it is unbelievable how enough you are

If the popularity of pas mal is any indication, the French are pretty tough critics. Though the phrase may literally translate to "not bad", it's often used to replace an American very good, nice job, or way to go! We tend to be exceptionally more encouraging. So, when a Frenchman told my friend and I he was impressed with us, it meant a lot; granted we were only strategically guessing which secret wine we were tasting from the Compagnie des Vins Surnaturales' extensive wine list... but still. I have Paris, France to thank.

I don't even mean that in a I've-drank-so-much-French-wine-having-lived-in-Paris-for-nearly-two-years sense, though that's probably true. I mean to say that this grad-school-abroad thing has helped me grow into myself in pretty impressive ways. Experiences bring confirmation of the great reach of our capabilities as well as of our limits. They informs us how fragile we are while simultaneously reminding us of our triumphant resilience. Many of my own have just happened to take place in a foreign country. And although I won't reduce the influence of such a significant detail, I also refuse to believe it's a prerequisite for certainty in one's self-assured adequacy. The trick, I think, is to never stop taking chances. Eat, pray, love happens on the inside. As a wise woman once shared: "You are enough. You are so enough; it is unbelievable how enough you are." It's hardly just wine knowledge to be proud of.