus and went to some other part of the city. But when I went into China or to Thailand, I was so anxious and tired – and sick, frankly – I did not relax. I still enjoyed traveling but there is something about feeling like you are settled a little that allows you to enjoy the place in a different way. Or maybe that is just me.
I also felt guilty, somehow, when I got some place and did not really like it much, like Guangdong. It was as if I thought I was supposed to love everything, just because it was different. I have a sense that Elias is not burdened by that expectation. Which is a good thing. Being exposed to new things allows us to figure out what we like and enjoy and value. Maybe there is as much to learn from discovering places or things we don’t really like as there is in discovering what we love.
I am probably projecting again but I feel like Elias may be figuring some of those things himself. Maybe in 20 years, when he can travel in in his mid-40s (!), he will know he enjoys traveling in smaller cities, or staying in one place for a while, because of this trip. Or whatever he figures out.
I am just so grateful he is able to have this experience. I think about how terrified I was at the start of the pandemic, constantly worried he or his sister – or anyone I loved, really – would get sick. I remember I also worried we would not get any more days where all I worried about was if he was safe on his trip. Now he is on his trip! And doing great.