Borrowed bicycles, birthday cake, baguettes, and my boyfriend!

I have not been the best blogger as of late. I am not sure if it is the result of my life in France falling into a rhythmic pattern of teaching, swimming, hanging out with my foreign friends, and studying that the greatness of the experience simply slips into a matter of daily existence.

Let’s see. Life since the February adventures of Germany and America in Italy and Greece… well there was a good week or two of travel-recovery, a weekend or so of intense homesickness, some GREAT classes, some not-so-great classes, AND teaching the colors to preschoolers. I am not sure what it is about having started teaching the really young students, but it just seems to go so wonderfully. I was INCREDIBLY nervous, but the smiling faces and simplicity of it all (we are going into week 3 of learning the colors in English) really makes those two classes a pleasure. Smaller class size, younger students, no need to bother with written assignments (they can’t write after all) and teachers that are really and truly engaged with my presence in the class as well as with me as a person. One of the preschool teachers saw me at the pool and we had good chats about how neither of us can seem to get the backstroke quite right, and how (after two weeks of feeling like a drowning rat) I can now alternate breathing on my right and my left for freestyle. Tomorrow, I am headed to the circus for the afternoon with the preschoolers because their teacher remembered that I do not work on Thursday afternoons and invited me to join (I found it quite thoughtful!). However, to return to the initial list of Bs that inspired this Wednesday evening post…

BORROWED BICYCLES

The used man’s mountain bike has proven itself to not be one of my best purchases. Coming it at 70 euros, plus a 26 euros expense to replace the pedal apparatus because the pedal kept falling off. AND then, this past Saturday, I was at the library for some LSAT review when the time came to meet Germany in front for our weekly endeavor to the farmer’s market for eggs. Off we went… and then just off she went. My bike became really hard to pedal and started making an awful noise and swerving loads. Back when I was young and irresponsible, such an experience in my 1993 Geo Prism would have inspired me to turn the radio up… no such luck. I see Germany headed off in the distance and there I am, stuck with a broken bike. She eventually comes back with a look of utter confusion and we sadly pronounce my bike unsafe. We return chez nous on foot, accompanied by our bicycles, a dozen eggs, 4 kilos of apples and 2 bottles of cider (with our tummies happily satisfied by a shared pain au chocolat).

The good news is, in life, things sometimes work themselves out with too much hassle or worry. Monday was spent using Germany’s bike (what a smooth ride) and the night came to a close with a borrowed bike for as long as I need (cookies of appreciation have been made and delivered). One of the students from my Monday night class always gives me a ride, and we were chatting along the way about our weekends and I explained the tragedy of my bicycle and she informed me there were bikes going unused in her garage and after class we should go and investigate if any of them are fit for use. Some maneuvering around in a packed shed, giving her husband a bit of excitement for the evening, and uncovering a beautiful, barely ridden bicycle that they had won in a raffle, things were looking up in a wonderful way.

BIRTHDAY CAKE

Everyone deserves a special birthday celebration, and for our dear Chinese roomie, nothing is too good. Present purchased, and surprise party planned, she and I headed off to my Tuesday night English class (which she and Germany have taken to attending). Along the way, China asks where Germany is, and I pronounce her sick, horrible headache. China says she was fine a couple of hours ago, so I indulge – migraine, she may be vomiting… China looks worried, maybe I took it a bit too far. After English class, complete with cookies of course, we head home and have chats about what to eat that evening. I am a pretty terrible liar, but in a situation like this, with a surprise party on the line, I see it not as lying, rather as acting, and I do have a flair for the dramatics. I suggest the Won-Tons in our freezer and China promises Cantonese Rice, and so we chat till we arrive chez nous with a GRAND SURPRISE PARTY complete with a cake I had painstakingly decorated with a dark chocolate & honey frosting followed by white chocolate and hazelnuts and finally the words “La Chine” spelled out in M&Ms with a pink heart. Goat cheese on toast, salad, pizza, cake, cookies and good times made the night a smashing success.

BAGUETTES

I seem to have come down with a cold (pre-schoolers to blame no doubt). My throat feels as though someone has scratched it with sandpaper and the coughing and sneezing is getting old. I tried the tactic of a hot shower first thing to energize and motivate (it worked yesterday!)… but the illness won, today there would be no swimming, no adventures… just feeling sick and reading in bed. With one of the most important weeks of my time in France just around the corner, this is no time to feel ill! A true friend is someone who will bike to the bakery and buy a warm baguette for a sick friend. And what a delicious baguette it was indeed! I have recently taken to trying to cut back on the baked goods, but a sick day is a bread day and the warm bread, made into delicious sandwiches, hit the spot like magic!

BOYFRIEND

In less than 48 hours I will have the incredible pleasure of being reunited with my person in life! Paris, Normandy, rental cars, laughter, adventure, fancy dinner out with friends, board games, baguettes… everything about my life here promises to feel more real because I will be able to share it with my person. Cold or no cold, I feel like the luckiest person on earth.

OH AND BLESSINGS. Today I received a wonderful care package, complete with yarn and patterns for knitting socks, which lifted my spirits and made me smile to think about all the goodness and generosity in the world. These will be some pretty amazing socks, of that I am sure! (project to be started post-boyfriend visit... to keep me busy and happy!)