I had a different type of post all planned out for today, but these images just seem so much better to wrap up a week with.
Life in France is easier than it was even a year ago. Conversations are now conversations instead of strings of words that I have to try and decipher one by one. My comprehension of the language has improved, but it's ease in understanding changing accents and colloquialisms that is the biggest change.
I sat in a doctor's office at 8pm last night. My husband thought I might want to go alone....but he was wrong. As we sat in the office and I answered questions, I realized that I would have been fine alone.
It's always the fear that was so common in the beginning that stops me.....that point where you realize that someone is asking you a question and you have no idea what they are saying.
Family gatherings (LARGE family gatherings), grocery stores, boulangeries, French government offices, doctors.....all the places where the words used were different from my day to day interactions or the brocante. Those words, that language, I was comfortable with.
I don't ask why things are the way they are as often. I am easing in to their routine now and it is melding with my routine to form a new life.
Spring is around the corner and I am looking forward to it. Provence has a beautiful, pale green color that appears as things wake from their winter naps....especially after a rain. It is one of my favorite times of the year to explore.
I plan to take full advantage of it this year. As I promised myself at the start of the year, it is to be a year of actions.
Now, it's back to the insane little machine that my husband brought back from the pharmacy today.....a portable nebulizer (like you would see in a hospital). I can actually breath without feeling like something is sitting on my chest when I use it. Finally....some relief.
Enjoy your weekend!