Let's hit the slopes!

Ski camp in journal excerpts.

Saturday:
Morning
Going to the ski camp today. Hope it goes well - helps my French - have a good time. Mimi asked me what all I know about the week. Realized that I don't know very much.
1. It's a 5 day camp but I'll be getting there Saturday the 22nd and leaving Saturday the 1st. (Assuming that I'm getting there early to help set up? Perhaps the kids come Sunday and leaving Friday? - Guess I'll see).
2. There will be 16 campers. Don't know how many adults.
3. The age range is from 7 to 14 years old.
4. We will ski 2 days, dog sled 1 day and snow shoe 1 day.
5. Leaving from Gare de Lyon at 1:15 (have to meet there at 12:15) for the Savoie region.

Evening
So, all the kids came today as well. There were 5 adults on the train with 8 kids and the rest arrived at the camp earlier by car - so it's actually a 7 day camp with 16 kids and 7 adults. That works. I'm not sure how long the train ride was, but I'm sure glad that I ate lunch before leaving or I would have been very, very hungry. The train ride (my first in France) was pretty uneventful. Mimi and I had to call Laurent to ask were to meet at the train station - apparently there are two sides and they are pretty far away from each other. I also realized that I had forgotten my sunglasses, so was pretty stressed about that and hoping that I might be able to buy a pair or something somewhere. That was looking pretty unlikely, but I said something to Marie (the director) and she had an extra pair that she will let me use for the week. That's a blessing. And her sunglasses will probably work better than mine would because they sit closer to the face and are sturdier - mine are aviators so they might not have blocked out the sun reflecting off the snow so well and would probably break easier.

Once we got to the train station we had to wait for two taxi vans to transport us to the chalet where supper was all ready to serve. I met the other leaders and children and began to wonder what I had gotten into.  I could tell it was going to be a long, tiring week just from the French if not from anything else. Plus, I like children but have never considered them my forte and there were lots of children who I didn't know and couldn't communicate with well. After dinner, the kids went to bed and I moved my stuff to the third floor to stay with the girls. Cloé, Ruth and I were in a back room together and the girls were in a larger room. Just one bathroom with one sink, shower, and toilet for 10 people. That'll be interesting. All the adults gathered in the 'office' (a room with all the supplies that the children aren't allowed in without supervision) for a meeting (sounds like this will happen every night) to go over details and plans for the week and the next day. Saw a general schedule and there are actually 3 days of skiing.

I'm glad that I brought a towel (and that Mimi gave me a quick drying towel too) because I definitely need it. And a sleeping bag and sheets would have been useful. I thought I might have to bundle up and sleep in my coat at one point, but Ruth (another leader) showed me where there were some extra blankets (mostly because everyone else brought their own things - they had been informed to do so) and I ended up with 3 thick knitted blankets. There is a pillow but I don't have a pillow case so I'll just wrap a shawl around it.

Sunday:
I didn't sleep well last night. The pillow is really uncomfortable and gave me a kink in my neck - I think I'll sleep without it from now on. Looks like they keep the kids busy. A lot happened today and I always felt behind. The leaders gathered at 8 in the morning for devotions and prep for the day, then we got breakfast on the table and the kids came down at 8:30. After doing the dishes (I think I'll be doing my fair share of dishes this week) the kids had a morning worship time. Side note - this is how everyday went in the evenings, so I shan't bore you with repeating it for each day. 

As we prepared and ate lunch I began getting a bit anxious about skiing. I've never skied before and I've never been any good at skateboarding or snowboarding (not that I've tried either in over 10 years and the snowboarding was just a small kid's board in a backyard), nor am I very graceful in anything not streamlined to my feet. For example, you are much likelier to see me trip in sneakers than 5 inch heels...

Anywho, we had to go to a ski rental place to try on ski boots and then we went to the ski place. The ski boots hold your feet and legs in a very specific position and I could feel my calves cramping a bit - probably not the best start... There were many campers who had never skied before or had only skied a few times, but there were a few who were advanced. We all started on the bunny slope (for the advanced skiers, just to warm up) and they explained how to slow down by spreading your heels apart - but not cross the front of your skis. They also explained that to turn left you have to put your weight to the right and vice versa. Standing at the top of the bunny hill, I was not so sure that I wanted to go down. I watched the experienced kids follow Cloé down and they stayed right behind her, went slowly, and I thought okay, I can do this. Ha. Haha. Hahahahaha. I could not have been more wrong. I sucked. I more than sucked. I couldn't slow down for the life of me. I spread my heels and spread my heels and nothing happened, except that I crossed my skis and usually fell. Turning was more difficult than I thought it would be too. I would watch others and could see the form, but just could seem to feel it correctly. I didn't fall every descent, but close to it. I only needed help to get up twice though :) I lost both of my skis once (they just pop off the boots when you fall at a certain angle - which is good because it keeps you from twisting/spraining/breaking something as easily). Another time I lost just one, but it continued on down the hill without me. Thankfully a kind woman stopped and held if for me till I could get down to her. I lost he other ski my last time down. This time it was at the bottom and I was trying to stop, and crossed my skis. I was too fatigued to go down again, so I just watched for the last half-hour or so. Needless to say it was a humbling experience - but I was able to honestly laugh at myself. Not the "I'm laughing so you don't see how embarrassed/discouraged/near to tears I am" kind of laughter, but the "I'm just going to do my best and if I fall, I'm sure it looked funny" kind of laugh. That's pretty big for me because I'm usually cripplingly self-conscious.

As I watch other skiers and think about my form, I think part of my problem is how I hold myself - how I balance my weight. I balance on the balls of my feet - not my heels - but for skiing I need my weight shifted back. I'm also bad at spreading my heels because it is the exact opposite of ballet. I'm so used to having my toes pointed out that to have my feet parallel already feels like my heels are turned out. Who'd a thunk that dance would hurt my ability to ski...

We had a snack (hot chocolate and cookies) at the slopes, then headed back to the chalet. The campers had free time/shower time and I helped prep dinner. We ate at about 7:30 and the kids had an activity afterwards and then went to bed and the adults had their meetings, I took my shower, and went to bed. Side note - this is how everyday went in the evenings, so I shan't bore you with repeating it for each day. 

Out my bedroom window

The most advanced slope

The bunny slope in the foreground and the intermediate slope in the background

Monday:

I woke up a bit sore, but less so than I would have expected. I'm glad for that but tomorrow will be the real test - always feel it two days after, not the next day. Hopefully doing physical activity today will help with that, though. Today we did the dog sledding. Admittedly, I was not super excited beforehand. I had the feeling that I would be doing it solo and I wasn't sure that I wanted to have to steer. I didn't want to back out because I knew I would regret it, but I was feeling a bit stressed. I went well, though. The kids were partnered off but the adults each had our own sled. Thankfully we didn't have to steer - we just followed the guides in single file. Because there were so many of us we had to split into two groups and I was in the second group, so we played in the snow and waited the half-hour or so for the first group to return. 

Once we started, my dogs (I had three small dogs) must have been tired - and I must weigh more than they are used to, because I had to push/run the entire way up. When my foot would hit packed snow it wasn't so bad, but that was few and far between. Usually my foot was sinking up to mid-calf and then I'd push off of, well, loose snow. That takes a lot out of you, physically. I was told it was a 30 minute round trip, and the ascent took longer than the descent, so I assume that it was 20 minutes up and 10 minutes down... Thankfully we had to stop to wait for others to catch up a few times, so I could catch my breath (otherwise, I think I might have puked or passed out from overheating). The ride down was great! I got to ride the entire way for that and only had to worry about braking.

First group getting ready

First group on their way!

Tuesday:
All morning I've been tense - not wanting to go skiing again, but knowing that if I didn't try again I would regret it. And I did so much better! My first time down wasn't so hot, but after that I improved exponentially. Probably because I began to feel the weight distribution more naturally. I began putting my weight in my heels and once I did that I could slow down, turn and even stop on the slope. I'm not spectacular by any means. My control is still lacking and I don't think I'm ready for real skiing as of yet, but I'm so glad that I decided to try again. One thing is for sure - I'm tired. But not as tired as the first day (or as sweaty) probably because I didn't have to get up from falling so much (only fell 3 times!!!). The sun was also behind clouds, so it stayed a bit cooler, but that was nice. The first day I was so hot and sweaty it was ridiculous. Also, it's my third day of intense physical activity, so my body is getting more used to it (I hope). If I did stuff like this every day, I'd be in great shape.

Just to the right of the slopes

Walking back to the chalet (in the background) from the taxi

Wednesday:

Today was a house day, which worked out well because it snowed pretty much all day. The kids played games and after the snack at 5 we went to a woodcarvers shop where they give demonstrations and sell their products. 

There were so many exquisite carvings and blown glass and we were allowed to take pictures, so I went a little camera crazy...

And then some scenery from our walk back to the chalet.

After we returned it was rush, rush, rush for preparing dinner. We had hamburgers and fry's and the kids watched a movie. Everything was served rather late, but it worked out okay.

Thursday:

I woke up a bit late this morning. I thought we were to meet at 8:30 instead of 8 but I misunderstood. Oh well, I still got down by 8:15 and they didn't seem too worried about it. Today we went snow shoeing after a picnic lunch just outside our chalet. The snow shoeing was also pretty intense, physically, but it was really enjoyable. We had to cross a stream at the beginning of the walk (the water wasn't deep enough to get to our boots) ...

Just strapped on the snow shoes!!

... and then the real walk began. 

Every so often, our guide would stop and point out animal tracks and talk about which animals they could be from and how he could tell. He showed us the flammability of the bark of this one tree - it continues to burn even in direct contact with the snow. Once we reached an area flat enough, he instructed us on how to build igloos. The campers decided to do boys vs. girls, so we didn't get to finish either of them (too big and not enough time) but he had us doing it the correct way. We packed the snow down...

He cut out bricks...

 We set them in place and packed loose snow in between them.

We had a great time :)

Friday:

We were supposed to go skiing today but it was snowing too heavily so we stayed at the chalet. It actually made life quite a bit easier for the adults because we didn't have to rush around to prep things for the party that evening or for the meals the next day. The kids played outside and made snowmen while we made sandwiches for the train ride home.

We had a party for dinner this evening - raclette de montagne. The kids were not allowed in the eating area as we were decorating it, prepping the entrée and getting the raclette set up.

So, the way this raclette apparatus works is the bar across the top heats and melts the cut edge of the cheese...

Then you pull the cheese forward and tilt it to scrape the melted cheese onto a plate...

And put it on your food (meat, potatoes, pickles, etc. My family even puts it on sliced apples)...

This is how much cheese was left at the end of the evening (granted, we are 23 in total).

We had baked bananas stuffed with chocolate for desert. Yum, yum :)

During the meal (it was a long, leisurely meal) we showed a slide show of pictures from the week and the children performed skits, songs, and recitations. While us adults cleaned up, Marie put some music on for the kids to dance to and it was such a joy to watch them amuse themselves. Soon, they went to bed and our work really started. We washed, put away, and packed everything we could before going to bed.

Saturday:
Today was an early morning. We had a lot to do and very little time to do it in. We had to be out of the chalet by 10 and we were going skiing since we couldn't go yesterday. Even with all the hustle and bustle, I was able to snap a couple of shots of the scenery our last morning.

After breakfast, we washed all the dishes and packed up all the luggage and then walked the kids down to the ski rental shop to pick up our ski boots before walking to the ski slopes. Once we got there we ate lunch and then skied for two hours. I finally left the bunny slope and tried out the first real slope. I did alright. I fell more again, but mostly when I was trying to stop at the bottom - I think partially because it was so slushy, but as others didn't seem to have the same problem, it might have just been me. I fell once riding up the slope too :(   Since it's such a short section, the ski lift was just a thing you grabbed onto, put between your legs and pulled you up to the top. I'm not really sure what happened, but just before I reached the top, my left ski caught something on the edge and I landed on my hands and knees (the lift was now in front of me). Thankfully no one was behind me but lots of the kids from the camp were already at the top and saw me - oh well, another lesson in humility. I had lost a ski, but it stayed with me, so I pushed it the rest of the way up and then walked up with one ski and one boot. That was my last time down the slope - I was wiped and decided I should stop before I did myself harm. 

Once our time was up, it was a mad dash to get the kids changed out of their ski gear, pack their snow pants, load the luggage in the taxis (we had stored the luggage at the ski slopes), and return the ski gear to the rental place. Once we go to the train we ate our snack and waited. We were not all on the same train. Most of the group was on the 6:30pm train (7 kids, 2 adults), but myself and three others (1 kid and 2 other adults) didn't leave till 8. All the other kids and adults left by car. Waiting til 8 would have been all well and dandy, but the train station closed at 6:30 instead of 10 because of a strike (French national sport, according to my French professor) so we would have had to stand outside, in the cold (it was pretty frigid yet) for an hour an a half. Thankfully, some friends of Marie's had spent the day with us and when they heard that the station was closed they stuck around and let us pile into their car with them to wait. 

Once we got on the train, we all ate our sandwiches and promptly fell asleep. I woke up at 11 and decided to stay awake to make sure we didn't miss our stop and we arrived at the station at about midnight. 

Afterwards

Slept in till 12:30 at Mimi's, ate brunch, relaxed, went to the McDaniel's for the night. I had to be back at Blanc Mesnil by 2 the following afternoon (Monday) so Paul could show me some things to do. I was under the impression that I would get to relax after he showed me what he wanted, but I ended up working from 4 till 7. I then had to go to the bank and get groceries. Thankfully, both were open. I wasn't too happy about this. I was tired, not expecting to work that late, and just done. I'm sure that if I had said something, I could have stopped earlier, but I got the distinct impression that he wanted everything done quickly, so I just kept at it. Tuesday I worked again, but thankfully I did get to sleep in a bit. Wednesday I went to the new office at Nogent and Thursday I worked at Blanc Mesnil. I was able to come to the McDaniel's Thursday afternoon and had all of Friday off (and will have Monday off too) so that evens it out a bit. 

Last bit of news. I had my MRI today, but there was a little mishap with the first sequence of images (before I was injected) so I will have to go back again on Wednesday. Thankfully I don't have to pay again because it was the fault of the technician. Though it is a bit inconvenient, they were very apologetic and I think worked us in when we could come back, so no biggie (for me at least, for Mimi it's probably a bit more inconvenient). One good thing is mom will be here by then!!!! The radiologist did look at the second sequence of images and thinks that all the issues are just the result of an infection, not colesteatoma, but wants the images without injection for comparison before stating it as certainty. 

Well, this took much longer than I anticipated, and as it's nearly 4 in the morning and this post is rather lengthy, I'm going to sign off for now. 

Just a little update...

So, it's the night before I go to somewhere in the Savoie region of France for the ski camp!!!  Never been skiing before in my life, so I am both excited and nervous to try it. Surprisingly enough, I'm not nervous about having to communicate in French the whole week (at least not at this point), so that's encouraging :)  Hopefully that will continue throughout the week. I went to the McDaniel's Thursday evening and spent the day there and am now at Mimi's (using her computer to post - having a tad bit of difficulty getting used to the different keyboard organization, but it's coming along...) for the night. She'll take me to Gare de Lyon tomorrow at 12:15 and I'll leave at 1:30 (I think) with at least two other people going to the camp.

Now, for the news we've been waiting for since Friday - or in actuality since December... 

SCAN RESULTS: inconclusive. Need to get an MRI. 

Not feeling too down about that - very greatful Mimi is here to help me with everything though. Makes a huge difference in my stress level. Don't have an appointment for my MRI (called IRM in France) as of now, so I will keep you all updated on that as things develop.

Now, for some thrilling news wholly unrelated to me (other than it being about a beloved cousin). Rachel's engaged!!!!!!! I'm just ecstatic! Yay! I'm sure that getting this news on the same day that I got my scan results helped with not feeling too disappointed. And I am assuming that it's okay to post this now, since it's posted on Facebook. Congrats Rachel!!

Till I'm done frolicking in the snow...

Curried Cauliflower Soup

I assume there is some curiosity about last Thursday... It went pretty well, for the most part. The youngest wasn't too fond of me in the morning, so the oldest helped get her up and as ready as possible. Since she wouldn't let me change her, I packed her clothes for the day and took them with us to her nounou's. It was raining heavily, and we couldn't get her feet in her boots (she had footsies on her pjs) so I had to carry her. She fussed and kicked at first, but eventually calmed down. Whether that was because I wasn't responding to her fussing or if she recognized where we were going, I haven't a clue. As soon as we dropped her off, the older two kids and I rushed to their respective schools, and thankfully we were not late. I collected the middle girl for lunch and we ate, played hide and seek, and she played with my hair until it was time to go back to school. The afternoon was a bit shaky. The youngest was not happy to see me when I picked her up at 5:30. Her nounou tried to talk her into not crying, and she stopped, until we were out of site of her house. Then she cried for about 30 or 45 minutes, but once we got back to the house (after getting the oldest) she was just fine. She stopped crying, talked to me, played with me, let me hold her, ate her food. I even got her to change into her pj's and brush her teeth, (though she wouldn't let me change her diaper). Then papa came home, so I didn't need to get her to bed (thankfully). The next morning was back to normal, but at least I had one good evening :)

Friday morning, Tim and I met Mimi and I went with her (we did some shopping and I got two new jackets!). My scan was that morning, but we won't have any results until sometime this week. Not sure what I'm hoping for. Thankfully I've got some distraction coming up. I get to help with the ski camp!!! I'll leave this Saturday and it lasts 5 days. Not entirely sure of the details, so I'll just have to share after the fact :)

A couple of weeks ago I made a delicious curried cauliflower soup (link to recipe below). As I don't have an oven, I didn't bake the cauliflower, just sauteed it. I also don't have a way to puree anything, so it wasn't a smooth soup, but I preferred it that way. I made it a bit too spicy (even for me) mostly because I made the thai curry paste from scratch and didn't do such a good job at measuring. But it was oh so good. 

http://cookieandkate.com/2013/curried-cauliflower-soup/

Well, won't have internet access for a bit, so till I do :)

A change of spirit

Yesterday was an extremely difficult day. In fact, if felt similar to some Sunday's after my DC experience, except without my grandmother's shoulder to cry on, my aunt to hold me in another room, or my parents to lean on. That makes it quite a bit more difficult to hold the tears at bay, but I did it. Granted, I was on the verge of tears several times, and I think at least one person thought it was because I was having difficulty understanding, but, no. That wasn't it. Actually, it had nothing to do with church and everything to do with a two year old. Fancy that, reduced to tears by a two year old. Yup, that's a difficult pill to swallow. Made all the more difficult, of course, by the fact that there is another two year old in France who really likes me and I didn't see her that weekend. I would never claim to be 'wonder woman' when it comes to children (that's the domain of my sister), but kids usually, eventually, like me. And I can handle a difficult child. But not this one. No, this one hated me - or at least that's what it felt like. I couldn't even look at her without her turning away and beginning to fuss - just a teensy-weensy stab to the heart, that was.

Before I continue, I should lay out what might be going through this little girl's mind...
1. I arrived Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning, mama was gone (on a school trip lasting 8 days).
2. I sit in mama's seat at the table and in the car, not mama.
3. I come to pick her up at her nounou's (home daycare sitter - and sp anyone?), not mama.
4. I can't speak French well, so she can't understand me well.
5. I'm a stranger. How can I have authority over her?

Needless to say, even if she didn't show signs of the stereotypical terrible twos, that would warrant enough for her to be wary of me. And even though I've seen her fuss (and by fuss, I do mean throw tantrums, or near tantrums) for many other people and I recognize all those uncertainties she could be feeling, she still reduced me to tears. How is that? Well, I think she became the trigger, setting loose the torrential flood of emotions being cooped up (many of which I wasn't consciously aware of till now). Here are a few compounding issues that come to mind (after some reflection and conversation with Mimi).
1. This is the first weekend I haven't been at the McDaniel's since I've started working with the Semailles (I should really start calling it Grain de Blé France or GDBF, since that is the new name). And though I'm doing well and it's not a bad change, it is a change.
2. I'm used to seeing two children who really like me every weekend, and here it's a bit different.
3. I had expectations of this going differently, so I'm mourning those expectations.
4. This whole week has been different, with coming to Timothée's. Again, that's not a bad change, but it is a change.
5. I have my scan on Friday, and while it was a long way off, I could push it to the back of my mind, but now it's nearly here.
6. Getting close to my sixth month marker, and that's typically a time that culture shock presents itself anew.
7. It's the tail-end of a monthly fluctuation in hormones.
8. I'm frustrated with myself for not being able to communicate well.
There may be more, but this is all I'm aware of at this point in time.

Today seemed to be going a bit better - I felt better at least (aside from being embarrassed about letting Tim see me cry - kkheeah - I know it's human and healthy, but I hate the vulnerability crying entails. And I want to be a counselor. If I can't accept my vulnerability, how will I help others accept their's?), until we got the youngest from her nounou's and she still didn't like me. I wanted to cry anew, and was again barely holding it together. I had thought through how to handle situations with her, but they weren't working and I was freezing up. Supper time went a bit better (oh, btw, we had escargot yesterday and raclette today) and after dinner she seemed to be a tad bit less wary of me. I don't know what happened but soon after that, something seemed to click. I just felt better. And, in turn, she seemed to feel better about me. Huh... we'll see if this lasts, but even if she decides to not like me again, if I can continue to hold on to this change within me, I think I'll be alright :)

And, I apologize to all those who dealt with me when I was a child. I wasn't difficult (at least, according to my parents), but I didn't like new people or situations. And, I wouldn't fuss, per say, I would just hold everything in until it burst forth on it's own - kind of like I still do a lot of the time...

Driving, teaching and random experiences

Un grand remercier à tous pour mes "joyeux anniversaires."  A big thank you to all for my "Happy Birthdays." I had a wonderful birthday weekend, dividing my time between the McDaniel's and Mimi's. Friday, I arrived at the McDaniel's a bit earlier than usual and got to settle in before the Shield's (another family from the school) came for dinner. We had a delightful evening of conversation and food, the children playing together with ease. The next day, Anna came over for lunch and we had fajitas and cake. I received some cards and Ferrero Rocher chocolates from the McDaniel's (all unexpected). Later that afternoon, Mimi m'a cherché et on a mangé et après on a fait du shopping. Mimi picked me up and we had a late lunch, while sitting and catching up. We then drove over to Belle Epine for some shopping :)  It's the winter sales in France, so all of last season's collection (at least, what was left) was on sale. I bought a few things, Mimi bought a few things, I picked a few things out that became my birthday presents... There's something rather pleasant about walking up to a checkout line and having someone take them from you, saying "For your birthday." This happened a couple of times throughout the afternoon. I ended up with two pairs of pants, a sweater shirt, two rings, a set of earrings, a necklace, and GLOVES!!!! Mimi spotted a perfect pair of gloves in one of the stores, and as I've been having some trouble finding what I wanted, this made the evening especially delightful. Yes, they are a cobalt-y blue leather set, AND they have a knitted section attached to the base that can be used as an arm-warmer, or turned up over the hands for an extra layer of warmth (It stops at the base of the fingers and has a slit for the thumb). The stores began closing at 8, so we headed over to the restaurant section of the mall for dinner. Below is a picture of one pair of pants that I bought (sorry, no other pictures of my purchases/gifts).

One of my new pairs of pants - Mimi has the same ones, so now we can match!

Sunday I went to church with Mimi and after we ate lunch out in this pleasant little hole-in-the-wall, that ended up having a much nicer ambiance than expected and very delicious food. After returning to Mimi's we went for a walk, relaxed a bit, and then I went back to the McDaniel's for the evening/night.

The beginning of the week went as usual - arrived back at the office Monday afternoon, worked Tuesday and Wednesday and organized/packed my things for a week and a half (possibly more, not sure yet) at Tim's. His wife is away this week with her students (skiing!) so I'm helping with the kids. They have three children, the youngest is 2, but I'm not sure how old the oldest is - 8 or 9 perhaps? None of the children really speak English, so between my broken (and badly pronounced French) and the 2 youngest's children's occasional nearly nonsensical mumbling, we have had some discouraging lack in ability to communicate, as well as some ridiculous moments ;) It's not too distressing, but I will have them to myself for a day next week and that might get a bit interesting - getting them up and ready for school, collecting them from school, preparing dinner, and putting them to bed. The two oldest won't be too difficult (I hope), but the youngest is still in the stage where she wants her mom and/or dad all the time, so that one might get a bit interesting. For instance, today I collected the kids from school/daycare, starting with the youngest. She was fine while getting her sister, but once we got to the oldest's school, she decided she wanted papa and I would NOT do. I don't ever want to experience a child running away from me toward cars coming down a road ever again, even if it does mean restraining (as loosely as possible) a kicking, screaming child. Poor little girl. I don't remember being that age, but as I was a very shy child, I can imagine the duress she felt - and really, she's only had two afternoons/evenings to get to know me. So, here's hoping that next Thursday goes well :) One thing that may help is that the oldest (well the two oldest really) are pretty protective of the youngest, even with their friends, so hopefully they will be able to help me comfort her a bit, as they did today.

I overcame a fear today (it's not gone, but at least I didn't let it get worse) - I drove a stick-shift car for the first time in close to 6 months, having only been practicing on and off for about a month and a half before that. I keep thinking most people my age would be ecstatic to find out they would have a car to use, but I must admit my reaction was a bit more like dread. So, the fact that I went out in the car at all is a pretty grand feat for me today. I stalled several times, often with people around me :p but each time I restarted the car quickly. And, thankfully I had the presence of mind to practice on the near empty streets around the house before going on an actual road - didn't stall out there at all - Yay!!! It's far from a smooth ride, but it's getting there. And, I'm actually not that terrible when shifting gears. It's more the shift from being completely stopped to first gear (and starting on hills - shudder- I hate hills with a stick-shift).

I'll have a new experience to add to my CV/resume soon: Teaching english in an actual french classroom (not sure what age exactly, but fairly young children). The school that Clemence, Tim's wife, works at received permission for me to teach some classes, so lesson planning here-I-come! (Gahw - what am I getting myself into???) I just pray that I can help the kids with their English, even just a little bit, and not look too ridiculous, though looking ridiculous may help them remember the lessons better...  Anywho, if anyone has any suggestions or tips, let me know. All I know at this point is that they have to learn to introduce themselves, colors and numbers. Probably other things, too, but not sure, presently.

And, just a random little anecdote before I close for the night. Last Monday, I was filling my hot water bottle with water when I my hand slipped and I poured boiling water all over my left hand (which is the hand I burned at graduation a couple of years back - hadn't gotten all the lime juice residue off my skin and we where out in the scorching sun). I'm grateful that I brought calendula gel with me - I spent the next hour or so covering the burn every 5 or 10 minutes, but eventually it wouldn't stop throbbing and I decided to sleep with my hand in a pot of cold water - best idea ever. You couldn't even tell I had a burn, unless you knew it was there, the next morning.