Signs of stress...and possible insanity

Ah, week four. There seems to be something special about this week, like I've reached a milestone...or the point of no return...or a breaking point perhaps.

Since I awoke this morning, my 27th morning in Europe, until this very moment that I am writing this to you, my left eyebrow has not ceased twitching. Have I developed a nervous tic?! If so, how perfectly dramatic of me to make such an outward show of my inward stress. It's rather pleasing actually, like a big bruise that doesn't really hurt much but that can be shown off to others. "See how pathetic I am? Won't you please recognize my pain?" the bruise calls out. Although perhaps a nervous tic sends out a message of a different sort, but I'd rather not think about that.

Actually, I've been practicing not thinking at all. Or specifically, not thinking using language. Have you ever tried it before? I'm not sure it's possible, but for the sake of my nervous tic I'm giving it a go. You see, the problem with thinking using language is that I'm not susposed to use English here, as it detracts from my French study. But my French study is detracting from my peace of mind, as my twitching eyebrow is attempting to tell me. Thus I would think it..or rather "feel" that it would be best to spend some time in tranquility, without thoughts of any sort running about. But I've found this state to be rather difficult to preserve for any length of time. This has taught me an important lesson: I will not judge the next vacant person I come across, but instead congratulate them on their intellectual achievement.

Well then, I suppose I must come up with something pleasant to say, after all the cynicism of late. I hope you can tell from my writing that I've been reading Oscar Wilde. He's terribly British, even when he's translated into French. His characters always say the opposite of what they should. I take his whimsical works very seriously. You should too. I recommend The Importance of Being Earnest. If you're not the literary sort, although to read that play you certainly don't need to be, I also highly recommend the movie of the same title starring two of my favorite actors: Colin Firth and Reese Witherspoon. Francis Somebody-or-Other is also in it, and she stars in the movie Mansfield Park which is another favorite of mine. I also recommend Wilde's most famous novel, The Portrait of Dorian Gray. It is an interesting commentary on how our behavior affects our soul. I wonder, does my soul have a nervous twitch?