Submerging

Written By Vivian Mason

Buying groceries, gas, and parking meter time requires Brave (and Google Translate.) Every day is a humbling series of gleeful minor accomplishments and my toddler-like reply of “Yay we did it!” Life tasks punctuated with “How do I say….” and “What did they say….” I am amused with having Louder and Slower French spoken at me with patience and kindness, occasionally with English phrases (yet never Chinese yet…)

At the grocery store, produce is bagged, weighed, and bar-code stickered in the Produce section for scanning at check-out. We didn’t know this efficient technique. The cashier effectively mimed the expectation accompanied with Slow and Loud French before sending one of us back to go do that. She held the check-out line and waited. No one in the growing line glared or loudly sighed at us. They exchanged pleasantries with the clerk and each other while waiting, and I mentally heard “They Must Be New Here” chatter. But I realized it was likely my personal stress at inconveniencing everyone. Everyone clearly acknowledged the clerk’s authority to have us all wait. How polite and gracious (except me at us for being New. I’m so rude to ourselves.)

We practiced driving very narrow rural roads (paved goat trails?) through very small, medieval-looking villages. There are periodically Love And Rockets band logo-like road signs to indicate right of way, and always blind turns through each village. No crashes yet. We are also learning the ways of Deux Chats, who will borrow a lap for an after-meal bath and a warm nap. They do not care what language we speak and will heartily purr their compliance expectations.

Chateaus are everywhere. It’s very quiet. Saumur (So-Mewrr) is beautiful.

Vivian Mason
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Campagne Francaise