Paris (March 15) -- One year ago this weekend I was in the back of a taxi speeding toward the city of Paris after arriving at Charles de Gaulle Airport.
I remember thinking, "I'll need to get a receipt from the cabbie on the ride back so work can pay for that."
A moment later it hit me that there would be no ride back to de Gaulle any time soon. If I laughed, it was a nervous chuckle.
A one-way ticket indeed.
The past year seems to have both zipped by and crawled along. Looking back, I realize that it's been a year spent shooting from the hip, which is always exciting but rarely comfortable.
From learning the language and customs of the French to learning how to edit copy for the IHT, it's been an educational 12 months filled with pleas for patience.
Thankfully, most of those cries for mercy have been granted. The language skills are coming along and my progress at work has gone from blindly incompetent to getting promotions and a raise.
The paper's financial footing appears to have stabilized over the past year. When you spend the
first hour of your first day in a meeting where the topic of discussion is how the paper could close
in a few months, one year is a long time. The good side of that 'the-other-shoe-falls-any-day' mentality is that it has been a reminder to make the most of the time I've got over here.
There have been plenty of funny moments.
Like the two times I ordered cow brains by accident.
Not sure how they taste, but they smelled worse than they looked.
The night in Istanbul when I showed up at the hotel's restaurant to find my new waiter friend amazingly drunk was even funnier when his cellphone rang (it was his wife) and the ring was "What's Love Got to do with it?"
Running around Istanbul with a Kurdish guy named Gokan was an odd way to spend a few days. (Gokan has since moved to California to be with his American wife. Kurdish New Year is March 24th, by the way. He's having a party.)
Flying into Louisville for two nights and three days for the Kentucky Derby in May was filled with too many good times to mention.
Being told by a beach cop in Cuba to "Be careful today" is funny now, along with the rest of the trip.
Flying out of Cuba was an enjoyable moment -- as it was happening and also right now.
I have skirted danger a few times over the past 12 months, from almost getting hit by a car in Paris to possibly escaping a mugging attempt also in Paris because I couldn't understand what the guy was saying so I just turned around and walked into the nearby bar.
There have been occasional pangs of homesickness.
Over the past year I've missed March Madness two times now, the Super Bowl, Thanksgiving, Christmas, several birthdays, a year of my nephew's childhood and a World Series. Those are the trade-offs, I suppose.
Part of me hopes that the next year is as exciting and eventful as the past one. Another part wants some peace and quiet.
I'll be happy with whichever prevails.
Take care,
Brett
