Food (for thought)

Before we begin... I realize the last post was over a lot of people's heads. It ain't like I'm writing a novel here. I just like to ramble. Just grin and bear it. I probably rant and rave about stuff over here more than I compliment, too. That's just b/c I'm not quite used to the backwards way they do things here. And think about this: I'm doing all this discovery so you don't have to. Anyway, enough with the bore-aphyll.

The food is awesome here. I like having fresh bread daily, which only costs like 50 cents a baguette. In the grocery store, milk comes in a plastic bottle, and it doesn't need to be refrigerated until after it has been opened. In the states we have the dairy aisle. Here they have the cheese aisle, and then another aisle for other dairy products. Its a good thing we walk 2 to 3 miles a day!

We had some pizza the other day. One had 3 kinds of cheese (yes, all were stinky). Another one was called "American" pizza, because the toppings consisted of small hamburger patties and cubed fries. Catsup packets are included with that. I'm not kidding!

They sell flavored syrup which you can pour into plain water or fizzy water to make your own soft drinks. I love it, especially since I haven't quite gotten used to even the bottled water here. So far we've had Grenadine, strawberry, and mint. The mint flavor reminds me too much of being at the dentist, but I think it is used for special occasions, so I guess we gotta get used to it.

Don't put a lot of mustard on your sandwhich here, unless you have sinus blockage you want to clear up.

Whole chickens sometimes have the feet still attached...

Last night we went to a Moroccan restaurant. It was delicious! But next time we'll probably share a plate because I ate about half of my meal and was stuffed. I then found out that they don't do To-Go boxes here... On the way home we saw a big snail on the sidewalk. I helped it to the side so nobody would step on it. We saw a whole bunch out at Charles and Debra's this weekend. You can get these in the grocery store, too. I've actually had them before. Not bad.

This morning I saw a Pizza Hut flyer in the stack of junk we get in our mailbox (one of the similarities with back home that we might be able to do without). Anyway, even that is different, because they're current campaign is for a stuffed crust pizza, which I normally love, but this one looks like it has cheeze-whiz instead of mozarella. I'll have to think about that one.

We're online!

No thanks to my computer. Somehow, something was changed deep down in XP so that ports couldn't be opened. I needed that to do work. And, as I found out after I went ahead and took the chance at reinstalling XP, the DSL modem installation software we got from France Telecom needed to do just that to initialize the modem. Everything worked fine after I fixed my computer. At this point I'm blaming the parental control software, which automatically tries to install itself when you stick the France Telecom CD in, for corrupting my computer. But I'm not going to try to prove that theory. Some things are just too idiot proof. We could have been online a week ago :) But it was nice to have that extra week, including the long weekend with Charles and Debra. So, again, what could be viewed as a big inconvenience was actually a blessing.

Good Long Weekend

Our missionary friends, Charles and Debra Reynolds, continue to show us plenty of hospitality. They invited us over for Thursday night through Sunday morning. Since we hadn't gotten internet at home yet, and since Elizabeth is still waiting for orders from her employers, we took them up on the long weekend in the country.

In exchange, we gave them some help on their current renovation project. On Friday we assisted them with installing a staircase to a loft in their barn/office, laying down a subfloor in that second floor and installing a window where a wooden barn door was. Of the 4 buildings that make up their homestead, this was the newest, which we are led to believe was built in 1886, as indicated in the mortar on the wall in the loft. It was a lot of work, but fun at the same time. We definitely burned off all the calories taken in during the good meals. We only suffered a little from the dust.

Today (Saturday), we took a break from the work and went for a bike ride to the nearest town with a bakery. It was about 10 miles round trip, and took us a little less than 2 hours. Along the way we got a good glimpse of the French countryside, complete with fruit orchards, livestock, corn fields, marijuana fields 1, barely fields, etc. We saw a bunch of chateaus, varying in size. It was a good enough workout to give us a nice afternoon nap.

Other than that, we've been entertaining their 3 cats, eating good food, playing board games and reading. It's really amazing being able to send emails from a barn built before your mama's mama was born.

Anyway, we'll catch up with you guys soon.

1 The marijuana mentioned earlier isn't actually the illegal kind. This variation of the sticky-icky, as explained to us, isn't grown for smoking, as it would make you sick, but rather for making twine.

Home Sweet Home

We're all settled in to our tiny apartment, which, at the moment, has plenty of unused floorspace. We had to buy a table & chairs, a "clic-clac" (futon), a microwave, and since most apartments we looked at only come with 2 hot plates, we had to buy an oven which might just be big enough to cook a cornish hen. You Americans are so spoiled...


The church we are going to hooked us up with a slightly-less-than-full sized mattress. There was a box spring incluced, but we couldn't get it in because the stairway to our space was too small. A basic frame with slats will probably fit. We just have to go buy it and find a way to get it here. Everything has worked out really well so far.



They also gave us a good bit of kitchen ware, some sheets and what not. Everybody we've interacted with has been more than kind. Everything is within a 5-10 minute walk (you just have to watch your step on the sidewalk, because people don't clean up after their pets...)


My computer made it with only a few bumps and scratches, and it didn't cost me a dime. We're waiting on France Telecom to turn on DSL at a whopping 8 megabits. Not yet sure why it is so much faster here than at home. They claim they have up to 20 megabit connections here. I wonder if that would make a difference when connecting across the pond to work back in NC.

An amazing 24 hours

God is good! In the past twenty four hours, we have found and signed for an apartment, bought furniture for it, and our bags arrived this morning! The family we've been staying with these past five days (the Soulards) is fun-loving and has welcomed us with open arms. Tomorrow we officially move in. We'll post some pictures so you can see how incredibly small it is but certainly functional for our brief time here. And yes, we have a second double bed for anyone who'd like to visit...so you'd better come and make use of it! :-)

We're here, kinda

We got here in one piece. However, our luggage is nowhere to be found, even after two days. Thankfully, we already have good contacts in Angers, through which we were able to find some donated clothing. I had to break down and buy some clothes and shoes today. I think that was the first time in over a year that I've been shopping for myself. Anyway, I hope our luggage arrives within the next week (our standards have dropped considerably),

1. because I want my computer (French keyboards are the worst - I've hit the backspace key about twice as much the number of characters you see here)
2. I could use another change of clothes
3. it's just not right
4. other reasons
   

Anyway, we're also looking for an appartment, furnished, and that doesn't look like it was bombed (or decorated) during WWII. The search continues... We have places to stay until then, but we'd like our own place. We may have to go with an unfurnished place, since that would give us more options.
Elizabeth is right at home with her French proficiency. I just sit and look pretty. I understand about half the words spoken to me. Unfortunately, that really doesn't help me carry on a conversation.
My only complaint with the French so far: who is the genius that decided to make a period a shift character? (and it just took me two years to find that question mark)

a bientot

Leavin' on a jet plane

It's time to pack up the computer, and maybe a few shirts. We're outta here in a few hours. We should be arriving in Paris at, oh, 5:30 (Raleigh time). Thanks for all the great going away parties. You all have a place to crash in France (just don't all come at the same time).
Check out our shiny Google Calendar button to the right. This is when we'll be free to travel.
See you sooner or later.

Ok, it's off to the airport.