Le mal du pays

Sickness of country: Homesickness. I've experienced it for the first time today. I don't know what triggered it exactly, but I think it was the fact that I got a voicemail today in ENGLISH from a Houston friend. Talk about a novelty! #1. I don't get voicemails anymore. Part of living abroad. #2. I really don't speak English anymore, aside from my 2-minute conversations with the fam, so it was a nice reminder that there are people I can speak to who potentially understand everything I say! I'm sure I could find plenty of tourists along the Promenade to talk too, but...Anyways, the point of all this? I got homesick! It's a bit of an odd sensation for me, because I'm not quite sure exactly what for. I miss my family, but I don't ever really get to see them anyway. I miss my friends in Houston, but most of them are busy working individuals anway whom I wouldn't see terribly often, so...I can't pinpoint exactly what I'm homesick for. I suppose just familiarity. When you're placed in a situation where everything is distinctly foreign, it's as if you're living a different life, not just travelling away from your old one. Really there is nothing in Nice or all of Europe for that matter that is remotely connected to my "old" life, except maybe the internet. :) The first time I got a chance to get online in Paris, it was a definite relief. I'm going to the Opera de Nice tonight to see Nabucco and that will be a bit of a comfort. I really wish I could play the piano though. Somehow that always brings me "home" and makes the world seem right. I imagine there must be some form of a keyboard in church on Sunday. Fingers crossed...I'm homesick.