Café au lait and Market Days!!

The kitties napping in their basket - so sweet!!

It’s a beautiful day here in the south of France – the sun is shining, the temperature is in the low-70s, and the sky is bright blue with only a few wispy clouds dancing across the sky like cotton candy!  The cats were sunning themselves (until I came in the house to write) – and now they are tucked away in their basket napping together!  

Zelda (the dog – who, I found out, was bred to be a watch dog and “herder” and follows me around EVERYWHERE I go) is ever-watchful for any intruders (yeowling like a hound and startling me with her VERY loud bark every time she hears the slightest sound outside – and sometimes an imaginary knock on the door on the television)!!

I can’t believe I’ve been here almost two weeks – where has the time gone and what have I done with myself?!?!?  I’ll tell you what…I’ve enjoyed the peace and quiet, done lots of meditating/reading/thinking (staring at the beautiful garden pondering life); I’ve watched lots of movies, and I’ve just enjoyed “coming back to myself” all alone!!  In some ways, I feel a bit like I’m still in England because the Internet and TV are both British. This might sound kind of weird, but sometimes I get very confused about what time it is because the TV says it’s one time, but it’s actually an hour later (which wouldn’t be so confusing except it’s not in “normal” time – it’s what we would call military time (so right now it’s 15:40 which is 3:40, but if I’m watching TV I have to see what’s on at 2:40…oh my life is so hard, right?!?!). 

Sometimes I forget I’m in France – but I’m quickly reminded when I interact with the people who don’t speak English (like the cleaning lady who comes once a week – nice!!! – and the gardener who shows up to check on things – but hasn’t really done anything yet….hmmm!!). People keep asking me what I’m DOING while I’m here, but just like England – I think it’s about BEING instead of doing.  I will enjoy some of the sights (especially now that I know my sister’s coming from Indiana in November – and possibly one of my friends from Spokane at some point!!), but for the most part I’m just happy enjoying some solitude (in the peace and quiet that IS the French countryside)!!

I DID make it out today – to the Market Day in Vergt (about 20 minutes away) and was quickly reminded that I need to learn more French if I’m ever going to truly communicate with people here!!  (I don’t want to be one of THOSE Americans who refuses to learn the local language, but we’ll see how much I learn while I’m here)!!  For today, though, I just enjoyed wandering around the small town square looking at local fruits, veggies, honey, etc.  I even bought some home-made peach jam which is YUMMY and enjoyed it on my freshly-made bread (also from the market)!  

My village market day vision complete!!

I almost bought the apricot jam because that was the only word on the hand-written label that looked somewhat familiar (“abricot”), but then I saw one that said “peche” and made the leap that this must be peach jam.  I tried to ask the old ladies behind the table if it was jam (and they kept shaking their heads like they had no clue what I was saying!!). We finally connected when I remembered the word for bread – “pain” – and pretended to be spreading the jam on my bread! Ahhhhh…..they laughed and nodded and said “oui, oui!!!” (all of us delighted that we were able to communicate even without a plethora of words to explain ourselves)!  

I returned home within a couple hours (not a long trip – small market and small village) so I could try my jam on my fresh bread (along with the fresh eggs that get delivered each week by a local farmer) – I’m truly in heaven with all this fresh food!! My experience today was quite uneventful compared to my attempt to go to Market Day in Bergerac a couple days ago!!  It was my first time away from my cozy little nest that I’ve become so comfortable with – finally ready to head out into the great big French World (down the road) where I didn’t know anyone or speak the language. Would I make it there without getting lost? (Yes, thanks to GPS in the car!!) 

Would I be able to communicate in case of emergency? (No, probably not, but thank goodness nothing major happened – and I’m sure I could figure out something if I needed to explain myself!!) It wasn’t getting TO the market or being AT the market that was so stressful, it was just getting out of the house and figuring out the keys, the car, the roads, etc.!!  So imagine this…it’s a beautiful day to head to the market – a little misty, but I’m ready for an adventure!!  I finally get out of the house (must say goodbye to dog and cats and make sure all of their needs are met – and it doesn’t help that the dog is VERY needy, especially when I leave)!! I'm almost to the car when….UGH!!! I realize I’ve forgotten my Euros (and I don’t think the people at the market stalls will accept my debit card)!!  

So back I go to the house (knowing I’ll have to deal with the dog again), but I can’t get the door unlocked!!  I work on it, work on it, struggle with it – I even go around to the back door a few times (not a short distance) and do a lot of praying/pleading for Someone to help me get the stupid door to unlock!!  (Thank goodness, I thought to myself, that this happened BEFORE I left and not when I returned because knowing me, I would have been desperate for the bathroom!!)  Being an old house, the keys can stick sometimes (especially if the door’s not completely closed) which I FINALLY figured out after 20 minutes of struggling!

Whew!!  At this point I'm so tired and frustrated, I almost give up on going into town, but I push on through thinking to myself, “it’s a piece of cake from here!!”  So I get the dog all settled again and head to the car FINALLY ready to take off on my adventure into town!! BUT, I couldn’t get the stupid thing into reverse!!  It’s a manual car, and after about as much time as it took me to figure out the key/door situation, I FINALLY figured out that there was a release button on the gear-changer that I had to pull on before I could put the car in reverse!! I almost gave up – but my stubborn nature kicked in at this point and I decided I would NOT let a few setbacks get the best of me!! (And no, I’m not stupid, these were just tiny little bits of information that would have saved me a lot of time and energy, but part of house-sitting sometimes is figuring out all those “insignificant” tidbits that can make living in someone’s home – and using their car – stressful or easy!!)

Frustrating? YES!!! Good opportunity to learn something – YES!! I realized as I was feeling stranded and alone that I better make sure I had some phone numbers (locally) in my phone of people who could help me if I truly get stuck. I couldn't help but think that if I had been in the US, I would have just made a quick phone call or sent a text to the homeowner and asked her how to get the key to work – and how to get the car in reverse!  So an additional lesson would be remembering what it’s like to take care of myself when I can’t depend on others (and technology)!!  I tend to be the kind of person who researches everything BEFORE I experience it (just so I don’t have to deal with these kinds of frustrating situations) – and every once-in-awhile it’s good for me to be challenged by living in the moment and coping with whatever comes my way!!

I could have gone to the neighbor’s house, but I wasn’t sure if anyone was home and kept thinking I’d be able to figure it out soon.  “SURELY,” I kept thinking to myself, “if I just turn the key the right way – or if I just push the gear-changer in the right way – it will slip into place and all will be resolved!!” Eventually it was, but WHEW!!!...what a stressful time just getting the car out of the driveway (let alone finding my way there, finding a place to park, and trying to figure out what the signs say in French)!! 

My reward for a stressful morning!!

BUT, it all went surprisingly well and soon I was enjoying the quintessential French experience – sitting at an outdoor café with a chocolate croissant and café au lait watching people pass by as they wandered through the outdoor market set up around the church square. Fortified with my coffee and sweets, I joined the crowed and strolled past table after table of fresh fruits and vegetables (as well as fresh, local bread, weird-looking meat, and vendor after vendor selling local cheeses)!!  

When I was imagining where I would go for my “international house-sitting adventure” over the last months, I always pictured a Market with table after table overflowing with beautiful fresh fruits and vegetables.  I imagined walking by and talking to the vendors (although at this point the best I can do is hello, thank you and goodbye) – buying fresh, healthy food straight from the farmers, and breathing in the fresh, clean air and sunshine!! My time in Bergerac on Market Day definitely fulfilled that part of my vision, and I look forward to more days like that (without all the stress now that I know how to lock/unlock the door, change gears in the car, and find a parking place that is stress-free)!!  So off I go to enjoy the rest of this beautiful day – sun’s still shining and it's time to sit and stare at the beautiful garden again while the birds sing their songs and the sun slips away (oh so poetic, huh?!?!)

My love to all until the next time!!