Day 11!

Since it's been so long I think I am just going to start from today and go backwards as the last hour are still fresh in my mind. Actually, let me grab a nice glass of wine first to help me relax and unload. You know what, lets make that a nice Belgian beer. You'll understand why in just a minute, so be patient! (And please don't call me a lush!!)

After leaving work today I decided that I was going to try parking downtown again even though I have access to a parking spot at one of the offices. It's quite a hassle to take the metro and walk to my car then drive to the other office and so on (about a 45 minute commute this way). I will leave that option available for the weekends. Anyway, one of my coworkers told me about an area that always had parking spots available when he lived downtown and even though last week when I drove there and found no spots, I thought I'd try again. YAY! I found a spot. No issues there. I'm still working on the parallel parking in a miniature so-called car (to me a two door hatchback is faux-car- blame it on my American-ness). I managed to get half the car on the sidewalk, but whatever, I had a place to leave my car for yet another evening. Success.

Next step, get home. Well, sounds easy right? WRONG! Let's put a few things in perspective - I left work at about 6:45, it took me 20ish minutes to drive and find parking and I actually made it home by around 8pm. What should have only been about a 10 minute walk turned into almost 1 hour. Way to go Aggie, way to go.... I had heels on (and these streets being cobblestone are just a twisted ankle waiting to happen), my designer handbag and some groceries in my awesome reusable Stonyfield bag. Why share this information? Well, let's just say I walked in the complete opposite direction of where I was to go and ended up being a minority in a country where I already am a foreigner. I'll leave it at that... For some strange reason I kept walking in the wrong direction hoping I'd see or find a landmark or street name that was familiar or even someone that looked trustworthy enough to ask directions from. I had a GPS with me, but this was not an area that you just pull out sweet gadgets like that.

I finally turned onto a street and decided, shit ya.. this isn't a safe place. I saw a pregnant lady with her daughter and ran across the street and asked, "Parlez-vous anglais?" Her answer - NON! Totally ok, because I half expected it, but then she asked a passerby if they spoke English and then another one after I asked her in French where is "insert street name." This entire ordeal practically became a community event! All of a sudden, I swear I understood all French these people were saying. (Survival mode some may say?) I tried saying that I can look for someone else, but this lady (sooo sweet) was determined to help me find home. She took me across the street to a little convenient store and asked the people in it if anyone spoke English. (remember - community event). The gentleman at the register knew a few words and also at minimum the direction of where my street was. In broken English and mostly French he told me to go straight down one road for about 15 minutes minimum and then ask someone in that area for the rest of the directions. PHEW!! So, again, the kind lady took me outside and showed me the road to walk down and in my broken French, I confirmed that I just go straight. Thank you Rosetta Stone!


My feet throbbing, my shoulder now in desperate need of a massage I walked on and found a familiar area. As I got near my home someone asked ME if I spoke English. Why, YES I DO!!!! They asked me if I knew where the supermarket was and I asked if they spoke Spanish (I could tell from their accent) and they said yes. So, I proudly gave them directions to the supermarket which so happens to be the one that employs me and which I shop at myself. I REAAALLY needed that uplift! Put a smile on my face. :)

Now, I am enjoying a nice Delirium Tremens in the comfort of my own home. Next step - get the landlord to fix my shower - orange water running and the shower-head broke off the hose.

I'm just taking life one step at a time.
\