J HENRY HANSEN
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France

France, part un.

Drugs and alcohol landed me in the hospital in 1999. I cleaned up for about six months before I started boozing again. By 2003, I was dating a drug dealer, getting wasted daily and into the bad stuff again. But getting high and drunk was not fun anymore. I was miserable. My decision to move to France was based mostly on escape. I thought if I removed myself from New Jersey, my misery would disappear. Why France? I planned to learn French so that I could begin a Masters program in International Affairs at Rutgers University.

I detoxed from drugs in Annecy, France, a gorgeous town in the foothills of the French Alps. To keep from becoming ill, I substituted booze for the drugs. After a month, the fogginess in my head cleared a bit but I used alcohol to cope, to take the edge off and to sleep.

Once the weather become warmer, I ate ice cream every single day. French ice cream and gelato became my newest addiction. At least I did grasp conversational French, but sadly, my addiction problems only changed form rather than disappeared. (After I returned to the states, I started the Masters program, only to be thrown off course when I picked up drugs yet again.)

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France, part deux.

While living in Annecy, I became friends with Natsuki, a native to Japan. She stayed on in France and fell in love with a Frenchman. In 2005, I returned to France for the wedding of Natsuki + Nico. This was my first sober trip, and I certainly had much trepidation traveling and attending a French wedding sober. The party literally lasted for three consecutive days. I stayed with Nat and Nico in La Rochelle, and their wedding was on the ile d'Oleron. The pictures below were from that time.

Queerly Sober

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