from the BonnieSphere

Well, no email, nothing happening on the web, everybody either asleep or gone off to work… Maybe it’s time for another blog post?

I’m writing this from the Perche, at 6:30 or so in the morning. Huh? you may ask. Don’t, it’s boring. Just insomnia, thinking about all of the o-so-icky administrative stuff I have to deal with this week.

I’ve been living in my box for couple of weeks now, and I can honestly say that it’s not too bad. On condition that it’s temporary, of course… The little room is looking more and more like “me” every day: a touch of Ikea here, an item or two brought back from some friend’s house there. When it looks the way I’d like it to, I’ll post a picture.

Several things have made living in my little “chambre de bonne” more pleasant than I’d thought it would be. First of all, a hearty thank you to David, who gave me his passwords so I can access the internet while waiting for my own “Freebox” to come by UPS… They say several weeks, but I hope (hope lives eternal) that it might actually come sooner. There’s also a neighbor who has a fast, unprotected internet access by wifi that I can hook onto when Free isn’t as strong – thank you to him / her as well.

My propriétaires (the owners of the room) are the most lovely and interesting people. They’re both teachers and writers, and one meeting for coffee with Mr. last week has led us both to think that we might just enjoy the occasional social encounter. I may have found some friends as well as very thoughtful landlords!

The neighborhood is good, and what I initially thought was an inconvenience – namely the fact that I live in a very quiet cul-de-sac which gives onto a relatively quiet side street – has turned out to be a blessing. When I sit at my desk with the windows open, I hear NOTHING of the city. Nothing at all. It’s like being in the country, almost, except for the total silence (which I’ve realized over the past couple of years is NOT a feature of the countryside.)

Another small pleasure has been spending some time in cafés. The weather has been great, and one day last week I’d been toiling around the 13th trying to find some Asian products, and I was pooped – and hot. So I stopped for a cold beer. I don’t usually drink beer, but it sounded right – and it was delicious!

My birthday weekend has been lovely. I received a nice card from Allucere and a couple of presents and cards from friends. On Friday I came out to the Perche to stay with my boys and to have dinner at Guy and Sylviane’s. Guy’s birthday is the same day as mine, except that this year he turned 80. Sylviane is Guy’s daughter, and they’re both neighbors here. They’re farmers, in the most traditional sense of the word possible in France any more. They live with the sun and use hardly any modern technology on their farm. Everything is completely bio, and they live in an old traditional French farmhouse that doesn’t even have a bathroom. Sylviane is a wonderful cook, and our birthday dinner was cold cauliflower in vinaigrette, wild boar stewed for hours with new potatoes and fresh green beans. All accompanied by wine and merriment, of course; the “train” friends were there too (people who live in the Perche but go into Paris to work every day, and whom I’m learning to enjoy more and more.)

Yesterday we had lunch outside with other neighbors – hamburgers on the grill and home-made french fries. Towards 4 pm it was actually so hot that I had to go inside to cool off. I’m not complaining, no, not me…!!!! If only it weren’t almost October; the heat will be leeching out of the air soon enough.

The big news on the health front is that Dr. Furno has authorized me to start walking. In the house I don’t use any crutches at all – I do have my cane handy for going up and down stairs, etc. Outside, I’m not sure how soon I’ll feel comfortable going completely without the crutches, as I have a 15-minute walk to the closest bus stop to my place, and it IS a bit tiring running around the city. But in any case, I’m on my way. And he says not to worry about my crooked leg for the moment; it has to heal first, and the metal plate be taken out, before we can judge whether another operation will be necessary. In his time frame, that means a year from now. So I’m free to think of myself as being mobile for the time being, which will make it much easier to make plans for work, fun and travel!

Today I’ll be heading back to the city, with the laundry I washed and hung out yesterday to dry. It won’t be quite dry, as we’ve discovered, but I’ll find a way to hang it out in my nest when I get home. I’m looking forward to wearing clothes that smell like country air!

I’m feeling a bit off-kilter, having so little to do. I’ve started making contacts to give voice lessons, and am doing serious talking with various people about research. This period feels kind of like an extension of my Cambodia adventure, in the sense that I STILL have nothing much to do, am living a semi-unstructured life – but maybe this time I can use my free time to my advantage, do some nice things for myself, instead of sinking into depression and navel-gazing. I miss the kids at Wat Opot a lot. I’ve been looking at pictures, and how I wish I could just hop down there for a couple of weeks. Money, money, money, that’s all it would take. What’s money, anyway? Who ever decided I should be so short of it all my life? What? Me? Hm. Food for thought.

Going to get some more coffee. The sun is coming up; I can see it over the hedge as it makes a pinkish background for the trees that form the border between the fields behind the house and Guy and Sylviane’s land. Pascal will be up soon and ready to take me to the train. Kisses to everyone…

B.