It's AuToMaTic!

My very first French voiture!!! A 1996 red Peugeot 306 - automatic of course ;) with a fully dented back bumper and paint transfer to match; but hey it’s France and it comes with the territory! Add in a European GPS, my usual lead foot and I am off to the races….



I have officially owned this little piece of added freedom, and additional proof of an emerging French identity for a month now, and I almost forget why I was afraid to drive in France in the first place.

Impressive, if I do say so myself!, is that I have driven over the past few days sans le GPS and confidently found my way! I even took some time a couple of days ago to spiff her up inside and out; and yes it is a she, at least in French terminology – LA voiture! As I was cleaning the car, it dawned on me that she needs a name; and I remembered back to my University days carpooling to school in a friend’s Toyota Tercel, we all affectionately called RedRedRed! And I remembered my unofficial first car (at least the first one I was actually allowed to drive), a rosewood coloured K-car Reliant, with flaking paint, rotted out floorboards, and leaking coolant, steering fluid and washer fluid, but surprisingly not oil! Ahh memories of driving to school during snow storms and slush piling up under the car pushing our feet to our knees; friends repeatedly knocking the gear into neutral while in drive, listening to CJAM and arguing over who had the best taste in music …. Good times!

A week after buying the car, I was off on my very first French road trip to the south of France. Twenty minutes in and she started sounding alarms… Confused at first, I frantically looked around for the source of the sound as I was driving 120km+ on the autoroute. Only to later find out that she is fitted with an alarm that sounds when the speedometer goes over 120km. A great safety feature I know, but annoying when the speed limit is 130km and you can’t drive over 119km. And so the rest of the road trip was spent well under 120km, along winding coastal roads and the autoroute, as we made our way through quaint towns and villages into larger and richer cities along the south of France; in changing weather conditions from warm sunny skies to torrential downpours with hail.

In such a short time I have become well acquainted with the driving customs of France; namely – park anywhere and everywhere you so please, whether it is at the edge of the road, on a sidewalk, half on the curb, backwards facing oncoming traffic, sideways (if you can fit or you have a Smart car), double parked and blocking the car next to you, nudging the cars in front and behind  to make space….you get the point!! Surprisingly though, now that I am an expert illegal parker, I have lost the ability to parallel park without it turning into an 8 point turn!

I have come to not only respect but LOVE roundabouts… not only are they absolutely efficient, but they are fun to wind around! I have gotten used to recognizing when to yield to the streets on the right, and my eyes have developed bug like proportionality and I recognize most street lights well in advance! Plus as an added bonus, since the roads are windy and chaotic (at least in the city), it is hard to get lost; if you keep on turning you will eventually make it where you want to go…. kinda like the saying, ‘all roads lead to Rome’...

And so, now I need to create a fun and whimsical ornament to hang from the rear view mirror, and I need to come up with a cute and clever name for my little Peugeot! Any suggestions…?

The sound of surgery

I have always been blessed with an awesome {Mom, are you reading this ;)} support system; and a great network of close childhood friends, an ever stretching web of family, and a wealth of newer friendships ever connected by heart and soul. So I extend a heartfelt thank-you for all the well wishes, cards, emails, and Skype & phone calls. While I was never worried about the surgery itself, my greatest fear was feeling lonely. I can’t say that this was not a real feeling, as it was very present the night before during my stay in hospital, as I awaited the morning’s procedure.  But the presence of love and support transcends all and is nonetheless comforting despite the miles apart.

Throughout my rollercoaster of medical maladies, in the end the process was relatively painless and efficiently quick. Despite the red tape and conflicting health care coverage, I am now a bona fide recipient of the best health care system in the world! Well, sort of… I am still waiting for my official Carte Vitale in the mail, but my trusty government issued ‘attestation’ with my coverage number has proved very useful the past several weeks; namely in not having to pay for the surgery up front!

One of the most profound quotes I have heard is; If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans… As life continually teaches, expectations are fleeting and often disappointing, and things are never static but are subject to the most variable of changes, the same was true of my impending surgery. Initially scheduled for June 15, and perfectly placed in between my summer plans, my surgery was unexpectedly switched to June 8, so that the ‘professeur’ (aka teaching or head Dr.) could be present. Maybe this speaks to the delicacy of the surgery itself, or the fact that it is not a common procedure, or perhaps it was because it was due to a rare recurrence of the condition; but either way, it was a continual reminder of the importance of flexibility and acceptance of changing circumstances.

So part way through my dear friend Tefta’s trip, I had to bid a saddened and premature good-bye. I checked in for my pre-admission at Hôpital Édouard Herriot at Grange-Blanche, and settled in for a mandatory night of rest and relaxation. Customary in France, many hospital stays include a pre-sleep at the hospital to ensure that you are properly prepped for the next day’s procedure, including making sure you don’t eat or drink anything after midnight…. A great measure in my case as otherwise if left to my own devices I would turn into a gremlin overnight! A mandatory shower in iodine followed by my brand new PJ’s, and a usual restfully restless sleep, and I was underway for my 6 am wakeup. After the standard blood pressure, temperature and vitals check I was fed a sedative with a sip of water and made to scrub down with more iodine and then I drifted into a peaceful slumber……. Only to be wheeled down to the operating room in a hazy blur of orderlies, bright lights, random French questions, the colour of the light turquoise walls, and a quick peek at the digital clock at 8:3?, as the oxygen mask lulled me into further oblivion.

It was not until around 3:30 that I eventually opened my eyes and regained semi-consciousness for a few seconds. For the rest of the day I remained fairly comatose with a heightened sense of knowing when someone was at my bedside, when I could muster up the strength to open my eyes, half smile and then drift off into sleepy land once again. And like clockwork, the night time hours were filled with the usual restless sleep I am accustomed to, as if I am a vampire or an owl!

The next morning, I was visited by a different nurse for each check – blood pressure – temperature – medication – etc… At one point there were 4 or 5 hospital staff surrounding my bed staring at me in silence; slightly creepy and confusing? My doctor came in early that morning and shared that the surgery was a success and the cholesteatoma was large but she was confident that they were able to remove all of it. And so after a final inspection of my ear I was cleared to go home to begin 2 weeks of recuperation.

And so it has been 11 days since the surgery and the feeling of light-headedness and slight intoxication has waned. I met with my Dr. earlier than the prescheduled follow up date as the piece of cotton stuffed in my ear was driving me crazy and preventing the ear drops from penetrating through to the middle ear. And the 10-11 stitches outlining the back of my ear have loosened and are healing and will naturally fall out!! This piece of news is the most exciting as I am a big baby and terrified of having stitches removed. The concept of sound and hearing is bizarre and I am reminded of the Whisper 2000 infomercials of years ago, as I randomly switch from feeling as if my head is in a vacuum to the feeling that I am underwater, to hearing my own voice echo in my ear, to hearing every other sound amplified while the voices next to me are distant… And only time will tell if I have retained the same, worse or a better level of hearing than before; but it is comforting to know that the Dr. was surprised that I had not experienced a greater hearing loss from the first surgery nearly 11 years ago.

Et voila… another piece of the puzzle has been assembled…

A short sejour among friends

Near the end of May I took a short trip to London to see some old work friends from our days as child and youth workers at Maryvale. The course of life never ceases to amaze me as I look back and reflect on each of our journeys over the last several years....


While it was too short a sejour, I left on Saturday May 21, arriving around 4:30 pm, where I met my wonderful friend Aggie at Stanstead airport, as her flight from Dublin arrived just minutes before. Aggie was one of the first of the 5 of us to begin a journey outside of Windsor, when she took a leap of faith and moved to a small town outside of Dublin Ireland. As I met Aggie outside of the terminal, I was instantly excited and it almost felt as if I was seeing her for the first time in years, when in reality I had visited her in Ireland back in December.



We then boarded a bus into the city where we met our friend Dave, who has been living in London for nearly two years now. Dave, always the adventurous and free-spirited type has lived just about everywhere and anywhere, and is full of countless mysterious experiences! We spent the evening together drinking pints of ale outside a historic pub, overlooking a canal... I would say we enjoyed the pints of ale, but I can't include myself as the taste of the grossly warm ale was somewhere around 3 out of 10! Sorry guys, I tried! We rounded off the night with some live music at of course another pub, where at least Aggie and I enjoyed and remembered the atmosphere and music; while 'others' were in a hazy slumber.

The next morning we set out in search for good coffee and time to catch up as it had nearly been 5 months since we all last saw each other. We followed this with a walk through the markets and then met up with Mike, who like Dave has been living in London for the past 2 years. We strolled together along the market streets, and I was filled with a grateful appreciation for our short reconnection together. Aggie and I then set off to explore the city before meeting up with Mai!

We boarded the Underground and set off for Hyde Park where we met Mai and Rana. Like all of us Mai's journey has led her to Calgary with a wealth of new challenges and opportunities. While Rana did not work at Maryvale with us, her path is just as colourful and exciting and also filled with experiences others only dream of!

The four of us walked through Hyde Park and St. James Park, stopping in Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace and Covent Gardens, before settling into a quaint pub for fish & chips and wine (and you thought I was going to say beer)! Much needed girl time was had by all, complete with catching up on lost time of course, and lots of laughter and secrets shared!



 

 

And so a very short while later, on Monday May 23, before 5am, Aggie and I set off to board the bus back to Stanstead Airport. There I bid adieu to Aggie at her terminal and then tried to get back out to find a hearty breakfast before finding mine.... Great in theory but not so much in practice... Well who would have thought that once you enter a terminal the only way out is by plane!! So with a group of other travellers who missed their flight I was taxied along the RyanAir terminal to the EasyJet terminal by a friendly and accommodating airport worker. There I explained my situation and inquired as to whether I was in the right spot, and was abruptly told that once I made it into a terminal there was no way out!! After checking my flight details I was told I was in the right terminal and given the gate number, which in perfect travelling fashion was later changed.... And so after a restless sleep in the airport and short flight later I was back on French soil, and back to life as a frenchie.

 

 

And so...

while it was a short and condensed trip, these moments of friendship

and connection are not marked by time nor space,

but simply by the moments spent together.

 

Thank you my friends for a wonderful time together!

 

Mois six!

How time flies.... In some ways I can't believe that it has been nearly two months since my last post, but in others, I am well aware that my usual procrastination plays a large role!

Alors, in this post I will summarize the month of May... A busy month indeed, and a productive one if I do say so myself!! As many know I continually strive to feel productive and get antsy if I feel bored for too long... so why the procrastination then?? Um, great question, I will have to ponder that one.

The month of May proved profitable with a busier than usual schedule and outlook. Here are the highlights:

Well for starters the end of May marked the official 6 month mark!!! I am no longer a traveller nor explorer abroad, but I actually live in France -complete with a bank account, health card number, family physician, ENT specialist, employment in a French company, and volunteering for a non-profit French group (well English focused anyways)...

It is quite interesting and somewhat intriguing as the 6 month mark in the adjustment process, at least from a psychological standpoint (but hey I am a psychology nut), is an integral step and one where there is greater acceptance and peace with the process as a whole. This has proved very true for me, and I am feeling like I fit into this frenchie world more and more each day.

So to celebrate the half way mark from my original goal of making it to one year in France, I finally enrolled in French school! A one month course at Alliance Française, et vraiment cher, but a great experience nonetheless. I was assessed at a language level of A2N3, which is near an intermediate level; so a pat on the back for the french girl in me! Unfortunately though, I could not continue further as the summer is filled with other adventures.... but more on that later.

At the beginning of the month I also responded to an ad looking for volunteers to host English dinners for an English club in Lyon, called Act4. I met with the director and signed on to be a volunteer!! I had attended a dinner with the group a few months back, as the only native English speaker, aside from the host of the dinner, and loved the concept! Let me clarify though, as in my hosting duties I am not responsible for making dinner, and thankfully so, as it would be a short volunteer stint otherwise ;) But I am responsible for hosting dinners at a pre-selected restaurant in the city and planning fun English activities for the night.

I co-hosted a dinner with the director during the middle of May, and then officially hosted or 'animated' (as I am called an 'Animator' ~ sounds so extroverted!), my first solo dinner at the end of May. Much fun was had, with delicious food, great conversation and of course wine; but where else but in France can you indulge in wine while volunteering!!

The month of May also brought out my social side and I hung out with some authentic french amis and people I have met in my time here so far. A few cinema visits, events and dinners lead way for a fun opportunity to practice my english accented french!

Just before the end of the month I took a short trip to London to see some old Maryvale friends, complete with a Stanstead airport terminal adventure, and much missed and appreciated girl gossip; but I will save that for a new post!

And at last, the end of the month proved busiest with me buying my very own used French voiture, a Peugeot; automatic of course ;) and a European GPS (otherwise I would not be writing this blog as I would be stranded somewhere lost and confused and out of gas literally and figuratively)! A short jaunt through the city streets of Lyon, and then on the May 31st I set out for a road trip to the south of France to see my friend Tefta (but that deserves its very own blog entry)!!

The end of May also brought about the end of my contract at Vinatier. My first official french job came to an end, after 4 months of renewed contracts. A memorable experience and one that shed much insight and appreciation; so I bid a heartfelt thank-you to my Vinatier colleagues for their kindness and support!

Well that is the month of May in a nutshell! Not bad for a girl in a new world, with a new language and outlook!