When the rain falls, you run & hide your head…

Today in a nutshell:

Down: Woke up and the hot water heater was broken. Felt extremely French as I had not truly showered in 3 days and now have 6 types of cheese in the fridge. Walked two miles (nearly!) to the laundermat to dry my clothes before I packed them. Although the place is open 7j/7, dimaches et fêtes, the door was closed and no one was in sight. I turned the handle, nothing. I pulled and pulled, nothing. It started to rain. I put up my hood and shoved my bag of wet laundry in a doorway and steamed a bit at how obnoxious it is that French people just close things at random times with no explanation or consideration for people who might need desperately to get their laundry dried before they leave tomorrow, it’s just so typically French! The owner probably just slept in or was out for an early lunch or a beer in a tabac, typical, typical, then a random guy turns the handle, pushes the door, and gets his blankets out of the drier.

Up: My clothes got dried.

Up: The winter sky here is incredible. It’s so golden and warm, (even though it’s freezing out) and all the old buildings just glow.

Down: Christmas decorations are going up and this makes me sad as I’m still not sure what I am doing for Christmas, and I’m having a hard time deciding but I need to soon.

Up: Walked by the merry-go-round beside the hotel-de-ville, and there was one little kid going wheeeee! wheeeeeee! wheeeee! the whole time.

Down: Near the supermarket, this gang of teenage guys all descended on me at once and faked grabbing me in places that if hehad succeeded in touching me I would have had to punch him. Ugh.

Up: When looking at granola bars and things to pack in my pack for tomorrow I heard “Catherine! Cathy!” coming from the end of the aisle and it was one of my students from St. Maurice. Made me feel like a real person! A celebrity, even.

Down: Walked by the Beffroi (how Picards say bell tower I guess?) on my way back and it plays whole songs on the hour and made me think of Christmas again.

Up: Random manifestation in front of the post office, bullhorns and banners and leading the crowd was…the extremely elusive academic advisor for all assistants in the department of the Somme! A good story to tell all the other assistants.

Down/Up: Even though it’s sad to walk around a city and not really feel like you fit in, French people are wonderful to watch – they have a certain flair to them, and the way they talk and dress and interact will never cease to interest me, whether it be in admiration or something less nice.

Up: Got an apple tart for dinner at the patisserie across from my house. 1 euro. Drank up the last of my milk that has a distinct brownish tinge to it I’m noticing, maybe because the shelf life of milk here is eternity. But the French wrote the book on pasteurization so I’ll go with it. The taste is actually really growing on me.

Here a few glimpses of Amiens; this is a long post because I leave for Ireland tomorrow and won’t post again for over a week. Hopefully Ireland will be everything I dream it will be…i.e. green, lush, scenic, and full of Irish people and pubs. Something tells me it’s going to be great.

Can you see the rainbow?
(not a cheesy rhetorical question, there actually is one. Look closer!)