seriously. what is wrong with me? actually. im blaming my lack of ability to properly prepare a bowl of instant grits on the wacky microwaves they use here in France.
yesterday and today might be in the running to be my favorite days since ive been here. Although I say that after every experience-- which really is a testament to the amazing experiences I am having here. these 2 days are in stark contrast to the mess of a day I had on thursday. but even that turned out to be an eye opening experience.
Apparently April showers bring May flowers in France too.. and although Aix is famous for its 300+ days of sunshine.. but those April storms can come out of nowhere. so there we are .. at art class.. conveniently 45 minutes walk from my house. and it starts to rain. nay downpour. hail. thunder . lightning. the whole works. we start to walk back. completely unprepared for today's meteo so there i am in my little sandals , cotton skirt getting soaked to the bone. and this very nice woman bade me and my 2 friends, alex and liz to get into her car (not as creepy as it sounds) and she saved us from 10 more miserable minutes in the freezing rain. good Samaritan act #1. so i jumped on the bus going the wrong direction. the bus driver didnt make me pay #2. i had to get out and wait at the end of the bus route for the right bus to come the right direction. 10 miserable minutes in and cold and a 45 minute buss ride to my stop. where i stand up and realize i dont have my keys. tears immediatement. besides a number of obvious incidents .. losing your keys here could quite possibly be the worst thing ever. first of all, it shows irresponsibility. second, it is UNBELIEVABLY expensive to change locks here. so im in a catastrophic mood. unable to control my tears. not sure whether to go home or just go try and find them which meant an hour long bus ride back to where i started. i chose the latter. i am standing there looking like the most pathetic person in the world. and this super nice man came up and asked me why on earth "such a beautiful girl could be so upset" in french bien sûr. and when i told him that i was a hysteric mess because i simply lost my keys. he told me to smile, because atleast i was alive and well. and that all would be okay. best Samaritan #3. he offered to help me, offered his number so i could call if i needed something and even offered to ride the bus with me back to the other bus stop. my heart literally almost broke. i dont know if anyone would be that kind in the US. Id like to think so. but given the reputation the French have of being off-put and unkind .. has COMPLETELY been abolished in my mind. It was a long time prior to this afternoon .. but my belief in the humanity of mankind was absolutely reconfirmed in this young man. When i assured him that I was okay. he waited for the bus with me and asked me if I had enough to get back on. I told him i did. Lie. and he could tell how frazzled and a mess I was.. and shoved a 2euro piece into my hand and wished me luck and waved as the bus pulled away. more tears. how can some people be so absolutely kind hearted. my continued wave of tears brought more attention-- as I tried to be discreet but alas, had no idea how i was going to recitfy this situation if my keys were not at the bus stop. the woman next to me asked me if I was alright.. as did the man standing in front of me. both offered me advice on what to do, assured me that i would probably find them, as the Aixois are very kind and not prone to stealing keys. The woman even gave me suggestions of where to go if alas I could not find them. #4 &5. Soon I was the only person left on the bus save the driver and his friend who apparently jumped on for a ride. they asked me where I was going, as we had reached the end and I, still tearfully, retold my story to them.. in quite broken french. as we rounded the corner, i nearly jumped for joy. alors, my keys were still sitting on the bench. i could not have been more relieved. it all seemed so trivial once i had found them.. but had I not .. oh la la. quelle horreur. i spent the 45 minute ride back talking with my new friends #6 and 7. and was able to return home safe and sound. i wish someone had taken a picture of me in my patheticness.. would have given me a hearty laugh the next time i had a mishap.
so alas, all was well after thursday. the emotional rollercoaster gave me such a headache and completely drained me of energy so i chose to stay in for the night. everyone is getting antsy because it is the last 3 weeks we have together.. but that also means 3 more weeks left with my host family. and that time is equally as valuable to me. so we spent thursday night playing rummykub together. its the board game version of the card game Rummy. it was so much fun. i won. le sud pour le win..
see next post for the less dramatic- jealousy inspiring stories.
