I was so mad yesterday I could not even write about my day without using a few choice words. So, I’ll try to recap today…without the words that would adequately describe how I’m still feeling.
Yesterday morning we tried to change Bryan’s bank account to a joint account. (He had a single account because he moved here in mid. November and Thomas and I did not join him until late December.) Long story short, that did not work out the way we had planned. We still do not have a joint account. Therefore, I can not get money out whenever I want and I still have to carry a card with Bryan’s name on it.
Yesterday afternoon we had a meeting with Thomas’ teacher. That went really well. (That’s about the only thing that went well today.) Apparently, Thomas is the only child in the class who speaks English as a first language. Both his teachers speak English, but it’s the British kind. So, for everyone who thinks Thomas will be coming back to the U.S. with a cute French accent, that’s not gonna happen. They’ve been studying Eskimo’s this week. Only they pronounce it “s-keey-moes.” Every time I try to pronounce it the American way, Thomas corrects me. Anyway, things are going great in that area, which makes our transition here so much easier.
Now the bad part of the day begins. Brace yourselves. On our way to the parent/teacher conference, we get a phone call from UPS trying to deliver a package. Thank goodness my hubby has gotten these calls before & knows how to handle them….because he was trying to drive and speak a foreign language while following GPS directions. Any one of these things by itself is difficult. Add them all together and it could easily end in disaster. Bryan did great though and we made it out alive. So, he schedules the UPS drop off for around 5:00pm (that’s 1700 hours here.) We had a few goals for tonight. First, the conference at the school, next grocery shopping, finally home by 6:00pm so we could meet with our tutor.
A side note here: Parking in Lyon is terrible!!! Double parking is common. Parking on the sidewalk is common. (Yep, I said “ON” the sidewalk). Stopping in the road & turning your flashers is common. Parallel parking is not always what you’d expect. If your car is small enough you can park vertical between 2 cars parked horizontal. For example these lines represent cars: - -|- . Horn blowing is a VERY common occurrence.
Back to my story…. We arrive back at the apartment to pick up the package from UPS. Our building has one of the bigger parking garage entrances. It’s just a little bigger than a 2 car garage with driveway. (You enter to the left & exit from the right.) Bryan pulls the front wheels onto the “driveway” and leaves the back half of the car on the street (stopped in front of a car who was parallel parked on the road.) NO BIG DEAL!!! There is plenty of room for someone to drive around us and enter the garage area. Unless you drive a PORSCHE SUV. (Talk about a waste of money!!!) The guys windows were like a mirror!! So he pulls up behind our car and blows the horn. I casually get out of the passenger side and idle around to the driver’s side taking care to never make eye contact. Because he is pulled up so close behind us, I pull forward a bit and then begin to reverse so that I can move over to the right side of the driveway. I back up maybe 2 feet and the guy blows the horn at me. Of course I slam on the brakes and look back to see what I'm about to hit. NOTHING! OK BUDDY!!! That’ twice within 30 seconds you’ve blown at me. Now I’m pissed!!! I WAS NO WHERE NEAR HIS CAR! My left rear quarter panel was at least 3 feet from his right front quarter panel. (Here, that’s enough room to park a car.) So, I throw the car into reverse and figure out how to roll down the window (this was only my second time behind the wheel). I quickly back up to his passenger door & I’m ready to let him have it….I don’t care if he speaks English, French Chinese or Zulu, he’s going to hear what I have to say. My loving husband has also had enough and comes running (literally) over to my rescue. We both let into the guy. I think his complaint was that I got too close to his car, but I really couldn’t tell because Bryan and I were both yelling so loud I have no idea what he was saying.
Now that we were all worked up over this incident, we were off to the grocery store. That went OK. Bryan and I were both a little testy, so we went our separate ways.
We made it back to the apartment with 20 minutes to spare before the tutor arrives. I’m hustling to feed Thomas and Bryan while unpacking the groceries when… the doorbell rings. (Bryan did not even know what our door bell sounded like. Haha.) The lady downstairs has come to introduce herself and let us know that our chairs make too much noise on her ceiling. At least that’s what Bryan told me she was saying. GIVE ME A BREAK! OK, I’ve not lived in an apartment for over 15 years. Where’s my flowers/welcome dinner? Give me a reason to accommodate your sensitive ears!
I admit, maybe I was a little overly sensitive to her request but I’d had enough. Neither Bryan nor I could really concentrate during our tutoring session, so I guess that was a waste of company money. I did think (for a minute) about moving back to the U.S. Then I went to bed….mad.
Moving on to today. I woke up ready to fight! BRING IT ON!
I realized right before bed that I didn’t remember putting away my one and only favorite hat last night after the grocery store (marché’). So, I woke up mad at the Porsche guy, thinking he’d made me drop my favorite hat out of the car when I’d tried to move for him. So, as Thomas and I were getting dressed to go out in the 31 degrees temps, I found my hat. WooHoo! (Score 1 for me.) Porsche guy will not get yelled at today.
While walking to the bus (Cristalis) I noticed that it is approaching the stop and Thomas and I have yet to cross the busy street. I tell my 3 year old to hide his eyes (because mommy is about to break some “laws”). (I’ve been trying really hard to teach Thomas to wait until he sees the “green man” before crossing a road.) Anyway, to keep from having to stand outside for another 20 minutes, I run across the road bobbing and weaving my way, (kind of like playing Frogger). To my surprise the bus driver waited!!! Of course he was looking directly at me when he opened the doors of the bus, waiting on a big ole “Thank You.” (Score 2 for me within 15 minutes.)
As I left Thomas' school, I noticed an area where some coats, hats and single gloves were hanging. Upon a quick glance I spotted Thomas' hat that we'd lost there last week. (I am on a roll.)
After school, Thomas & I stopped at a bakery (which we learned last week serves mini pizzas). We only learned about the pizzas because when we went in last week Thomas said “I want a pizza.” I quickly told him “this is a bread /dessert store, they don’t server pizza.” Just after we sat down, the guy beside us sat down to eat his pizza. Now, every time we walk by the shop, Thomas wants to go in and get a pizza. Anyway, today we went in for lunch. After I pointed to the pizza, the cashier asked me something. When I responded “no” she gave me a really funny look. As I watched her begin to put it in a bag, I realized that she probably asked me if I wanted it heated. I quickly gestured “hot” (use your imagination here) and got our order changed. (Another point for the “stupid American.”)
Next, we stopped at a big shopping mall. I needed some note cards to make flash cards for our French vocabulary words. Sounds easy enough…right? WRONG! After searching up and down 3 long rows of nothing but paper and pens I was ready to scream. Seriously, who writes letter anymore? Do you REALLY need that many different colors/types of paper and pens? I did try to look up “note card” on Google Translate. Guess what? It translates to “note card.” So, I broke down and called Bryan. “Honey, please ask someone at work how to find index cards at the store.” Bryan puts me on speaker phone and asks his neighbor, “how do we find index cards? They’re thinner than cardboard and about this big.” After about 10 minutes of listening to the guy hem and haw over exactly why we needed these cards, exactly how big they should be, if they needed to have lines on them, if they should be attached or separated, he finally spits out 2 words in French. Thank Goodness! Something I can go on. (Now I completely understand why Bryan does not ask anyone, anything at work. The answer could take anywhere from 30 minutes to days. I’ve been trying to get him to ask which nearby cities we should go visit during long weekends. Never mind! The weekend will be over before a French person makes a decision.) So, I head to the nearest salesperson to make my request. No luck! They don’t have room to carry a few index cards….they’re so overwhelmed with letter writing materials. So, it’s off to a new store we go. I did have more luck there. After searching through each row with no luck, I asked a salesperson. She did not bother to show me, but instead pointed in a general direction. Fine! I’ll search each shelf. After a few minutes of careful perusal, I did find what I was looking for. (Score 4/0…Christy’s in the lead.)
Now, on the way out of the mall, I remembered that we needed a duvet for Thomas’ bed. All the After Christmas Sales are happening this month. Last week, I bought a quilted blanket that is supposed to go inside a duvet. I just need a cover for it that will match the Star Wars sheets his Mimi and Gramps got him for Christmas. Apparently, “duvet” is not a common French word as I assumed. I’ve been trying to find a solid color duvet on French websites with no luck. So, on the way out of the mall, I notice a “home store.” I venture in & find the bedroom section. YEE HAW! I found one! It’s called a “housse de couette.” GAME. SET. MATCH.
I'm not leaving the house tomorrow.
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