recently.

-its supposed to be 34 degree's today. it seems like everyone on the metro this morning was quite well aware of this fact. except for the woman who walked on in a caftan and leather pants. it seemed like the entire train looked at her in disbelief, and then kinda at each other. girllll, you gonna CHAFE.

- riding the metro yesterday, a mother with her two teenage daughters that were mildly loud and cheerful, which is to say they drew notice. at one point the mother reaches over and taps her daughters shoulders to remind her of her posture. and i kid you not, i saw about seven other people (including me!) straighten up and fix their own posture. ah mothering. we all need it.

- yesterday after church, a few of us got invited over to mama motoko's for lunch. she whipped up the craaaaaaaziest delicious japanese lunch. i almost died. sushi/sashimi/tempura/a salad i don't know the name of (with seaweed noodles..delish)/terryaki chicken...well done mama motoko.

- lost my metro card on the train yesterday, realized it right away, and was bummed, because knowing i wasn't likely to get it back, it would take some fandangeling budget wise to replace it (i had just bought july's tarif the day before, plus the cost of replacing the actual card. grr). bummed through the early evening, my friend joanne and i boarded the metro in Issy and randomly asked the clerk there if he'd heard of any card being picked up and handed in. he was like, "sorry. chat chat chat, there is nothing i can do, chat chat chat, the only thing i can do is show you that i have this card right here. and with a smirk he pulls out MY CARD!! he knew the whole time we were inquiring (beacause it has my photo on it). and i was so suprised i yelled "C'EST MOI! C'EST LA MIEN!" and thats the story of how i got my card back and didn't have to pay about 75 euros to replace it. i mean really, of all the stations on that line 12 that some gentle soul handed my card into the clerk, after finding it on the train...was the same station that we thought to ask at?? miraculous.

- yesterday i spent from 9am until 10 am out and about with people. church in the morning, mama motoko's in the afternoon, and then a special service at night. it was the first time i realized that speaking french all day and trying to understand and concentrate all day is very, very exausting. my mind hurt. :) but thats ok. it will get better.

- now i'm going to go and make eggs in a basket for breakfast...again. with avocado's...again. i've been responding to my body's weirdly insistant cravings lately...last week red meat. last four days or so, avocado's...the last month has been weird. i think my body is depleted...or something. banana's, green tea, eggs...all these things keep creeping up as major cravings..hmm.

totally not alone.

"Loneliness does not come from being alone,
but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important."

Carl Jung

there are many, many things about france that i love, and will have a hard time leaving behind one day. but today i'm having a bit of a mopey nostalgia for some uniquely north american 'givens'.

clothes dryers.
bathtubs.
customer service.
worship music written after the 90's.
things being open on sundays.
16 oz of coffee wherever and whenever you want it.
(i had a thought today that made me laugh. in vacnouver in would feel ashamed for drinking starbucks because there was no need to. in france i'm ashamed because i need to.)

well, those are the big ones. lets not call it complaining, because i shudder to think of being one of those north americans..
but at some point in the last couple days, each one of these things has encouraged a little wistfulness.
now i'm going to have some superior bread and cheese.

(heading to berlin at the end of the month.
robin sends me an email detailing some vegetable e-coli breakouts in germany)

julie: guess we can really only have sausage and beer then. shit.
robin: a girls got to do, what a girls got to do.