At Wesleyan's 2009 commencement, Anna Quindlen reminded graduates of Samuel Beckett's bold proclamation, "To find a form that accommodates the mess, that is the task of the artist now." Instead of tidying the mess, or assuring graduates that things were not as messy as they appeared in the chaos of that May, she simply said,

We leave you a mess. And I won’t apologize for that. Instead I want you to see it for what it is: an engraved invitation to transformation. Certainty is dead. Long live the flying leap.

A long-time fan of Anna Quindlen's, I especially loved that last declarative: long live the flying leap.

And so, here goes my flying leap. As I travel to Japan, back home to run my first math camp for middle-school girls, and then to France, I will be flying in more ways than one.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Au revoir, France

I have just eaten the last croissant of my trip, and drained my last café au lait. I am flying home today.

J left yesterday, leaving me on my own for my last 24 hours. I'm not sure if I have been bottling up shopping desires or what, but I made yesterday into Parisian retail adventure of major proportions. Of all my purchases, I'm most pleased with what my new friends at Comptoir des Cotonniers called "carotte" pants: seriously fashion-forward tapered and cuffed trousers that I've seen on a few style mavens here. This shopping excursion, among other things, has widened my vocabulary considerably, and I'm happy to report that I have once again achieved conversational comfort in this lovely language. I'll be looking for a French tutor, or at least a French conversation-partner, once I get back to the states. (My language flows most fluently in the presence of tall and handsome French men who like to tell me I'm ravissante, so keep your eyes peeled for candidates.)

So, armed with a few books from Shakespeare & Co. to tide me over until I land, I'm off. The meaning of au revoir comforts me now: it's not "goodbye," but rather, "until I see you again." Au revoir, France.
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