Poetry

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Poetry

LETTER TO MY CITY, MULHOUSE

Céline Backpacking for Dummies, AROUND EUROPE, I think therefore I run away, Back to Mulhouse 8 Comments
LETTER TO MY CITY, MULHOUSE

Right after the lockdown -which ended up around June 2020 in France- the mailboxes of Mulhouse were filled with letters from Abd Al Malik, in partnership with the city concert hall La Filature. In this letter, the famous French singer/rapper/poet/writer who grew up in Strasbourg, was calling us to write back letters. Letters addressed to Mulhouse, our city, to tell her about our lockdown since the city had been the epicentre of the Covid-19 pandemic in France last February. Everybody here knows someone who has been infected, hospitalized, or someone who has died… Everybody here knows someone who was in the first line, care and health workers, cashiers, transportation workers.
Everybody here has known about fear.

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AND I FALL IN LOVE EVERY 4 MORNINGS

Céline Backpacking for Dummies, I think therefore I run away 2 Comments
AND I FALL IN LOVE EVERY 4 MORNINGS

I’m often waiting for that green light, that next train departing for another mechanical lift up to the top that’s going to kick my shoes away, ignite myself like the first time, with that dizzy taste of vertigo in my mouth.
Butterflies are flapping in my stomach while riding up. Am I going too high?
My feet are not touching the ground anymore by the time you take my hand in the streets of Kyoto.

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4 YEARS AGO I LOST MY DREAM JOB.

Céline Backpacking for Dummies, AROUND EUROPE, I think therefore I run away, In Love with Strasbourg 7 Comments
4 YEARS AGO I LOST MY DREAM JOB.

4 years ago, I stood up for a cause, I stood up for a job I still believe is one of the most beautiful jobs ever, I stood up for the importance of culture, and I stood up for my beloved co-workers. But moreover, and for the first time in my life, I stood up for myself. I could feel it in my guts: “Céline, if you don’t fight for yourself right now, you’re gonna regret this for the rest of your life.” So, I stood up and fought for myself. I just couldn’t sit and watch the ship sinking into the deep ocean.

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THE PHILOSOPHY BEHIND O HANAMI (お 花見)

Céline Everything's Good in Japan!, Backpacking for Dummies, AROUND ASIA, I think therefore I run away 7 Comments
THE PHILOSOPHY BEHIND O HANAMI (お 花見)

Hanami is the perfect beauty made by Mother Nature. The reminder of how ephemeral life is. That life doesn’t last. And that the beauty of it is actually its ephemeral state. We wouldn’t pay this much attention to blooming sakura if they were blooming for a long time. The fact that it’s lasting just a few days makes it even more beautiful, yet magical.

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A GARDEN IN THE ANJOU REGION - BACK TO THE ROOTS

Céline Backpacking for Dummies, AROUND EUROPE, I think therefore I run away No Comments
A GARDEN IN THE ANJOU REGION - BACK TO THE ROOTS

We tried to do the maths in the car. How many years had it been since I was here for the last time? 5 years? 7 years? Years are running fast. And the Anjou region is far from Alsace. At least, that’s how I used to consider it. How does it change your conception of time and space when you take a year time to travel around a whole country like New Zealand?

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