Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Pros and Cons

The girls are at camp this week. I promise to take pictures of the rock climbing, floor hockey, and general play if they let me. Maria is teaching dance to the campers, yes she is teaching. The story is long and boring to the general public. But if you are 16(almost 17!), love to dance and have been doing it for 12 years, and are bored out of your mind, teaching kids to dance is a wonderful thing. So far they love her and asked if she would continue working for them in the after school program all year.

New subject...

This really is a beautiful place to live and a beautiful country. There are some not so great things about living here too. I was made fun by a Frenchman while trying to fill my gas tank. It rains EVERY SINGLE DAY. This little fact probably wouldn't matter so much but I don't have a dryer and I have to hang the clothes outside to dry. I am constantly hanging them up and taking them down, hanging them up and taking them down. Sometimes it rains (and shines) 4-5 times a day! Communicating is hard too. I can only mime what I need at the grocery store since many of the stockers don't speak English. Today as I checked out I was "Controlled". It is hard to explain what this means, but in a nutshell, it makes the person behind you wait twice as long. The guy behind me kept shaking his head in disgust. Then as we were walking out, he was parked near me and, you guessed it, he saw my Indiana plates on the car and gave me that face that says "Oh now I understand why you're causing me so much trouble. You're from America."

I guess those are the cons of living here today. They might change tomorrow as I continue to fight for TV/cable hookup!

If there are cons about living in Europe, then there have to be some pros too. Actually there is just one and it is big...

I LIVE IN EUROPE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That is pretty darn cool!

3 comments:

  1. Ugh, sorry to hear the language part is such a challenge, but how cool that your daughter is getting to teach dance.

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  2. It is pretty darn cool. And so is this record you're keeping. I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying keeping up with your and your family's grand European adventure.(And the photos of the flower tapestry were beautiful.) Best to everyone, (cousin) Michael

    ReplyDelete
  3. Michael!!! I am so glad you're sharing the experience. Every now and then I forget I am here and then I realize I AM IN EUROPE! You should come here yourself and see the amazing sites. You are welcome anytime.

    ReplyDelete

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