The Paris-Pastry-Per-Day-Diet

I'm currently on the "Parisian Pastry per Day" diet. It's the best (though perhaps not the most effective) diet ever. With just a week or so left on this side of the Earth, I've decided that I need to fully enjoy Paris, et vivre la vie au maximum.

If you want to know what life tastes like, this is the diet for you.

Basically, you walk into the boulangerie/patisserie, and you demand (politely)the most decadent, sweet, beautifully constructed, magnificent little pâtisserie that they've got.
And then, you enjoy it.

Now, one unfortunate side effect of this diet  is that you will probably be happier, wiser, and kinder for the rest of the day. If you happen to find the right pâtisser, and pick just the right pastry, you may even reach Total Enlightenment.
On Wednesday, I came close. The pastry was, to the un-pastry-trained eye, odd looking—a light green jumbo macaron, ornately decorated with swirly sea-foam colored cream and perfect little red raspberries. When I took a bite, the world froze around me. Suddenly everything made sense! All the world needs is Pistachio! and Raspberry! and Sugar!
 Creamy, light, airy, sweet.
Delightful.
 Yeah, It was THAT good.
;)

But seriously, this "Paris Pastry a Day" thing is less about pastries specifically, and more, if not all, about living well  in general.

Lately, I find myself going for walks through the city, without a camera, a phone, or  a journal. I just walk. I take in my environment.
It includes the good, the bad, the beautiful, and the sad.
No stressing about tomorrow, dwelling on yesterday, or keeping your mind and your heart captive another place.
It's about not cheating yourself out of life. It's about experiencing the moments of pure joy, peace, love, hope, understanding, that are as ephemeral and sweet  as a dainty little Parisian pastry.

This leads into the other theme that's been on my mind lately. I feel like it's important to document that my life here in Paris is NOT a photo-album, or a movie, or a fairy tale.
I write a lot about my experiences traveling on weekends, and I tell cute little stories about moments—just brief moments—that are a little bit magical, funny, or interesting. These moments that I write about are kind of like Pastries—and we know that in life, you can't just go around eating nothing but macaroons and strawberry tarts and chocolate eclairs, just like no life consists solely of those exciting moments worth documenting in a blog or in a photo.

I guess, abandoning this silly pastry metaphor for a minute, what i'm trying to say is that living in Paris has been HARD too.
 Living in an apartment by myself, being away from my friends and family, not being able to communicate quite properly with anyone for months, and generally feeling a little bit lost, judged, incompetent, and stupid, has been, to say the least, a challenge for me.

Now, these are in NO way the worst challenges a girl can face, nor are they unique; anyone living in a new place and a new culture would experience the same adversity (which is something that I think we would all benefit from realizing about others).  I'm not complaining.
It's not like I'm saying  "I have to live in Paris; my life is sooo hard!"
I have been living on, essentially, a  5-month-long vacation in one of the most exciting, beautiful, and  fascinating cities in the world; I don't deny it. It's been too wonderful for words at times. It's not even fair that I was blessed with this opportunity.

 But still, I'm just being honest.. and real.
It's not always a good time.

...but then, I'd like to meet the person with a life that is always a good time. Even if they did exist, I bet I wouldn't like them very much...

 The constant pressure of the unfamiliar has shattered the shell around me of what once seemed comfortable, normal, and right. Though difficult at times, that change has been the most valuable part of this experience. I know that I know that the greatest souvenirs that I'll pack up and take home are the lessons and new-found strength that spawned from those challenging times.

So, realistically,  life in Paris, or wherever,  is filled mostly with moments ranging from ordinary (if you choose to see them as such) to challenging. That, however, only makes the magical moments that much more enchanting,

 and the pastries that much more sweet.

:)