A Curious Girl: French experiences

I went to France today! Woohoo! I tried snails :) They were quite nice but next time I think I'll just have garlic bread - the texture's a bit rubbery.

My French has become really naff. Well, I was never that good a French speaker anyway - I'm passable at writing and interpreting but I get all nervous and panicky when in conversation. Today I held most of a conversation with two shop assistants with gestures. It was funny actually - the girl I went to talk to seemed very nice indeed (and seemed to speak as much English as I did French!)... it seemed sort of sad that the only reason we couldn't have a proper conversation was the language barrier.

I bought some coloured pencils, some felt tips, some cookies (47 Eurocents, baby, yeah!), some crispbread, some movie postcards (including one for Amelie - I love that film) and some raspberry jaffa cakes. It's funny - I meant to buy something frivolous in that I'm-in-a-foreign-country-and-I-can-buy-white-elephants-if-I-want-to kinda way, but the only thing that caught my eye (perhaps literally) was a really really good kaleidoscope. Heh. I can never spend money on frivolous things when I'm too conscious of it. Which is probably a good thing - I still haven't got myself a job, even McDs have shunned me thus far.

Still, I did, even with all the Biblical precautions in mind, ponder the benefits of retail therapy:

1) You are the therapist. This is self-help, and means that you are helping to raise your self-esteem by caring for yourself!

2) Expensive though it may be, the thrifty retail therapist can still save money compared to drugs or counselling.

3) Retail therapy doesn't come with any unwanted side-effects.

4) Retail therapy doesn't involve embarrassing role-plays or regression, and a shopping list is easier to keep than a dream diary.

OK, so it's a quick fix, encourages materialism, and doesn't have long term efficacy but... um... never mind :)

The best part of eating snails, apart from the garlic, that is, has to be the utensils. I got a tiny fork and some weird little grippers to hold the shells will. It looked a bit like some kind of surgery. Heh.

Whilst I was wandering around Cité Europe, I had a think. Actually I had a self-berate. If I'd got off my arse two years ago, applying to be a small team leader at Soul in the City might be a possibility. But no, I neglected getting a church and learning more about God mostly because I was too shy and guarded. It occurred to me today that the reason I didn't get into CU at uni was that I mostly felt too shy and was fed up of introducing myself to people. On their part, they did make it a bit daunting trying to integrate - I went to the big meetings but felt lost, though it was my own fault I didn't join small groups. I felt like my voice wasn't going to be heard, because the hierarchy was so confusing and so hard to engage with. And I also realised today that I assumed people weren't interested in me and were judging me, just because they didn't move heaven and earth to get past my awful shyness! Yes, that old judging and being judged thing again.

I read 'What's so amazing about grace?' by Philip Yancey the other day. It's fantastic - go read. He restores my faith in... well, my faith... and reminds me what it's all about. I love it.

Thanks Cailliath for your note! it's much appreciated :)

Today's word was coined by David Blunkett. No one has any idea what it means, but the liberati are something akin to the AntiChrist (or AntiBlair) so watch out.

(I would suggest that Michael Moore is the gliberati :) )

Random word for today: liberati

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