... where I was conscious!
Day 9
Today was a Saturday, which doesn’t mean much to me because I am not on any kind of schedule (yet), but it means that people who are on a schedule flood the streets... especially when it’s sunshiny. And it was!
I was feeling much better, and I needed to get some school supplies (chalk, non-permanent marker, notebook, file folders) and the only place I knew might have all of them together was Chapitres*. They did, but it literally took me 30-45 minutes to find a ruled notebook! All of theirs were either graph paper-ish or had a billion lines going in both directions... like nothing I’d ever seen... I did find a section of ruled paper, but the paper was grey and the lines were white & that just made me crazy. Plus, I was hopeful that if I just kept looking, I’d actually find recycled paper – I kept running across one or 2 in each brand... and sure enough: I was able to find what I wanted... patience is my primary lesson in Alsace, and I’m learning slowly. If I just take my time and look carefully, I am usually able to find what I need...
Then I wandered through a festival of sorts!
I was in the Place de la Réunion that I mentioned in my previous post – the place with the historic buildings and round courtyard and fountains... and there was an Onion Festival today! Yep... basically there were lots of tables selling stuff (mostly wine, plus a really great farmer’s market), a dance floor set up for some traditional dancing of some sort, about a thousand people (not exaggerating), and people throwing onions, haha! It was a joyous occasion & I do not understand the cultural importance, but I did notice how happy all the people were, which was lovely!
Then, after a stop at my local McDs for wifi access, I went home to do some planning.
Later, Claire texted me for coffee so I went back to Réunion to join her – the festival was still going strong – and we discussed plans for the term – I think we’ll be alright, whew! We shall see when the students are involved just how good our term will go, but I feel okay for now, which is a good sign. Right?
After coffee, Claire & I wandered Chapitres (again), then she introduced me to a fantastic grocery store (I’m going there as soon as I get paid!) and we visited her flat** before going over to Sara’s place.
At Sara’s, we were joined by Emma (another Scottish girl) and the four of us enjoyed some pizza*** and girl-time (read: creating identities for Sara’s stuffed animals, watching YouTube videos, and talking about boys, while listening to the “nostalgie” radio channel in the background...) before we were joined by others a couple hours later. By then it was already 11 and I didn’t want to miss the last tram, so I only stayed until 11:30.
Overall, a good day, completed by 2 lovely episodes of Firefly (Out of Gas and Ariel) and a few pages of Dracula. I love days like this!
NOTE: One thing I’ve noticed while wandering the stores in Mulhouse is the fact that each place has its own, very specific, style of music that defines the attitude of the shop. It’s not Muzak, like back home... but the atmospheres are very distinct and the music choices are (mostly) enjoyable. Well, there is one grocery store that plays teenage club music – reminds me of Cilena & Brittney, and makes me roll my eyes (in fun)... haha!
*Chapitres is the French “Chapters” – a bookstore similar to Barnes & Noble, but without the Starbucks inside.
**apartment for the non-British inclined
***trivia: French pizza does not include pepperoni, fyi. tonight’s pizzas were (1) white sauce, sliced potatoes and ham and (2) tomato sauce, red & green peppers, onions and what looked like chunks of pepperoni stick, but not.
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