Does Living Abroad Help Stimulate Creativity?

Those of us who have lived abroad know what a magnificent, frustrating, life-changing experience it can be. But can it also be good for our brains? A recent study found that living overseas may help to stimulate creativity, especially for those who fully immerse themselves in the local language. The study also found that the more time you spend overseas, the better your creative boost will be. And if you'd really like to see results, it's best to avoid isolating yourself in expat communities. Maybe all this will convince your boss to let you do your work on a sunny beach in Greece rather than in your one-size-fits-all cube?

I can't remember if I felt more creative while living in France as compared to living stateside. At the same time, I do know that learning French definitely changed the way my mind works, and I often feel as though all my senses are heightened when I travel. What do you think about the study? Do you feel more creative when you're living overseas?

One More Day

I'm a big believer in vacation time. Men and women in the working world need and deserve time away from the office/restaurant/construction site/enter your workplace here to recharge their batteries, spend time with family and friends, pursue hobbies, and in general, enjoy life to the fullest. Americans are unlucky in vacations. As our European and other counterparts enjoy four or five or more weeks of paid time off each and every year, we languish in a system that thinks 13 days is generous. Many of us get only 10. Some take none at all. Oh, to be like my French friends and their mandated August and holiday season vacations with plenty additional free time in between.

If you think Americans need more time away from work, you can sign HomeAway's S.O.S. (Save Our Summer) petition asking Congress to make August 7th "National Vacation Day." Frankly, I think we need something more along the lines of a National Vacation Month, but I'm happy with any kind of step in the right direction.

Belgium Bound

Way back in January, I mapped out my 2009 travel resolutions. They seemed pretty solid at the time, but as we all know, even the best laid plans of mice and men go astray. Instead of heading to New York or the Atlantic shore, I'll be spending much of the year a bit farther from my original Washington, DC starting point. Not that I'm complaining. After all, the place I'll be spending it is Brussels, Belgium.

Work is sending me to the land of beer, waffles, and EU institutions for a total of 5 1/2 months, with my first day in the office set for August 17th. If you're counting, that's less than two months away! I'm not quite in pre-trip panic mode ("I'll never be able to get all the things done that need to get done before I leave!" Cue the hyperventilation.), but I'm sure it's not far off. There are a handful of training sessions to complete, a medical clearance to obtain, an apartment to clean, empty and sublet, and some serious packing decisions to be made. I'd also like to purchase a new laptop, go to Minnesota for one last weekend, and make the most out of the DC summer I have left. Needless to say, the next two months are not going to be easy or stress-free, but as anyone who has ever moved abroad knows, all the work will be worth it (and more!) in the end.

April Showers Bring May...Bridges?

May is a great time of the year to be in France. The weather is getting better, flowers are in bloom, and hordes of summer tourists haven't yet made their presence known. May is especially sweet if you work in France, as this one month is filled with more national holidays than Americans see in an entire quarter. But it's not just a few days off here and there; the French take this rapid succession of Labor Day, Victory in Europe Day, and Ascension to the next level by practically making a month-long vacation out of it. How do they manage this incredible feat? By using a special tactic they like to call "Les ponts de mai." The May Bridges.

It works like this: let's say Labor Day (May 1st for most of the world, why do Americans celebrate this in September?) falls on a Thursday. You automatically get Thursday off from work, but you want more, so you take Friday off too. This creates a "pont," or bridge, to the weekend. Do this three times during the month and you're hardly at the office at all! The tourism industry in France goes crazy offering all kinds of "pont" vacation deals, which the French take full advantage of by running off the to the south, the north, to foreign countries, or to anywhere that's not home. And you thought they only vacationed in August.

I guess Americans sort of do this too. If the Fourth of July is on a Thursday, for example, how many people are in the office on Friday? Or the Friday after Thanksgiving? It's just that we don't have a catchy, clever name for the phenomenon. "Four-day weekend" or "long weekend" don't exactly have the same ring to them as "Les ponts de mai." We also don't have a single month with three such glorious opportunities for building May bridges. The Christmas/New Year's week comes close, but that doesn't really count seeing as how much of the world's population has that deal going on. As I struggle to make it to Memorial Day - the first federal holiday since mid-February - I wish all my French and expat friends in France a Happy May. Send me a "wish you were here" postcard?

Five Days to Go

Don't you love weekends? There's no alarm to wake up to, no place in particular you have to be, and you are totally free to pack as much fun into 48 hours as you possibly can. Yes, there are also errands to run, bills to pay, and the house to clean, but for some reason even these daily tasks can seem exciting when they're done on a Saturday or Sunday. And of course, the weekend is always preceded by the absolute feeling of promise that can only be had on a Friday night. For a while, I had lost the joy of Saturday and Sunday. Taking a break from traveling has brought it back into my life, and I'm loving every minute of it.

When you travel, days of the week can become irrelevant. The traditional five-days-on, two-days-off routine just doesn't exist on the road. In fact, it's not unusual for travelers to completely lose track of normal time-keeping measures such as weekdays and weekends. Of course, this lack of day awareness can sometimes lead to trouble. For example, if you live in Paris and you forget it's Sunday and walk to your favorite fromagerie with visions of brie in your head, you'll only be disappointed when you see that they're closed...and even more so when you realize that so is every other cheese shop for miles. But for the most part, the no weekend lifestyle is good, especially if you previously spent years on the other schedule. Nevertheless, for nearly one month now I have been relishing my weekends.

The only problem with rediscovering the fabulousness that is the weekend, is that it also forces you to rediscover the concept of Monday. Mondays are the anti-weekend. The alarm sounds, most of us will have to go to work or school, and fun (unless you love your job, in which case, right on!) gets relegated to after 5pm. But there's hope. Every action has a reaction, and those of us who dread Mondays must always bear in mind that, if we make it through the day, the next weekend is just around the corner. Have you made your plans yet?

Is It Happy Hour Yet?

I am of the belief that humans were not meant to spend 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, in a small, windowless cubicle doing repetitive tasks. This type of environment kills creativity and in general lessens our will to live. Nevertheless, millions of people all over the world currently find themselves in this energy-sapping situation. Myself included. Stuck in a period of limbo where I'm neither here nor there has led me to take up temporary work. Spending Monday through Friday at a desk doing the same things over and over again is my own personal hell, and yet I can't help but wonder if some of the men and women I work with actually enjoy this type of employment. Are some people content, or maybe even thrilled, to do a job that I find unbearably stifling? My heart says "no," but my head says "well...maybe."

I started thinking that there are beings among us who love repetitive office-drone jobs while trying to think on the bright side of my current situation. First, there are the predictable hours. Most of my co-workers are strictly on the 9 to 5 schedule. They come in, do their work for eight hours, then leave. Nights and weekends are always free, and they don't have to think about the job when they're away from the office. Secondly, repetitive tasks could be comforting to those who don't like surprises or uncertainty, and they might enjoy decorating the cube as well as feeling of belonging to a team of cube-dwellers. To make things even better, the company offers all kinds of little perks to keep you happy on the job. Everything from awesome break rooms, to free bagels on Friday mornings to casual-dress summers make you feel good. Hey! This isn't so bad!

Except that it kind of is. I realize that some people might like this line of work, but I'm just not one of them. I like change, variety and excitement. Little perks like free coffee and tea are not enough to get me to love doing the same tasks over and over and over again. I don't want to "personalize" my cube, and I'm ok with taking my work home (within reason) if it's something I truly love. Which reminds me of another look-on-the-bright-side feature of my current state of employment: it's only temporary.

Wait, What's a Timecard?

It's the end of an era. As of this Monday, August 25th, 2008, I will no longer be unemployed. I found a temp job that will last five weeks and will hopefully replenish the bank account that took a beating in Europe. Amazingly enough, the more than six months I spent not working represents the longest stretch of joblessness I've had since I was 14 years old. Those who know me well know that I love having jobs, even multiple jobs, so going without was something of a personal challenge. Could I stand not receiving a paycheck? How long would it take for me to break down and find a peitit boulot in Paris? Well, in the end, I didn't break down and find a "little job." In fact, just the opposite happened. Despite the budgetary restrictions, I loved taking a break from the working world. Now the questions is, how will I handle going back to it?

For starters, I really haven't had to wake up for any particular reason in months. I'm an early bird by nature, so I wasn't sleeping in until noon or anything, but it's just nice to know that when you do wake up you can do whatever you want instead of having to rush around getting ready for work. I'm definitely going to miss that. Secondly, I'm kind of out of practice when it comes to the rituals that accompany work. For example, on the way to the grocery store yesterday I had to ask my sister what people brought to work for lunch. "Ummm, sandwiches and fruit maybe?" she replied. Oh, yeah...I used to do that all the time, but thinking about it didn't come naturally anymore. Then there's the wardrobe issue. I haven't bought work clothes in awhile, and I haven't worn them either. I like not wearing work clothes. I'm a jeans and flip-flops kind of gal. "Business casual" is going to be a serious readjustment.

On the bright side, the cash flow is going to be very helpful. And I love meeting new people and trying new things, both of which will be possible with a new job. It's downtown Minneapolis, which has a great vibe that I'm looking forward to experiencing Monday through Friday, and isn't happy hour that much more rewarding and fun after an 8-hour shift? But being without work has taught me that taking a sabbatical from time to time is a good idea. I relished having time for myself, for my hobbies, for travel, for life! I highly recommend it to anyone who feels they are in a rut or just wants to do something they've been meaning to do if only they didn't have a 9-5. I'm definitely looking forward to saving up for my next big adventure. After all, work isn't everything. Taking time for yourself to do the things you love is a must. Life is short, we should enjoy it! I have a feeling I'll be rudely reminded of this fact when the alarm goes off at 6:30am on Monday morning.