The Heat, the Sun and Great Emotions
A French woman feels grateful to be able to appreciate moments of life that might seem trivial to others

“After a few years of study, I decided to go abroad and the destination chosen was Australia. I didn’t know anything about this country, I had a lot of preconceived ideas and prejudices: I thought that there were kangaroos in the middle of the city, that Australians were not very open-minded because of their geographical distance, that I would probably suffer from racism. But I am an adventurer and I know how to react to hostility.

Very soon after this decision, I left and got on a plane. A very long trip. I remember leaving France at night and arriving in Sydney by day. The weather was very nice and warm. I was leaving France in December. What a change! It was so nice!

I left the airport with a great emotion, helped by the heat and the sun.

Then I took a cab to go to the hotel and we passed near a big beach with a superb vegetation around. It was so beautiful, wonderful! I say this because being visually impaired, what I can see is intensified. My brain must act in such a way that I can appreciate what I see more than others. I have impaired vision due to a rare disease that affects certain retinal cells. This prevents me from seeing far away and 180 degrees. My window of opportunity is very small. That’s why I’m so grateful to have a visual remnant that still allows me to appreciate moments in life that might seem trivial to others. When my 5 senses are in action, I appreciate these moments of grace. That’s why feeling the sun on my skin, hearing the crowd, the sound of the birds, the wind on my skin, seeing the sea… it’s extraordinary. For me, it was heaven.”