Thursday, September 25, 2014

Laughing at yourself is good for you.

I have had to laugh at myself A LOT since moving here.  You have to. If you get upset over every little silly thing, you would become a sour and miserable individual!

The first idiotic thing I want to share is that when my FH folks were visiting recently, we went on a scenic rondfahrten on the Mosel.  I had bought the ticket for us and put it in my pocket as we ambled along to board the boat.  As we walked up the gangplank, there were a couple of gentlemen in their "sailors" gear to see us aboard.  I led the way, walked up and put my hand into his outstretched hand, and proceeded to shake his hand, greet him and then moved on so the rest of the family could follow, only to have him reach out his hand again and say "Ticket, s'il vous plait".

Oh. So he wasn't actually wanting to shake my hand?  We all had a good laugh but I still blush when I even think about it!

The other thing happened today. I went to collect my race-day pack for a race this weekend. I was not familiar with the area and had looked at the map to see more or less where I needed to go. I took the busses I needed and got to the village with no problem. I followed the sign pointing down the road to the Centre de Sportif (or something similar) hoping that it would be clearly visible. Within about 30 metres I passed what looked hopeful but saw the sign outside said "Maison Relais" (or something similar!) so reckoned it wasn't that.  Suddenly I remembered something about a shuttle that would take you there from the main road. I retraced my steps to the shuttle stop, and waited about 20 minutes for the shuttle. He arrived, I asked if he went there, he had a puzzled look on his face, and then beckoned me to get in, drove the 30 metres and then pointed at that same building.

OK. So I waited 20 minutes for a shuttle that took me 30 metres..... !

Just to add a bit more hysteria, the office to collect the race-packs can only be collected on Saturday.

So, it was a fun morning.  6 busses and 4 hours to collect race-packs that I still don't have. I admit I enjoyed it all. The weather was lovely, and the bus trip was scenic, my book that kept me occupied at the bus / shuttle stops along the way is the final of a trilogy and completely absorbing! (Edge of Eternity - Ken Follett)

I am definitely not complaining, it's been a wonderful morning.


Monday, September 8, 2014

Anti-Litterbug

The sun was shining this morning.

I say this in a sentence on it's own because it has been a rare occurrence recently. Apparently this has been our wettest autumn since 1947!

After my morning coffee I decided to just take a walk around my city and enjoy feeling the warmth on my skin again.  I came across this exhibition in one of the squares which is making a statement about littering.  I am sure I do not need to spell it out for you.

When I was still in Primary School, we went on a camp called "School in the Wild" and at the end of it, we were asked if we would like to sign a "Promise" to ourselves that we wouldn't litter again. Although I don't think I was a litterbug before the time, I was far more aware of littering after the camp and can say in absolute honesty, that I haven't littered since signing that piece of paper.

All that to say that this strong exhibition doesn't need to be translated into every language - because it crosses that barrier and settles directly into ones conscience.































With so many options for recycling these days, so few things are really waste - let's do our bit to keep our world beautiful for the generations to come.

* * * 

Reverse Culture Shock & Difficult Questions

The days are moving on and soon we will be home home. There seems to be a common thought coming through from friends there and here - Prepar...