In a couple of days, I head off on a trip of bucket-list proportions – a solo vacation to France, followed by a week with friends in Geneva and Innsbruck (with a side-trip to Venice – Snoopy happy dance!)

Anyone who knows me well knows I’ve been talking about this trip for years – I’d originally planned to go as a reward for my punishing two-year stint working on prep for the 2010 Winter Games. But after the Games were over, I was preoccupied with…um…making some money – any money - so vacation took a back seat to getting Boldt Communications back off the ground.

After a great year, I decided to cash in some of those points I’d been saving for a bazillion years on my credit card – after all, mamma’s earned a vaycay.

La musique de la langue francaise (et les autres langues, aussi)

I am admitting it, right here, right now – I am a language geek. Studying languages has accompanied most of my major trips over the past few years – Bandol (Provence) in France in 1997, Quebec in 2001, Heidelberg (where I studied German) in 2007. 

I love learning the language of the places I visit – not only does it give me more to do to frame my trip than sightseeing, but I meet amazing people from around the world and learn more about the places I visit than I ever would if I’d just been your typical Anglo tourist.

I will admit, it is a bit intimidating – going to a different country where they speak a different language and…well...do things differently. But I’m ready to embrace that. In Toronto earlier this year, I became a Torontonian. In New York, I was a temporary New Yorker. And I’m going to do my best to embrace my inner Frenchwoman (no smartass jokes, now).

Taking a break

One thing I also learned from recent trips to Montreal, San Francisco, Toronto and New York was the importance of getting out of your home base and comfort zone for awhile – really embracing a new city or culture and immersing yourself in the experience. On the most recent jaunt to Toronto and New York, I arrived with few expectations (and a few meetings), and ended up having one of the most energizing - and fun - trips of my life. Paris and Provence will take the challenge to a whole new level – not only will I be having a new adventure but I’ll (attempt to) have it in a different language!

It doesn’t really matter where you go or what you do – it’s really important to get away. At home, I get so in it – meeting the needs of my clients, dealing with subcontractor issues, making money and making sure other people get paid – that I lose the energy and inspiration that made the work fun - and my work good - in the first place. I get burned out, dragged out, grumpy and just plain tired. Needless to say, the electrifying creative ideas are hardly flowing when I feel this way...and I've been feeling this way for awhile. Time for a break.

But leaving one’s small business – especially when you’re the alpha dog on a team you're working to expand in the fall – is incredibly difficult to do. I think I’ve spent more time preparing for this vacation than I’ll actually be on it. And I don’t mean studying the guidebooks, either - who has time for that (I’ll be leaving most of that for the plane…). I mean wrapping up files, putting potential new clients on hold for a few weeks, madly finishing up work for current clients, arranging for coverage (and making sure Sara – my marketing associate – has everything she needs while I'm away), paying subcontractors, depositing cheques, etc.

The Zone of Acceptance

There’s no going back now. I did the French placement test a couple of weeks ago (I can only pray I’ve been placed at a level that corresponds with my current set of Alliance Francaise textbooks...I'm not buying new books for a week). My Eurail pass has arrived (even if I’m not quite sure how to use it). Planes, trains, and most hotels and automobiles are booked. The rest I’ll figure out when I get there.

Now, it’s time to pack my bags, get things wrapped up at home, water my plants…and finish this blog post. More when I return from France in a few weeks.

So kiss me and smile for me, tell me that you'll wait for me...hold me like you'll never let me go...