MY NEW HOME
Jan 5 2014
This is all about Oullins - the small suburb of Lyon which I am currently calling my home. When I first got here I felt a bit odd. I think that is probably normal when you arrive in a completely new place where everything is foreign (literally), and you have no idea which way is even west or east.
I mean that too, my sense of direction flew out the window when I first arrived.
So then I got to know my new apartment pretty well, and I started to get that fear of going out into the wider world - agoraphobia I think it is called. This is all over the course of two days, by the way. But, my good sense prevailed and I coaxed myself to go out for an hour or so, just to get my bearings. It was like I was preparing for an expedition. I got together any items I would possibly need, and double checked everything... and took a big breath when I closed the front door.
Now I am fine, I have ventured much further afield, but that day I was very tentative. Yet as I walked I began to get my confidence back, and observe the new world around me...
Oullins is a nice enough place. It is kind of dirty but charming, as the rest of Lyon seems to be. There are pastel coloured buildings with shutters, and roads that look like alleyways. There is a lot of rubbish, and dog poop, and many people just wandering along jauntily - old people with small dogs, and young people riding bikes in pairs.
