October 3, 2009
I biked into my neighbor city today like I've taken to doing every Saturday. Arguably I should have stayed home and made the trip later on in the week or held off until the following week because my stomach wasn't feeling very well, but I made the trek in anyways.
My first stop was la poste (post office) to mail out a letter and take out some more money from my account. The way you do that here is by writing yourself a check and then cashing it at une poste.
I was still not feeling my best and I just biked for an hour and forty minutes up and down about ten rather intense hills, so I saluer-ed my buddy behind the counter after he called me up by name and went about my business. My buddy, Th. who works for la poste knows L.S., a fellow volunteer who lives in the city I visit each week and the two of them like to speak a little English. After calling to verify that I had the money in my account, I believe, he told me, in English, that it'll be a minute. Then, the young man standing next to me asked Th. a question (in French of course) and Th. responded, “I'm sorry. I don't understand when you speak French. You must speak English.” To which I quite literally laughed out loud. Then, to make the situation even better, the young man next to me responded, “Do I put the numbers in...?” To that I laughed even more. It was a much-needed release and interaction and one example of the friendly and humorous people you can find here.
Until next time.
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Hi Stephanie!
ReplyDeleteI can't tell you how much I have enjoyed reading your blog. What an adventure that you seem to be grasping whole heartedly. You have given me a gift to learn & hear all about other people & cultures that I otherwise would never have. It sounds like a lovely place to realize the human spirit. You will be forever changed by this, all for good. Keep up the good work. Pam
Thanks, Pam. I'm glad you enjoy it and are learning from it. In fact, the third goal of the PC is to bring these cultures "home" to improve understanding of other cultures, so even better. I hope you're doing well and if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
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