February 3, 2009

After mentioning the tabac encounter, I remembered that I'd also dealt with an angry Frenchman back in November. I was helping Bev with her laundry at the local laundromat when this old man beside us started muttering something about "des conneries" (bullshit) when his clean laundry fell on the floor as he was folding it. Apparently we were occupying too much (2/3) of the table while sorting her laundry so he felt obliged to attempt folding his own laundry on the ledge of the dryer instead of asking us to move our stuff. Well anyway, we ignored his remarks and continued what we were doing. Because if there's one thing I've learned in my life, its that you can't win an argument with an old man. :)

Before I forget, I want to mention that today is the eleven year anniversary of my great grandfather's death. I remember being fond of him as a child. He didn't talk much, always had a cigarette in his mouth, and you could find him either sitting in his recliner or out in the yard picking up pecans. He lived in Blackville, SC, with his wife, a rather quiet woman with a gentle disposition. I think she used to talk more, but after his death she changed. Became more dependent on her daughter, eventually moved into an assisted-living home, and passed away in 2003, right around the time Claire found out she was pregnant with Caleb. My great grandparents were very simple, quiet, and happy, which is why I have nothing but respect for them. I just wish they'd been able to stay around a little longer. I miss them.

I guess I'll fill you in on more current info. Did much of nothing this past weekend. I went out with Natch and Anne-Sophie on Saturday night, but that was it. Sunday morning I woke up feeling like I'd been punched in the face. Those were the first signs of a stye that later decided to pop up on my lower right eyelid. It's just below the tear duct and is only slightly red and swollen. I imagine it would be much uglier and disfiguring if it had been located on the upper lid.

I've been dealing with another health issue as well. Specifically dry, peeling skin at the corners of my mouth. I'm very self-conscious about it and have been covering it up with makeup when I have to work. I read up on it and thought it might be what the French call "perleche" which can be caused by a lack of B12 vitamins and iron in the body. So now I'm taking a multi-vitamin each day, which is good because my diet's not as balanced as it should be. And I'm hardly eating meat at all. My favorite part about taking the vitamins is that my burps taste like those Flintstone vitamins I took when I was a kid. :P

Sabrina's coming to visit me again in March during her spring break! :D I'm very excited, but will be poorer than last time because I've been going out with friends more often and haven't gotten the CAF stuff handled yet. She and I have no big plans, though. We're still going to have an awesome time together. :) We always do. Oh, and I'm sure you're all wondering about Oh Henry the penguin. You'll be glad to know that he is having a blast in Dalzell/Columbia. He made his first snow angel a few weeks ago....


Back to the topic of visits, my silly Malaysian friend Voon Yee (whom I met while studying in La Rochelle) will be coming to Nice in early April! It's been almost two years since I last saw her. She was there at the train station waving goodbye with the French families and our international friends as we Americans headed to Paris the day before our plane left for the USA. Voon Yee is very silly and one of my absolute favorite parts about having studied abroad in La Rochelle. :)


This pic of Voon Yee and me (above) was taken during a CUFLE fieldtrip to Marennes. We were listening to some boring audio as we watched a video about oysters. :P CUFLE fieldtrips were fun because all of the international students got to mingle with each other while visiting new cities and learning about French culture and history. Way better than sitting in our French class for three hours straight! :P