Finding an equilibrium

The past week has felt like a time of recovery after the stress of sorting out my health care. I hadn’t realised quite how stressful a time it had been.

I am slowly catching up on lost sleep and taking things easy. I realise I need to start working hard on learning and speaking French, but first I do need to get mind and body back into equilibrium.

We did go on another trip to the seaside on Wednesday and have continued to get to know the city and its inhabitants. We’ve also helped arrange trips and accommodation for our first visitors, who are coming at the end of the month.

On Tuesday I plucked up courage to have my first haircut in France. The barbers was packed with people getting a hair cut before they went on holiday and full of conversations and social interaction – all familiar, but slightly different to what I’m used to in the UK.

Finally, when it was my turn, I didn’t get to say very much apart from how I wanted my hair cut – which was understood and executed well.

I’ve also joined the French Crohn’s and Colitis organisation this week and received a big envelope full of information. The advice seems very similar to the UK, but it will be very useful to have the vocabulary at hand to describe symptoms and the treatments I’ve had in the past.

My Crohn’s has not been much of a problem since I’ve been here, despite the change in diet, micro-organisms and the stress of being in a new country and finding health care. That has left me happy, relieved and wondering why…