telephones, soup and guacamole

in no particular order are what's on my mind these days. For those that I haven't already complained to, I had been waiting (quite literally) several months to have a phone line installed, only to find out a few days before my appointment that the contract had a minimum of a year, or a rather hefty fine (I just tried to spell that phine-how am I teaching English again?). So needless to say I got out of that right quick, and after a few more weeks of calling from phone booths I'm considering just getting a cell phone for my last four months here. So I have a feeling my weekend in Caen will include some cell phone bargain hunting-wish me luck.

Yesterday, like all Mondays, I had the day off. After spending some time on the computers at school I was on my way to the market to get some carrots for my potato soup when I ran into Paul, one half of the American couple I met through a club I joined here. He and his wife Arlette retired here from California almost four years ago. He was on his way to meet his Australian friend Warren for a drink, and invited me to join them. Turns out Warren was a humanities professor in an Australian university when he decided to give it up and start traveling the world. He was, among other things, a leathersmith in Mallorca, and eventually ended up marrying and settling down here in Normandy. You never know what sort of interesting people you'll meet along the way, eh?

I'm at school for a little longer, then I have to head home and start eating because somehow I've accumulated more fruit and cookies than you can shake a stick at, and I've got to clear some room for the ones I know are on the way from my maman. Happy eating to me!