Lundi
Still plagued by constant headaches, I decided it was time to see a doctor this week. I glanced through a local expat group on Facebook for recommendations for an English-speaking generaliste, which is basically a primary care doctor. I then used DoctoLib, an app, to make an appointment with a nearby doc for the following day. Her office was located in an old limestone building not unlike our own apartment building, and when I walked through the door, I was struck by how much it felt like an apartment. There was no receptionist, or anyone to greet me, for that matter, but there were a few chairs, so I took the lead of another woman who arrived at the same time as I did and took a seat. A few minutes later, a petite woman in a pink sweatshirt with a cute pixie cut called my name, introducing herself as the doctor before showing me into her office. It was a typical French salon — high ceilings, big windows, marble fireplace, parquet floors. Her desk sat in one corner and an examination table in the other. We had a quick chat about my medical history and symptoms, then she checked my blood pressure and felt my neck muscles. She then referred me to an osteopathe (basically like a chiropractor, very popular here), wrote me a prescription for some stronger pain pills (codeine!), and ordered some blood work in the hopes that we can perhaps find some underlying reasons for my ongoing tension (besides, you know, adjusting to life in a new country). She then gave me my bill for the visit, which was a grand total of 30€, and shared instructions for getting that reimbursed by my insurance company. I swung by the pharmacy for my pills (5€) on the way home, reeling at how different the experience was than seeing a doctor in the U.S.
Mardi
Tonight we had dinner with some friends, an expat family that’s planning to move back to the States in a few weeks. I had heard that that’s one of the toughest parts of this expat life — making friends and then losing them when they move on. Still, it was so much fun to have a few hours of speaking English with people besides my family. Todd and Oli do plenty of socializing here, but I don’t, and sometimes I forget how important it is. While the kids played guitar and Switch together, we commiserated over how hard it is to learn French and how much we miss baseball games and Mexican food. We also laughed about how confident we’re going to feel when we return to the U.S. and we can freely communicate — to argue and joke and just indulge in small talk. It can feel so isolating and even belittling to be unable to understand or speak the language surrounding you. That’s something I never fully comprehended until being here.
Mercredi
After Oli’s Wednesday morning guitar lesson, we took a tram to Hapik, a rock-climbing gym/zip-lining place, for his first French birthday party. Todd and I dropped him off and headed to Ikea for some browsing, stopping for meatballs when we realized that they’re only 3€ on "Les Crazy Mercredis" (how could we not?). Two hours later, we returned to find the kids finishing up their chocolate cake, raving about how much fun they’d had climbing the walls and ziplining around the cavernous, colorful space. We chatted with a couple of parents while the kids ran off their sugar highs and inspected the birthday girl’s presents. (Oli’s Rubik’s cube gift was a hit!) It wasn’t until we got home that I realized that none of the kids at the party spoke English — although I heard many of them try, adorably, when speaking to Oli. And it didn’t matter! They easily managed to communicate with Oli, and he with them, in his broken French. And anyway, play really is a universal language.
Jeudi
It’s been hardly more than a week since his spring break, but Oli is already enjoying another mini break this week thanks to a couple of holidays — Ascension today, and Victory in Europe Day yesterday (which celebrates the end of WWII). Because there already were a couple of days off this week, Oli’s school, like many others in France, opted to “faire le pont.” This literally means to “make the bridge,” and it refers to the French custom of creating an extra-long weekend when there happen to be holidays within a day or two of the weekend. This happens quite a lot in May, apparently. Today we went to the big antiques market at Quinconces, where I bought some beautiful old china and some delicious churros. I wanted a lot of other stuff (Linens! Glassware! Paintings! Platters!), but the prices aren’t great and I’m happy to have found some more affordable sources for antiques in town. Later that evening, I walked to the big grocery store for poke bowl ingredients, and I was struck by how many English speakers I saw. Tourist season has arrived, and it’s strange to feel more like a local than a visitor, weaving through the slow-walking, camera-toting crowds with my groceries on my way home.
Vendredi
Today was an errand day — which looks dramatically different than an errand day back home! We took our compost to a nearby park and community garden, then walked through the farmer’s market, marveling at how the smell of strawberries permeated the air. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant we’ve been meaning to try, taking our time with the meal (including dessert and coffee) while Oli rode his scooter around the shady little square. After that, we went to La Poste to mail some postcards and pick up a package (a Mango coat I snagged on end-of-season clearance). Then we walked over to Sezane to return some loafers that sadly didn’t fit. And since it was hot, we ended the day at the newly reopened Miroir d’Eau, a massive fountain by the river that’s been closed since the protesting farmers sprayed manure all over it. Overall it was a very pleasant day, made even better when I realized that I had handled most of the errands by myself, in French (very bad French, but still), and with minimal anxiety. Progress!
Samedi
Oli had another birthday party today, a trip to the circus, so Todd and I were on our own for most of the afternoon. We decided to return to the antiques market, since we’d barely seen even half of it on our first visit. After several hundred booths, they all started to blur together. My favorite thing by far was watching the vendors breaking for lunch. Bottles of wine with proper wine glasses, baguettes and cheese and saucissons and lovely-looking salads — these people know how to pique-nique!
Dimanche
Although French Mother’s Day isn’t for a few more weeks, we celebrated American Mother’s Day today, starting with our family’s traditional bellini brunch prepared by Todd. He and Oli braved the rain to visit our favorite bakery, coming back with fresh brioche for pain perdu (French toast) along with sandwiches and pastries for a picnic later. Once the rain had dried up a bit, we picked up a Citiz car and drove to the Parc de Bourran in nearby Merignac. The park has lots of paths through the forest, several playgrounds, a pond filled with wildlife (including baby geese!), and a chateau that offered the perfect view while trading our different sandwiches back and forth. The clear winner: La Rosette, which is simply butter, salami, and cornichons on a fresh baguette. So good! We stopped at Jardiland on the way back and picked up some soil, pots, and plants, and I was very happy to get my hands in the dirt and add some greenery to our balcony when we returned.