Jennifer in Luxembourg

Lots more thoughts on this Thanksgiving season in a different post, but today I wanted to write about what actually happened on my Thursday.  It started at 12:02, right after midnight. Wednesday nights are our stay up late/hangout/baking nights, and it made me sad not to be doing that. So instead, I cleaned my house and was brushing my teeth. My phone buzzed with my normal messaging friend, and I had a quick chat, before realizing he was still at the office, after 6pm on the Wednesday! I switched to our company Teams, and had a nice conversation on technical things, Thanksgiving things and more. It was the perfect calming conversation to make me feel way less homesick.  The morning was like anything else, getting ready, going to work. I was shocked at how many coworkers took the time to go out of their way and wish me a Happy Thanksgiving. It was a kind gesture, as so many remembered and wanted to wish me.  Midi-morning, one of the research directors walked over and offer...

It's been a minute since I wrote... but life has been busy. Busy recovering my strength and trying to kick this cough and also hosting visitors!  My sister Rachel visited the weekend after I got back from the USA. Sadly I was still pretty weak and feeling awful, so it was a lot of sleeping and both of us working from home rather than doing things. We did manage a few of the Luxembourg City highlights when I had a bit of energy, and a lovely time at my favorite coffee shop here (where the owner gave us free orange cake because we spoke German to him). Two other friends joined as well; one I knew and had met before in various cities in the US, and the other I had heard off. We had a drink at the Sofitel, which normally boasts the best rooftop bar views, but sadly the darkness killed that plan. It was followed by a seafood dinner at a restaurant I walk by often! That was the extent of my interactions with those friends, as they came during weekdays, but I was able to recommend some of...

Madrid was a dream. Yes, parts of it were a nightmare due to my chronic illness flare-up, but it was lovely to meet my engineers. E picked up me up from the airport, dropped me at my Airbnb and was my primary host and organizer for the weekend. He and his partner had a delightfully relaxing flat that I felt right at home in. Apparently he told the entire Madrid office about me, and our weekend plans 😊 It was really interesting to meet perfect strangers at the industry event who knew everything I had done and who I was with all weekend. Friday evening, we walked near the Egyptian temple, with a fabulous view over the city. We ended up near the Sol plaza, with porra   (a fatter cousin of a churro) and chocolate in hand. It was simply delightful. After that, we met up with C and his partner for dinner. C and E were in the same training class together, and I’d met C’s partner when she’d accompanied him to class. It was lovely to share some beautiful tapas together and be introduc...