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| Wandering the streets of Amiens, France |
14th April 2015
As we found our footing in this unfamiliar, foreign country, we stepped out of the train station, and a quintessential French girl—reminiscent of Amélie—with short brown hair and a golden chiffon scarf draped stylishly around her neck rode up gracefully on her bicycle to greet my boyfriend, Jack, and me. Her warm smile instantly put me at ease as she said, “Hello, ça va?” gesturing for us to follow her.
Jack had met Claire the previous year while she was visiting family in our hometown of Coventry. When we began planning our backpacking trip across Europe, he mentioned our stop in Amiens to Claire, and she was thrilled at the chance to meet us and welcome us to her city.
The French air was pleasantly warm as we followed Claire along the cobblestone streets of this charming and colourful Picardy town. Along the way, she introduced us to Aurelien, a local and aspiring photographer who would be hosting us for the night in his apartment—our first Couchsurfing experience. As their French conversation shifted effortlessly into fluent English, I felt my nerves fade away, and newfound confidence quickly replaced my anxiety. Thank goodness they spoke English; otherwise, we’d have been stuck with awkward gestures and the pathetic handful of French words I barely remembered from school nine years ago!
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| Gauthier, Una, Claire and me |
Aurelien’s studio apartment was a romantic blend of French decor and Indonesian art, reflecting the heritage of his girlfriend, Una, who had moved to Amiens four years ago to study fashion and cinematography. As I looked around, taking in the details and falling in love with their laid-back lifestyle, our plans shifted—we had been invited to a barbecue at Claire’s. I let my heavy backpack drop to the floor, feeling the relief of those twelve long hours melt away, and then headed to the supermarket to stock up on beer and burgers.
That night, I met a variety of people, each driven by different hopes and dreams. There was Miriyam, a beautiful girl who crafted her own jewellery and was competing for a spot at one of the best schools in France to pursue her passion. Then there was Gauthier, a DJ and events organizer, and Richard, the lead singer and guitarist of a band called "Wolves and Moons." They were all refreshingly ambitious yet free-spirited and relaxed. They knew exactly what they wanted from life but weren’t in any rush to get there.
We shared similar views on many topics, which made me realise that even though we lived in different countries and spoke different languages, we were fundamentally the same at the core. Our sense of humour was even aligned; for example, "Je m'en bats les couilles" translates to "I whip my balls and bounce it," which is the French equivalent of saying, "I don't give a sh*t!" And I bloody loved that.
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| Words of Wisdom in Aurelien's apartment |
After several beers and a couple of glasses of champagne, I found myself speaking better French than English. As we all danced to a mix of French music and the Spice Girls, it felt like I had known these people my entire life. My face radiated happiness and appreciation as I turned to Jack, gesturing excitedly and miming, “I can’t believe we’re here!” I was having the time of my life, and this was just the beginning.
As the clock struck 1:00am and everyone began to say their goodbyes (it was a Tuesday night, after all, and each had work or classes in the morning), I was still riding a high. I hadn’t laughed so genuinely in a long time, and I realised that this was it. This is what travelling is all about, and more importantly, this is what living is about. Stumbling back to Aurelien’s apartment, feeling slightly overwhelmed, and ready for bed, Miriyam pulled out her guitar, and Una began to sing. It was a truly lovely and perfect way to end our first night.
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