Be Kind...

Written 6/18/10

June 18:

I'm so happy. Tres contente! I just got back from watching "Be Kind Rewind" on a pop up screen in Place de Victoire. (There is your "screen on the green" E. Shap. Well, more like on the asphalt). The movie was dubbed in French so I understood very little. Luckily(?) I had watch about a half hour of the movie on HBO during my packing week. I only watched a half hour because I didn't want to waste anymore of my life. Somehow it was much better in French. lol. Anyway, the movie is not at all what made me happy, it was how I ended up at the movie. *flashback sequence music and that fading effect*

This morning I decided to go to the Jardin Botanique before my afternoon chateaux tour. Nothing exceptional but I like parks and gardens. I grabbed a quick lunch and then went to meet the tour. Turns out it is fully booked. I was slightly disappointed but as I watched the older ladies and gentlemen climb into the van, I thought it might not be missing out on too much. There wasn't even a fun young Aussie couple like the last tour Rob and I went on. But I still wanted to see chateaux so I search for ways to make it happen. The looming rain cloud forbade a bike journey. I could have taken a bus but I was beginning to feel a bit down and not in the mood to make elaborate plans. After a spirit lifting chat with E. Shap, I decided to go to the Wine Museum and then to buy a bottle of indiginous wine and sip it in the common room whilst gaining the courage to spark a conversation. The Wine Museum left something to be desired but when I got to the common room the US Soccer match was on. There were only a few people watching and everyone was on Team Yank so I thought I might parle en francais. *sidebar* I was amused that everyone was cheering for the US when just yesterday, not everyone was cheering for France *end sidebar* I thought about it, tried to come up with some conversation starter and a follow up, rehearsed the lines in my head...and then I heard english behind me. I'm pretty sure my heart skipped a beat. I completely punked out. But it felt good to talk to someone without searching for some vocab word from Ms. Samela's class that doesn't even adequately conveys my sentiments. After the match and a bit of "Who Want to Be a Millionaire" en francais, I arranged to possibly meet the English speakers at a bar for the next match after I had dinner at this creperie I read about. *another sidebar* Can I also say how much more interesting soccer is when you are vested in a team. I enjoyed the one today so much better. *end sidebar*

After a half hour or so spent searching for this creperie, (it really should not have been as hard as I made it) I went in and asked for a seat for one. Complete. What? Not one available seat? Feeling rather defeated, I sarted heading towards the door and this nice family started some fast back and forth with the hostess. The mother, whose name is Stephanie!, didn't speak english but Christian did. He translated the round of speedy chatter and told me that they made reservations for a party of 6 but someone was not able to make it and invited me to join them for dinner. They were just waiting on two more people. It was such a nice gesture and I reallly wanted to eat at this place, especially after my search for it. I agreed to join and thought it might be a good opportunity to practice my French too.

Once Christian's brother arrived, we were brought to our table. This restaurant was like walking through someone's oddly decorated house. I loved it. Bathtubs for tables. Beds for chairs. Vaccuums for sinks. So cute. When we were seated, the family started chatting. I had gathered that they were orginially from Germany earlier and on the way to our table the couple that had just arrived told me that they live in Germany now and were visiting their brother (that would be Christian). Once we finally sit, They start speaking in French, but quickly switch to German...maybe I won't be practicing. lol. It was crazy the way they would switch between languages. The daughter Leylann was born in Tours and I think she may favor French but the brother and his wife favor German. I of course, have no option but to favor English and they were kind enough to switch to English sometimes to include me in the convo. I was so jealous. Especially after feeling very defeated about my inability to get French (part of the reason I was feeling down). It definately motivated me not to give up (as I was searching for the creperie I had pretty much decided that my brain was not wired to learn abother language and that it was foolish to believe I would ever speak French). They were so nice. And as I sat there all I could think was, "I'm happy. I'm glad I took this trip." Which is kinda a big deal because for the past few days I have been wondering if I was really gonna make it through two months. I think I am realizing that everyday won't be packed with amazing moments. There will be some cool ones, some that I'd rather forget, but then there will be these. The ones that I will look back on and say, "Did that really happen? That was pretty awesome."

Now onto the food...I had a hard time choosing my crepe but I ended up going for the Harry Potter (mainly because of the name). It was not what I was expecting but good nonetheless. It was sausage with carmalized apples. But nevermind that. The best part was the dessert, which I was far too stuffed for but Christian convinced me I had to get dessert. I agreed to get an expresso and they said that I should just get the cafe grinaund because it comes with a little mousse and creme brulee and apples. I agreed since it was just a small portion. It was not a small portion. They were sizable. But I'm glad they were because that mousse was DELISH!

It turned out that Leyann was going to a "Screen on the Green" after dinner and invited me. I wasn't going to go at first but by the end of dinner I felt much more at ease. And it was nice to have company (or be company). That is how I ended up watching a French version of "Be Kind Rewind" on a street inTours. It was a great evening. My joy has returned. I think I am recharged for my journey to Strasbourg tomorrow. Thank you so much Christian and family! I don't think you will ever know how much I truely enjoyed that meal.