Back to ‘normal’ – avoiding the routine

So its been 3 weeks now since I’ve left Tallinn and have returned to Dijon. I’m not going to lie, the adjustment period has been tough,  but I’ve finally started to get back into my ‘real-life’ rythme.

Everyday I find myself making comparisons to my life back in Tallinn, which is normal after spending time abroad. The smallest things make think of ‘oh that one time when I was living in Estonia’, which in turn makes me miss being there even more. The hardest part of it is that there is nobody around me who know’s what I am talking about. All my anecdotes are for me and myself, because I can’t look to the person next to me and ask them if they remember that one time in Mynt, because they don’t know Mynt, and they didn’t just pass 5 months in Tallinn with me. That’s one of the downsides of returnig from being abroad – you have no one to talk to about ‘oh that one time’ because they weren’t there, despite your desire to share with them that story, and share a few laughs, you just can’t.

Another downside is falling back into routine. Before I left I had my ‘routine’ down, it included going to work 5 days of the week, seeing a few friends here and there, and then spending time with my (then) boyfriend. When you go abroad your life becomes anything but routine. You become more spontaneous, more adventeurous, and everything is new and exciting. There are always so many new things to discover and explore when you are abroad that falling into a routine is almost impossible. It’s fun, and leaves you with a craving for more.

And then you go back to ‘normal’ life, and start to pick up your old routine. At first it’s refreshing, having refound your old marks and being able to smoothly reintegrate yourself back into your friend circles, or work life. Yet, after a while you start craving to get back out there and do something. And that is exactly what I am going to do. I’ve promised myself not to let myself slip too far into a routine that leaves me feeling like I don’t have a life outside of work, or Dijon for that matter. I’m going to keep on finding ways to escape my habits, and discover new ways to be entertained!

With this in mind, I am happy to say that I have something new and exciting coming up in a few months – another big move! Less dramatic than some of my previous moves, that’s for sure, but still something to look forward too. LYON! I’ll be moving end of August, and I can’t express how excited I am to start this new chapter of my life. Dijon will always hold a special place in my heart, but c’mon, a girl has to move to the big city at some point!