So several times a year, I ask myself what I've learned recently, and what has made me proud in the last few months, just to boost my confidence! And I must say that this move to Brussels has radically changed my life, from simple practical details to global ambition.

Learning to drive a manual car

For the record, I learned to drive in France, but I got my license in the United States, and always drove from an automatic car.

I always scrupulously avoided learning to drive a manual car, on vacation, I was the eternal co-driver. Manual driving really scared me, and I thought that I could avoid it all my life.

But then I got a company car with my new job, very nice, but manual. I panicked the first few days, I had to do a few laps around the parking lot and a good series of stalls at the traffic light to find my bearings and above all enjoy driving my manual car. I conquered my fear, call me Fangio!

Working in open space

I told you about it a few years ago in this article, after 5 years of home office 3 or 4 days a week, I changed my job to an open space (decision taken during a Mercury retrograde by the way). I was anxious about leaving my bubble and going back to a "transport" rhythm, but in the end it was the best decision to make. So yes, I sleep less in the morning, but my child usually wakes me up before the alarm clock, I enjoy the company of my colleagues, sing in the car to my heart's content or listen to great podcasts, and finally I've managed to adapt my work/life rhythm.

Developing my yoga practice at home

I've been practicing yoga for almost 5 years, and practicing at home has always been complicated, constantly distracted by a cat, a noise, and the lack of a voice to guide me.

Since changing jobs, I have decided to practice yoga and meditation every night. I unroll my mat in the dark, light some candles, scatter some essential oils, and reproduce sequences I learned in class, sometimes yin, sometimes vinyasa, depending on the day and the needs. My practice is evolving, and above all, this moment has become essential to my daily balance. And above all, I meditate, and repeat positive mantras that ripen in my head at night and boost me in the morning. I continue to go to the studio regularly, in the evenings and on weekends, and miraculously I have found a small studio near my office.

Becoming more sociable

As an introvert, living abroad far from my circle of friends was a trial. I finally stopped running away from the coffee machine, and accepted people's invitations and even worse: went ahead and invited people from Washington, London or Brussels to meet for coffee. I've had some wonderful encounters through this blog, by the way. The test of fire came when I participated in the Brussels Lives podcast, arriving at Meriem's house to drink a tea and talk about my life in front of her microphone. And given your positive reactions, I can't wait to do it again