So, I just though I had caught up on my sleep. After returning from a funfilled but sleep deprived 4 days in Austin, I returned and went about life as usual. This weekend, on Saturday, I finally got some sleep. I slept for almost 9 hours. My first 3 days going to and arriving in Austin I only got a little more than that much sleep. It felt great, and I thought I had caught up. After getting breakfast and being awake for about 2 hours, I went into my study to try unfolding my click-clack (similar to a futon) and layed on it to see how comfortable it was. I slept there for about 2 hours. After being awake for a couple hours after that, getting lunch, and finishing a few other things, I decided to read some. I laid back on the couch, opened the book, and woke up about 2 hours later. So, after this, I had slept for a total of 13 hours that day, and in ever room of the apartment except the kitchen and bathroom. I guess I needed it. I thought I might have trouble sleeping that night....nope, none at all.
Does anyone know of any philosophers or proverbs that talk about independence breeding selfishness? It seems like there should be one. I asked a couple guys at lunch about that (both married) and they replied 'no, but only single men have time to think about such things, so all philosophers must be single'. Maybe :-)
Another guy at work was talking about how he needs much more sleep here than he did in Austin. I'm not sure that I need more, but it is harder to sleep in late. It gets dark about 9:45 and the sun comes up at about 6. So I said before that guys didn't seem to welcome each other with the cheek kisses. I was wrong, you just don't see it as often. I saw two young guys walking up to eachother in a parking lot, high fiving and then giving their 'guy' handshake, then they kissed each cheek! That caught me off guard.
So, my things from Austin are supposed to arrive early next week. Thank goodness! I've been drinking out of a small plastic cup about as big as a shot glass. It's amazing h ow much less you drink when you have to refill after every drink. I went to the store and got normal sized ones yesterday. I have been eating out for every meal though, since I don't have any dishes. Last night I brought home thai food. Then I realized I didn't have any silverware. I ate an ice cream and used the popsicle stick as my eating utensil, it worked OK.
I learned that if you get caught going 40 KPH (25 MPH) over the speed limit they will take away your license and tow your car. I first ticket in the US was for almost that exact amount! But, speed limits here are higher. The highway speed limit is about 80 MPH, and I drive with the flow at about 85 -88 MPH. That's definitely faster than the flow in Austin! The other day I saw soldiers on the side of the road next to their fairly menacing looking military vehicle. I thought that would have been a great picture, them sitting on the side of the highway, witht heir vehicle brokedown.
Speaking of military, I saw a store window the other day that was interesting. It seemed to have fashionable clothes for young women. Three of the 5 shirts in the window were military related. They were those tight colored T-shirts and had 'Army Girl', 'Air Force', and 'State Department' written across them in English. I haven't seen anyone wearing one fo these, but there was a 20 something year old at work wearing a tight shirt with 'gymnastics star' written across it in english. I wonder if she knew what that meant. Maybe I don't know what it means, is it a band name or something?
So, restaraunt owners here are much nicer once they see you a few times. Probably cause they're so much smaller. After being in a couple places just 3 or 4 times they start treating me like a regular. I took some friends to Le Mat Faim the other night, and he gave us all free appetizers and drinks. I'd never get that in Austin from places I've been to a dozen times! The pizza guy gave me free drinks, and the Thai place gave me an appetizer and beer on the house. This is great! They'll keep me going back for sure! Paragraph breaks are at customer request. :-)
Well, Austin was great. The wedding was wonderful. I really enjoyed spending time with friends AND family. I've been in my new apartment for about a week now. Some of the furniture I purchased arrived yesterday. The rest will be a couple more weeks cause they're still building it. I could really use a woman's touch with the decor now that I have most of the furniture. Any takers? :-) Parking is really difficult at my place. The first night I drove for about 20 minutes and finally found a place 3 blocks away that I had to pay for. The parking has gotten a bit easier, but only because of my perception. The second night I parked the only space I could find was about 2 feet into a pedestrian walkway. I guess I still think I'm in Austin, cause I thought that might be a problem. The next morning I walked out, wondering if I light have a ticket. To my surprise there was someone parked in front of me, completely in the walkway, and someone else parked beside me on the curb. None of us had tickets. So with my new perception, parking spaces are now a bit easier to come by. I did my first grocery shop. I have been told once before, but completely forgot that you are supposed to bag your own groceries. I waited till she was done rining everything up, then paid the total. Then it hit me, no one had been bagging my groceries, and she was staring at my waiting for me to do it. Luckily I didn't buy that much, so it didn't take too long to do it. The other people in line had to wait for me, cause she couldn't start checking the next person's items or they would get mixed with mine. On my trip back from Austin I saw something very interesting in Paris. I went into the bathroom at the airport, and it was one of the old kind. It was a flat porcelain rectangle on the ground with a hole int he middle, and textured places for you to put your feet on either side. I've seen these before, so that wasn't too surprising. The surprising part was that it used one of those laser sensors to automatically flush when you leave. That is probably one of the best examples I've seen of the juxtaposition of this country trying desperately to hang on to their old traditions and culture while eagerly inviting new technology and the EU. Well, I'm off to dinner, taking some friends to Le Mat Faim. Bonne weekend!
Well, I moved into my apartment today. Although really it was justa couple suitcases. The bed was delivered tonight, but everything else will be delivered over the next couple weeks. My appliances will be delivered tomorrow, so that will help. Then, I leave for Austin on Thursday. It'll be great to see my friends, I'm really looking forward to it. I bought some clothes this weekend. It's interesting: In the US they sell 'European Styling' but here they sell 'American Comfort'. In some of the clothing stores the big pitch is 'straight from Los Angeles (or New York)'. So, my parking place was no longer reserved after this first month, so I've lost it. This is a big deal. Parking is really bad. I'll post some pictures I took today to show you examples (once I get internet access at my apartment). So I signed my life away, I think. I signed a bunch of forms for the apt. All in French. When the agent opened up some of them to look at something, they rolled out all the way to the floor. Everything was in quadruplicate of course. It's amazing how your mind looks for something familiar when you compteley uproot yourself. I've been seeing friends, old teachers, ex-girlfriends all kinds of people I know around here. Of course, I look again and it's not them, just someone vaguely resembling them. I hung out with a bunch of people from work this weekend. It's amazing that I can be the only american in a group, but feel at home because the group is speaking english without a heavy french accent. It was a bunch of scottish guys, an indian guy, and me. I think I'll leave here with an accent that's british or scottish rather than french. Pretty much everyone here that speaks english speaks it with a british accent. Sunday was absolutely beautiful. A friend from work and I ate lunch at a tiny restaraunt in little italy right on the river. It was absolutely perfect weather, and it was a 2 to 3 hour lunch. Some of the best italian food I've ever had. Then that night I went out with some of the scottish guys and we acted like it was a friday night instead of a sunday night. One of them is trying to get me interested in power gliding. Apparently this is one of the top places in the world to do it. You can get your license in 4 days. I'm thinking about it, it looks amazing. See some of you this weekend!
OK, I think I'm in love. Alot of you said it would happen once I moved over here, but no one thought it would happen quite this fast. I'm pretty sure she's French, but I don't really know anything else about her. I don't even know what she looks like. But, she sang to me the other morning, and now I know she's the one. I don't even know her name, the radio station didn't say. OK, so it probably won't work out. So, think Sarah McLachlan, but a little smokier voice, and in French. Oh yeah, I'm in love. :-) I want her CD as soon as I find out who she is. When I look up at the mountains from work, I can count 4 waterfalls. There are probably more, but 4 that I can easily see. I was invited to a French BBQ next week, though they said that it wasn't definite yet (the plans, not my invitation). This sounds pretty interesting to me, I had no idea the French had BBQs. I'll be in Austin a week from today. I'm only there a few days and have alot to do in that short time. I'm looking forward to seeing some friends and family while I'm there. I'm going for one of my best friend's wedding. I'm pretty excited about it, though that does put my college friends that are now married in the majority I think. Had another good friend tell me they were starting to think about kids. Whew... kids. I think I'll play around in Europe for a little while still. Looks like I'll really be moving into my apartment next week, finally. Sometimes (most of the time) you just have to do things yourself. Got offers from work to help with moving. I don't need it, but was pretty happy that help was offered. Still enjoying the food. Plenty of 'nice' people. Looking forward to real companionship. Next weekend in Austin should help me get my fix. There really is something special about american apple pie. I never really understood it until I had the french apple pie at a restaraunt tonight. Trust me, stick to the american version. A co-worker brought an apple cake to work. It was pretty good. He told me that he had a free hour over the weekend, and when that happens he bakes a cake. Of course, he said this with a smile, and then told me next week was my turn to bring something. I told him that I like to cook, but I don't bake. I do buy though. :-)
Yes, I had the chocolate croissant. I still don't know what they called it. It was pretty damn good, I must say. At first I was dissapointed that there wasn't more chocolate in it. Then I began to really taste the chocolate. It may have been some of the best chocolate I've ever had. It was inside a soft warm center, and a wonderful flaky outside. It was just a thread of chocolate that ran throughout. It was the perfect amount to make you appreciate how wonderful it was, but make you desperate for more. I thought I owed you all a bit of detail, cause I've been asked about it roughly 20 times. :-) Good to know someone is reading, that's what keeps me motivated to write. I also had the terrine banane chocolate. Oh my goodness, that was some good stuff. A banana sauces was drizzled all over it, and the topping was a thick layer of a banana filling withlarge chunks of banana. It had some wonderful chocolate in it as well, and it was all on a chocolate cake that was so rich and creamy it was almost the consistency of a very cold but soft ice cream. Saturday was absolutely beautiful. Clear, blue skies, a little chilly, but warm sun. I had lunch at a small park. It was the classic park/fountain scene that I've seen movies try to creat a ton of times. None of them have ever matched this though. I saw a boy about 9 years old running around the large fountain with his hands out to the side like he was an airplane, and his face up and towards the sun. For a second I almost joined him, the perfect weather, and picturesque beauty of the park, made me want to run around with a big smile on my face. But then it would have been even more obvious that I am an American. :-) I walked around all day, shopping for a bed and just looking at the stores. There are people walking around everywhere, but it's never too crowded. It was the first real shopping (and large purchase) I've done on my own. It's not too bad when you're the customer and you both pretty much know what you're talking about. So, that's the end of the big purchases. For now anyway. I'll have to do a bit of decorating once I move in. Hopefully I can move in next week. The date keeps getting pushed back, so that's a bit annoying, but oh well. That's life. There are some nice things about living in a hotel, so I'll just concentrate on those till I move. It's been pretty tough to stay hydrated. I'm told that it's normal cause of adjusting to the much lower humidity. I wake up every morning extremely thirsty and never really quinch my thirst all day, I just get 'full' from the water. My skin is dry, my lips are always on the edge of being chapped even though I use lip balm. Guess I'll adjust. Maybe I should shower less so my skin doesn't dry out. :-)
So I've heard people here brag about their water a fair amount. It makes sense, this is where Evian comes from. I found out today though that when foreigners move here they often get a rash on much of their body, and that it's from adjusting to the water. Apparently it goes away after you adjust (a few weeks) Some of the people that just moved here have it. I think that if people develop a rash because they are adjusting to your water, you can't brag about how good it is. I think there's a rule about that. I don't have the rash, at least, not yet. There are these trees I see around town. They just have blossoms, no leaves, and the blossoms are bright yellow. They're quite pretty. It's really interesting seeing all the plants and trees around town. They're definitely different than the ones I'm used to. My drive to work is about 25 minutes. It's mainly through countryside, and most of it is beautiful. There's a small castle on a hill that I pass by ever day, and I wonder if someone lives there. On my drive home today there was an electronic sign that had 3 lines of information on it. They were in french of course and I could only read the last line, 'imminent danger'. Let me tell you, that got my attention! I never saw the problem though. People here often complain about how bad the traffic is, but it's nothing compared to Austin. At one light I often have to wait through one entire cycle! :-) I have no idea how big my gas tank is, but since it's a small car it cant be that big. I've driven for at least 1 hour every day (for about a week) and I haven't even used half the tank of gas yet. It's been pretty cold the last few days. I actually wore a wool sweater to work yesterday and never got too warm. That's really something for me! Well, I had my first French 'greeting' today. You know, the kiss on each cheek. It took me by surprise, but definitely made me feel welcome. I thought you had to be french or friends for years to achieve this status. I'm still not gonna like it if I guy tries to do it. I don' think they do though, at work I see people do it every morning, but it's never 2 guys. People keep asking about pictures. I'm supposed to move into my apt next week. Web access supposedly takes 2 to 3 weeks after that. I promise, the day I have access I will post pictures. Bonne week-end!
Well, more shopping. I bought a couple tables, a couch, a chair, and a guest bed/couch. They call the guest couch a click clack, supposedly because of the sound it makes when unfolding into a bed. So, now you all have a place to sleep when you visit. Well, not all at once of course. So, I tend to want to make things go together so well, really match and blend together, that they almost look boring. The floor of the apt is white marble, and my couch is black, the new table is wood and old style european, and my entertainment center is glass and metal. These things do not blend. They are quite striking next to each other. Difficult decisions since they don't blend as much as I would like. It's probably good for me. I'll have to get some plants for my balcony. I want to get some jasmine if they have it here. My father's house always had night blooming jasmine in the entry way, so I would smell it when I came home late at night during the summers. Now that smell always reminds me of 'home'. I had a long conversation with a frenchman tonight at dinner about what country had the most significant inventions/discoveries. I argued it was the US and he argued it was Germany. Every now and then he would slip and say Europe instead of Germany, and he brought up a number of inventions by european countries other than Germany. It didn't take long to see his real argument. He was very good natured about it though, and it was a fun conversation. I asked him to name the top countries that he would argue that had the greatest inventions. He named Germany, then England, and then France. I was surprised that the US wasn't one of the top 3 and asked him about it. He told me that america didn't really count because the great inventors from there all came from other countries. Overall it was a fun conversation. It got much colder today, snow fell on the mountains. Everyone here seems to wear sweaters even when it's too warm for them. Today though, it was quite appropriate. Well, much of my appliances, furniture, and utilities are supposed to be delivered/installed/hooked up on April 9th. Hopefully shortly after that (and some serious cleaning) I will feel like I have a home here!
Well, I saw my apartment today and got to go inside for the first time since I've returned. The view was even better than I rembered? I have almost a 360° view of the valley. The apartment is bigger than I remebered, but it is a very inefficient use of space. The place is big, but the 2 bedroioms are extremely small, the kitchen has absolutely no counter space, and the living room has almost no wallspace because there are 4 doors that go into it. There is a bar in the living room, and that is quite nice. There are 3 doors (1 from a bedroom) that lead to the terrace. The walls, molding and flooring are very nice, but the place needs to be cleaned. The toilet is the nastiest I've ever seen. I will have to do some cleaning, and creative arrangement of furniture, but overall I like it quite a bit. I got home from work today without getting lost. That doesn't seem like a big deal, but I couldn't do that the first day. I bought all of my appliances today fridge, washer, dryer, dishwasher, oven/stove, microwave, TV etc. As it turned out, both of my credit cards were declined because of the large amount being charged (I bought them all at one place) from a foreign country. I had to call the credit card companies to get them to allow the purchase and remove the blocks they placed on the cards. The store liked me purchasing everything there though, and gave me a volume discount. Most of you know that I research purchases like these to death, so it was tough to walk in after hearing just a bit from word of mouth, and then purchasing all that at once. It was probably therapeutic though. Tomorrow I shop for furniture. I'm starting to understand the term 'shopping' a bit more. Except for the appliances, the stores are quite small (shop). If you want something you really may have to 'shop around' at alot of different shops. I think I had more bread with dinner tonight than I've ever had in one sitting. Tate and Rob (the two biggest bread fans I know) would love it. I think it may really be turning me into more of a bread fan. And believe it or not, maybe less of a cheese fan. I love many french cheeses, but wow! I've had some seriously aged cheeses! One I had for lunch today actually had the mold on it, hair and everything. I could only eat half of that one. I really do enjoy most of them though. I was told by a french person today that I ate cheese like I was french and not American. I'm pretty sure that was a compliment. :-) I owe my love of fine cheeses to my mother who introduced me to brie at an early age. For dinner tonight they served terrine banane chocolat. I had something else so I m not sure what that is, but it made me think of Eric because I'm sure he'd love it (being the world's biggest banana fan). Dinner tonight was excellent, I mean really really good. Not sure what the fowl was, but it was delicious. Too small of bones and dark of meat to be chicken, but too big to be quail or dove. I'm sure my dad could tell me (he knows his game better than anyone I know). Well it's getting late and the temp housing is about a half a mile walk from here, so I should get going. Bon soir!