For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth. Colossians 1:16

Monday, October 29, 2012

After preparing to go to the conference in Switzerland, tidying up around the house, and skyping with some very dear friends, I got to spend the evening with my friend Elisa.  She hadn't been over before, so I showed her around and she was immediately drawn to my coffee table.  Basically, everything on the coffee table describes my life.  I have a Bible, knitting patterns (including my Jane Austen pattern book), a magazine just on William and Kate, and I had a coffee mug too.  We looked through some knitting patterns, oohed and aahed over how beautiful some of the things were, and then I showed her the hat that I'm making.  She said, in her very practical lawyer way, "Okay. Teach me to knit." Because I don't particularly like standard needles, I prefer circular or double points, I didn't bring my usual needles with which I teach (not to mention I'm pretty sure my neighbor from college still has them).  Therefore, Elisa learned how to knit or circulars and with sock yarn.  Now, as much as my French continues to improve, there are some terms that just rarely come up in daily life: such as "cornstarch", "stitches", "needles", and "upside down".  All of these I have needed to know at some random point in the month that I have been here, and I have had NO IDEA how to say it. However, thanks to the French education system, most of the people with whom I have interacted have known a little English, or I have been able to describe what I was trying to say.  

After some time listening to the Rat Pack and knitting, Elisa suggested that we go out to dinner at a really great Japanese restaurant in town.  I have only had sushi once, and that was the week before I came here.  When we were looking at the menu, I definitely had a flashback to my first week in France when I was studying.  A group of us international students decided to go out to a Chinese restaurant for dinner, and the menu was in-naturally-Chinese and French.  We had NO idea what we were ordering!  Luckily this time, I had a native French speaker with me who was able to explain what the different dishes were.  This place was INCROYABLE.  For €15, you could get five different things.  I have yet to master the art of French eating and very often I find it difficult to finish everything on my plate, particularly when there are multiple courses.  Needless to say, in a very improper way, I didn't finish everything in front of me.  

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