Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Not All Those That Wander Are Lost
The rhythm here is different. For instance, lunch starts at the cafeteria that serves great food, for cafeteria standards at least, complete with îles flottantes, then goes on to a staff room equipped with an old expresso machine and baby foot table, free of charge. They talk and play iPhone games and virtually do nothing for an hour. Those are resident surgeons we are talking about, the ones tha in Quebec take ten minutes to eat on the corner of a table.
As the newly arrived externe du Québec, the conversation will unmistakably turn to me. When I'm in the middle of answering a question, they turn to themselves and say "Ah, c'est mignon l'accent" "Eh oui, c'est sympa!" or something along those lines, a bit like how you'd talk about a child or a puppy. They find my expressions very entertaining, but it doesn't make self-conscious as it could. I don't think it's meant to be mean, and even if it is, then it's their loss.
There is something about being a stranger, something that give you licence to create yourself, to abandon your preconceptions like an old ill fitting skin and experiment.
I do feel a bit isolated some evenings, in my little room under the roof of the residence emptied by the vacances scolaires. I go out to walk, but it is dark and cold. I haven't seen the sun since I got here, apparently this is typical of winter in Alsace. The light is grey and hazy and unchanging through out the day. This combined to the humidity makes it seem so much colder than it says on the thermometer. The city is lovely, a mix of french and german architecture, or so I can tell from my limited knowledge of it. My room is nice, surprisingly spacious if a bit damp, complete with one of those tiny prefabricated plastic bathrooms you find only in Europe and in airplanes. I have rented one of the green city bikes for 17 euro a month. Strasbourg has one of the oldest and most extensive bike networks of France, and bikes are ubiquitous all year long. Bike stealing here is a national sport, so they ask for a 150 euro deposit, only in cash or cheque from a french bank, mind you.
Yesterday night I went to a couch surfing meeting and meet people that were nice enough and stayed until one in the morning. I went runnig this morning, more like noon but for me its morning since I just got up. I was greeted by white swans and I ran along the Ill river and on top of the écluses.
- comments
mimi Let that old skin go... grey is what sometimes is outside the light comes from with in... continue de profiter de ton séjour de découvrire la ville et continue de te faire confiance. xo
Maman chat impressionné encore par un de ses chato WOW! Go girl go! Tu écris tellement bien. WOW WOW WOW! Et merci de partager ces introspections avec nous. On se sent tout prêt de toi. Quel belle expérience ma belle. Et tu sembles faire tout ce qu'il faut pour en profiter pleinement. Je t'aime. XX