The price to pay for travelling around the world is that you have to deal with all the things that have been suspended while you were away… Unpacking, calling mom, receiving mails from the Dean (oh, there is at some point a faculty meeting, where and when the hell is that?), demands from the university (is it the 3rd or 4th time that they ask for a document that I have sent months before?), and, more generally, trying to get rid of the mass of papers that have accumulated on my desk, which also includes filling my French tax declaration (a task made a little more complicated because my university persists in making mistakes in the forms sent to the French administration, for some reason). In this mountain of paper (that, yes, makes me feel bad about environment) waiting for me or my intervention, some jewels catch my eyes. I am happy to find letters from friends, and… a letter of acceptation for a Fulbright fellowship. Once opened and read the good news, I must admit that I am happy and feel glorious. An aura of pride and self-indulgent satisfaction surrounds me.

Then, beyond the “I am happy to let you know…” that starts the letter of acceptation, I check the paperwork to be done… Even for the best things in the professional world, we are still glued in the “administrative world”, obviously. There is always a paper to fill, even for the best news. The positive side to it is that I think that whatever professional glory means to me, friends’ letters are yet better. None of my friends has ever asked me to fill proper paperwork to answer!