Traveling in Slow Motion

With the time constraints of most American jobs, traveling has become something that we do quickly, cramming as many sites and experiences as possible into a single week. This past July, my husband and I were fortunate enough to both get two weeks off to travel to the south of France for our honeymoon. The experience was amazing, getting to experience the sights, food, and history of another country. We wanted to cram in as much as possible, and I created a jam-packed itinerary full of hiking adventures, historical sites, and cultural experiences. I filled my edition of Rick Steves' Provence and the French Riviera with scribbled notes, highlighting, and tabs to remind me of what was important about each site and what we absolutely had to see. My husband (fiance at the time) booked hotel rooms along the way and encouraged me to reorganize the itinerary so we didn't have to switch hotel rooms quite as many times. Throughout our planning, we kept talking about how this opportunity probably wouldn't come along again... at least not for a while.

On top of Castle Hill in Nice, Overlooking the Bay of Angels

Then, a couple weeks out from our wedding, my husband got a call from his boss asking if we'd be interested in going to Europe for six months to a year. Immediately, a sense of panic came over me. In a couple months, I was starting a PhD program, and this change didn't fit into my plans. And yet, it was such an amazing opportunity; could we really afford to say, "No"? Within 20 minutes, I was emailing the graduate advisor for the English department and asking what the options were for deferral, and a few days later we had signed up for the transfer and were making plans to move. At first we thought we were headed to Switzerland, but after the honeymoon, we found out that the location had changed to the city of Utrecht in the Netherlands.

Utrecht Sculpture of Pondering Rabbit

Where we had been in complete control of our itinerary for the honeymoon, planning for the move left us with many unknowns and the insecurity of having to rely on the company to complete the necessary paperwork. Our original date to fly out was August 23rd; however, the week before we were supposed to leave, the paperwork for my husband's work permit had not even been started, a process that can take up to 6 weeks. The company decided that he still needed to go over for a couple weeks in September, but that the official move date would not be until October 1st. From the day we first found out about the transfer to the actual date that Joel left, each week was filled with new challenges and steps to take. We had to schedule movers, and then reschedule them when the date changed. We had to submit copies of documents such as birth certificates with special seals from the Secretary of States. We had to decide what we were going to pack, what we would ship, and what would stay behind in storage. Once we both arrived (Joel at the beginning of October and me a couple weeks later), we had to make multiple visits to the town hall and immigration office to register ourselves and apply for a residence permit. The process has been slow and laborious, taking up full days and weeks. It has successfully reminded me that not everything moves quickly, and there is another pace at which we can live life.

One of the Many Canals in Utrecht (All are Lined with Bicycles)

And so, this brings me to the title of this post and to the name that I've adopted as a blogger (Slow Motion Traveler). Until next August, I have the opportunity to live in another country (where bicycles rule the road) and immerse myself in the culture. I can travel in slow motion, each day exploring something new, or even something again with fresh eyes. I have the time to embrace the little pleasures in life, like going to the olive market or the cheese shop, or even riding my bike down the street just to see what's around the corner. I hope that you enjoy reading about both my small and large adventures and that you, too, are able to take a moment and reevaluate life's pace as you read my blog.

Local Cheese (Kaas) Shop