Notes from Abroad

-
some moments from the last week...
-
Of course, of course
So, I'm standing in front of the meat case, trying to decide what cut of meat to get. Europeans cut their meat differently than we do, so you can't always get exactly what you're used to. But, I found something that was very flank steak-like, only it was way too big for just me. So I started scanning the case for a smaller portion. I found a small one, and it was the same cut. Just as I was about to place it in my cart, I noticed that in tiny italic letters, where the rest had said "boeuf" this one said "cheval." Now, for those of you whose French is like mine was a few months ago: "Boeuf" means "beef" and "cheval" means "Mr. Ed."
arrrrrgyyyyyiiiiiccccckkkkahhhhhhhhh!

Barometer on the Brain
This morning, when I woke up, I had a nasty headache, and my first thought was "the weather must have changed." Upon opening my volets (shutters), I discovered that our sweltering heat has left, and rain has descended. I feel like those old people who say "rain's a comin', I can feel it in my bones." But I'd rather have an achy knee, than an achy head.

La Voiture
A couple days ago, I was in heavy traffic, and I couldn't figure out why my car was being jerky. I've been driving a stick-shift for four months now, and I'm usually fairly smooth. It took WAY too long to realize I was moving back and forth between 3rd and 4th, rather than 1st and 2nd. It's a weirdly-tilted gear shift, but still! Blonde moment. But, to make up for it, I dealt with a mechanic yesterday IN FRENCH. I wasn't entirely successful--I needed three things done but somehow only communicated two of the three (I got a Francophone to clear things up), but STILL. I think it took me 8 months to work up the courage to visit a mechanic in San Clemente.