Baptisms

I'm stuffed, replete, so not hungry. Starting to run out of food and it wasn't shopping day (saturday) and feeling like doing something different after a long day at work, I decided to eat out.

I knew there was a creperie near the train station. It's not something I can afford to do often, maybe twice a month, but there are no 'takeaways' as such here. How I miss my hotdog and chips, or Chinese though I am pleased not to be confronted by KFC, Burger King or MacDonalds.

My treat consisted of the following: a glass of water (table, so free); a glass of apricot juice; a salad of lettuce, potatoes, ham and emmental cheese with a mustardy mayonnaise; a bowl of cider and, to finish, a chocolate and banana crepe with icecream and sprinkled with slivered almonds. It cost me 15.75euros which isn't too bad.

During my work days this week I've been in the deep end. Not only is almost all conversation in french but so are all the university documents I'm supposed to read and make sense of. Then I am expected to do data-entry in french. The work is frustrating, messy and boring but needs to be done.

One interesting session for the day happened when the boss invited me to attend one of his presentations. It was a scenario game rather like the 'lifeboat' scenario that some of you may know. Social and ethical dynamics come into play. Decisions involving life and death must be made. This particular paper is conducted in English. I found it very interesting watching people from other countries participating. I was allowed an opinion too, so that was cool.

So, I'm continuing on my path of experiencing 'firsts' but I wouldn't describe it as a baptism of fire. Jolly challenging, yes, but I'm where I want to be. Constant exposure to french is the only way I can improve. Already I feel that if my french immersion was taken away from me I would suffer a huge intellectual and emotional void that nothing else would be able to fill. It's hard but essential for me to really be me.