BLOG WRITER'S BLOCK

Yes, I know, I have neglected my blog. For the first time in two years I have stopped writing regularly. The blog, the Polish website about Africa where I'd been submitting articles, e-mails, so many e-mails I have yet to answer... Truth be told, it doesn't feel good. I have come to like sorting my life into short pieces, making sure nothing is going to disappear, nothing will be forgotten. Turns out I need it. And so I have come to my senses.

The reasons for my self-imposed silence were many. I started working over a month ago, and, among other things, I have learned that not being a teacher requires spending a large part of your day in an office. Enjoy it as I might, not much time is left for living during the week. I am an intern now, which, apart from constantly making me wonder if I'm too old for that, allows me to take a - I must say secure and pleasant - plunge into the ocean of the Brussels work market. The competition is fierce. The pays are low. What else could I ask for?

Secondly, I might have been a bit down lately. Things have yet to take the right course for us, and it's not always easy to stay positive when you start making comparisons which you'd probably better avoid. Sitting in our rented room, I let my mind drift off to our Gabonese terrace, where we would stand for hours, staring at the sunset. How come you only remember the great times? Why can't I see our stay in Africa rationally? Why is it suddenly Paradise Lost? And do I have to be this dramatic? I know the beginnings in Gabon were very difficult and that, exactly as I do now, I spent a lot of time sighing the deep sigh of goodness-me-am-I-in-a-pickle-now! But I seriously can't remember this. And so I don't let myself think about Africa too much.

Finally, probably as a result of the previous two reasons, I have lately been suffering from a kind of blog writer's block. I wanted to write but it just wouldn't come out. Consequently, a patient girl that I am, I gave up trying altogether after about a week. Until the big breakthrough - last week, all of a sudden, I produced a new article in Polish. Yesterday I answered several e-mails (don't worry, yours is surely on its way). I'm back. Live from Brussels, especially for you. Stay tuned.