After our honeymoon we settled down, me working as a nurse and Sahib continuing his employment, and had three daughters. Our travel was mostly camping at Provincial parks in Ontario with one trip to Portland, Maine via Quebec, Vermont and New Hampshire and home via New Brunswick and Quebec. Busy years, needless to say.

Then I decided to go back to school – starting part-time and then full-time I completed a BA (Hons) in Religious Studies and went on to an MA programme. However, we were running out of money so I wrote, on a whim, the foreign service exam. To my surprise, I passed and over the next 15 months we went through the hiring process: interview (passed), security checks (passed) and medical exams for the whole family (passed) until I was offered a position as a Foreign Service Officer. We carefully considered the options and decided it would be a good move for the family: travel, adventure, good schooling, better salary for me while for Sahib, whose employment looked very iffy, an opportunity to do something new.

So, after finishing all the MA course work, we left academia behind and we sold our house and packed up all our stuff which the government moved to Ottawa for us. And, there we stayed for 18 months – buying a house and settling in a bit.

After completing training assignments and courses at headquarters, it was time to have 6 weeks training in an overseas mission. In my case, it was to be Port-au-Prince, Haiti and I was looking forward to the warmth and sunshine of the tropics in January and February. Unfortunately, there was a coup in Haiti and my overseas training was reassigned to Paris and off I went.

It was different working in Paris but still fascinating. My hotel room – with a small kitchenette with microwave and bar fridge – was in the 8th Arondissement near our Embassy so I could enjoy walking back and forth, especially at noon for lunch. The staff that I worked with who were training me were very friendly. I got out and saw more of Paris, climbing the Eiffel Tower, Versailles, and museums galore. I enjoy dining at the restaurants on the Champs d’Elysees, and simply wandering the streets and taking it all in. I went back to the Louvre to see the Turner gallery – but it was closed and the paintings off for repair/maintenance. Sadly, it rained for 40 of the 42 days I was there and the Seine was flooded higher than the walkways at the sides. The Batteaux Mouches were parked since they could not fit under the bridges of Paris the water was so high!

I still have the letters I wrote to my family while there – and the letters they wrote me. We certainly missed each other and the children were sad they could not go to Paris themselves. I took some pictures but all I had was a poor quality disposable camera so they are not very good – and less so after scanning them into the computer 20+ years later. My first actual solo adventure where I travelled by myself, found my way around and saw what I wanted when I wanted. I have since had plenty of opportunity to travel alone and have learned to like doing so – finding travel companions – or not – in many places of the world.