Errands and New Friends Tuesday-Thursday 16-18 August
It rained again Monday night, which is very unusual for this time of year. Fred texted us the things to do before the rain as well as things to do after the rain. So Tuesday morning Cody and I went for a little walk and found snails. Yep after a rain you go looking for snails.
Our first normal outing of running errands was not that normal! In the US we, as a family, rarely did errands together! Our list today consisted of getting my phone French acclimated, puppy food, and groceries. The mall was the first stop. Ramp-like escalators ascended us to the top floor of a “Short Pump Town Center” outdoor style mall.
The phone store was a success! I am now able to text like I used to and have access to wifi while I am out of the house. We will skip the lunch restaurant experience to protect tired, foreign youth and adults. Mazie and I found a toy store that was ALL TOYS and IKEA. The guys found an incredible, make you want to drool, sports store.
We drove to Maxi-zoo, the pet store and then to the grocery store. Below is a typical road from one village to another. The road sign is a warning sign that the road can flood. In my words, there is a risk of the road being inundated with water when it rains…beware.
Luckily I had been to Aldi’s before and understood the coin in the cart method of acquiring a cart. The wheels on the cart go round-and-round-and-sideways. Everyone brings their own bags or you just leave the store carrying out your purchased goods in every store. OVERWHELMING and CROWDED was the store on a Tuesday. One complete aisle, both right and left sides, was lined with yogurts. Fruit and veggies seemed like the US but each had to be individually weighed and ticketed before heading to the cashier. I literally spent 20 minutes trying to figure out and translate words on bottles for shampoo and conditioner for my thick curly hair. Finally, in frustration, I grabbed a few, hoping for the best. Medicine is found only in a pharmacie, not a grocery store, nor a para-pharmacie store. I had forgotten to refill/bring my Zyrtec in the States. Insane itching spots were popping up all over my body day and night. I actually researched it and found out I was experiencing a detox situation from Zyrtec. After 5 days of itching, I found a different brand of antihistamine in our new house and have been taking it, and am itch free.
The remaining activities of the week consisted of hanging clothes inside due to the rain, biking and walking on new trails around the village, kids going to a new friend’s house to play games (Life and Nintendo Switch) and to eat cookies. Trails around our house wind you past horses pastures and vineyards. Randy rode with a new friend past an aqueduct!
New family friends, from Jill and Fred’s small group, invited the kids over to play with their kids one afternoon. Below are pictures of Zach waiting for Noah to come and then Cody waiting for their return home. Later we joined the kids for beer and pizza with their family, Lez, Marie, and daughters, Naomi and Hannah, and 2 new kittens. What a blessing Mario Kart and ping-pong can be in a foreign country! Zach included this quote from Judah & the Lions. One day our daily card had us researching the country of France, draw and label cities, rivers, mountains and surrounding countries. The kids did not want to do this exercise, while Randy and I embraced it, enjoyed it and learned from it.
Lees in France 