Driving school

Nothing "spectacular" has happened since my last post.  I hate to disappoint my faithful readers (Stan) with the mundane, everyday occurrences that offer no entertainment value, but frankly, "that's all I got".

I started taking my driving school classes this week.  Now, back in the day, you know, when people were riding dinosaurs, I didn't know anyone who attended driving school.  That's all different now, everyone goes.  Since I never attended classes in English, you can imagine my "joy" at taking classes in French.  Add to that "joy" the fact that my first two 1-hour sessions happened to take place at 7:00 in the morning and you can FEEL my enthusiasm from across the pond, right?

The bonus to this situation is that Lilly is paying for the course, allowing me to have a private tutor…which means that I don't have to sit in a classroom with thirty 16-year-olds.  Catherine is very sweet and she speaks passable English.  I finished my 2nd class just a few minutes ago and still have 6 more hours of class time before I can take the "Code" test.

After I pass the Code, then I have to drive with an instructor.  Most of the French people take the driving portion of the test with a manual transmission. This allows you to drive any type of car while in France.  I'm going to take a PASS on that and do it with an automatic.  I figure that the stress of trying to read signs in French, take driving instructions in French, "tourner à droite à la prochaine intersection" (turn right at the next light), and answer questions about the car in French "où est la boîte à fusibles sur votre voiture?" (where is the fuse box on your car?) that I don't need to worry about down-shifting into 2nd gear at a stop light.

Fortunately, I met a sweet woman from Seattle that offered me her "English" version of the Code booklet and a DVD series that has sample tests in English.  Unfortunately, I don't have a French DVD player and my Mac doesn't have a DVD drive….I'll keep you posted on my pass/fail.

We hosted a Super Bowl Party at our apartment, since the game occurred at 12:30 AM in France, we taped it and then showed the game on Monday night.  We had a house full of enthusiastic fans.  As most of you know, it was an AWFUL game to watch….almost to the point of painful.  The food and company were good….I guess 2 out of 3 "ain't bad", or so the song says.

Our other adventure was attending an art exhibit for the US Consulate General's wife.  Her name is Mary Rose Reade and she is quite talented.  We enjoyed seeing her artwork and had the opportunity to fellowship with some of the Americans in Alsace members.  Molly, who happens to teach "business english" at Strasbourg University told us the story of sharing 10 English phrases that meant to vomit with her class earlier that day (Her son had been sick the night before and her class was being obtuse….she had no patience with her students and wanted to "get their attention"….apparently,  slang can "reel" them in)….of course, David and I both chimed in with several that she hadn't thought of and some that she'd never heard of…I guess the midwest has it's own unique terms :)  We also learned that using a "Netty pot" with a drop or two of Johnson's baby shampoo added to it will heal the most deadly sinus issues…..yes, I asked if you blow bubbles when you sneeze.

I am preparing to head back to the states this weekend.  I am very excited to see my friends, family and especially my kids.  It's Mom's weekend at Sarah's sorority house (KAO), we are going on Spring Break with the two younger kids, I have a 50th B-day trip to Las Vegas with my "hedge" girls and I have a dinner date with a group of HS friends to attend.  Mix in there a LOT of visits with family and I will be a busy girl.

I was scheduled to come back to France with David on the 22nd of March, but found out that DJ's "Mom's weekend" for his Fraternity (SAE) was scheduled for March 29th.  Being the good mom that I am, I changed my ticket to stay the extra week.  Thanks to United, the cost to change my flight from Caymans to Indy and then ADD another flight from Indy to Frankfurt was only $384 (including the change fee).  Well, I received a text this morning that said the date has changed (again), and now it's April 12th.  Back to United's website I went….the cost to change BACK to my original flight (from Grand Cayman to Frankfurt, instead of Grand Cayman to Indianapolis) was a WHOPPING 4,000 Euro, PLUS the change fee of 148 Euro.  (that's $5,807 in USD)  Guess I will be going back to Indy as planned!!

I hope to "run in" to many of you while I am home over the next several weeks. If you want to find me, I will probably be at my favorite McAlister's Deli getting an iced tea.