"Heureux qui comme Ulysse"

Heureux qui, comme Ulysse, a fait un beau voyage,
Ou comme cestuy-là qui conquit la toison,
Et puis est retourné, plein d'usage et raison,
Vivre entre ses parents le reste de son âge !

Quand reverrai-je, hélas, de mon petit village
Fumer la cheminée, et en quelle saison
Reverrai-je le clos de ma pauvre maison,
Qui m'est une province, et beaucoup davantage ?

Plus me plaît le séjour qu'ont bâti mes aïeux,
Que des palais Romains le front audacieux,
Plus que le marbre dur me plaît l'ardoise fine :

Plus mon Loir gaulois, que le Tibre latin,
Plus mon petit Liré, que le mont Palatin,
Et plus que l'air marin la doulceur angevine.


My own translation of Joachim du Bellay's poem (no promises to be unbiased, or perfectly literal, but I'll do my best):


Happy he, who like Odysseus, has completed a journey,
Or like that one who conquered the fleece,
And then has returned, full of knowledge gained,
to live with his kin for the rest of his life!


When will I see again, alas, from my little village
the smoke of the chimney, and in what season
will I again see the yard of my poor house,
which to me is a province, and so much more?


The abode built by my ancestors pleases me more
than the audacious brows of Roman palaces,
More pleasure slate gives me than hard marble :


More my Gallic Loire than the Tiber,
More my little Liré than the Palatine Hill,
And more than the sea air, the sweet softness of Anjou.


Of course, this guy's home was France, and more specifically Liré in the Anjou region, so that is not very applicable to me since it's France that I'm sick of. 


I feel as though I've been on vacation for way too long now (four months - but it feels like forever), and I'm burnt out. It doesn't help that I feel trapped behind a language barrier. I will never lose my American accent, and French will never come to me naturally. Some days, I am so tired of speaking like a complete fool. I just want to go home and be able to carry out day-to-day tasks on my own and feel like a semi-functional person. As I see the sights, I find it harder to be enthusiastic, even if they are magnificent (Eiffel Tower anyone? This used to be magical. Reims cathedral? It is truly a wonder, yet I'm no longer filled with awe). Of course I have gained a lot and learned a lot from my experiences here, but honestly, overall, the experience has been painful, and these months miserable. Please excuse the whine--but I've been trying to put a positive spin on it; and for the moment, I refuse.