This post has a lot more content than just my pursuit of doors, but I thought the title fitting since doors are what I want most right now. As of Friday afternoon, there have been almost no doors in our house. Why? you might ask. Well, the house is in the process of being renovated, as it has been since before my arrival two months ago. We are at the point of sanding and painting the doors. Therefore, no one has bedroom doors or bathroom doors. This is unfortunate. It means that when I want to change clothes in my room, I'd better be uber fast, or when I want to shower, I have to wait until the children are soundly asleep because they can see the shower from their rooms, and, most unfortunately, if I must make use of the other bathroom facilities, I have to make absolutely sure no one in the family, or the other three men helping with the renovations, are anywhere in the near vicinity. Awkward.
But, a lot more things happened this week as well. First, I had a lot of free time, which was fantastic. Anne was home all week and therefore, I had some time off. On Thursday night, I was able to go to a gathering in Marseille with a large group of international students who are studying in Marseille. A bunch of representatives from various consulates were there as well and the security was high. I found the hotel because of all the police standing outside it. It was amazing to see how many Spanish people there were. Second to Spanish must be Germans. I was the only American. I felt quite outnumbered. Fortunately, most international people speak English as well so I was able to communicate a little. I met a nice Polish girl there so that was cool. I wish at least my consulate rep had come but alas, he/she did not.
Friday morning I got my hair cut. I was a bundle of nerves but Hannah and Camilla were with me and they kindly forced me to go through with it. I had read horror stories on the internet of girls getting their hair cut in France and walking out with unwanted mullets. I did not want a mullet. So we studied up on our hair vocabulary and marched on in. It was awesome! The place had a great atmosphere and all the girls who worked there were really helpful. We only spoke French but we were able to communicate just fine with a little sign language to help. The assistant washed my hair for probably fifteen minutes and then led me to the chair. Then the girl who actually cut my hair arrived. She confirmed what I wanted and then went at it. My hair was flying everywhere! Most of it ended up in my shoes. It was an amazing process to watch. She definitely knew what she was doing. After maybe 30 minutes, my hair was cut, dried, and the cut was evened up. I was so happy with the result and with the fact that the experience was fun and that I'd had a real conversation in French with someone in my town. I almost felt like a local...almost.
Saturday I babysat for a little while and took the kids to see a creepy, animated, Japanese movie at the cinema. It was about two pandas and a little girl. Most parts were actually really cute but the Papa Panda really freaked me out. I may possibly have dozed a bit to block him out but the kids really loved the film. We were the only ones in the theater too so that was fun.
That night I went out to dinner with seven of my friends from school. We went to a little restaurant themed after the Reunion Islands, a place most of us had never heard of. The food was excellent and it was great to get out with some new people. Since we were all from different countries, we mostly spoke in our common language, French. Therefore, I didn't have a lot to say but it was great fun listening to the conversation. We represented America, Germany, Italy, Columbia, and the Czech Republic. Marseille is incredibly beautiful at night. With all the lights it looked like Christmas but the weather was warm and breezy. Fantastic!
So this afternoon I'm planning to go to the cinema alone and then I'm babysitting for my neighbors, a prospect I'm excited about since I like their family and I could really use some extra cash. I got a little overexcited at the shops this month. Next week is the children's ten day school vacation for Toussaint (All Saints) so I'll be working a lot. I'll let you know how it all goes next weekend!
