A good day

The orientation Marseille was a giant waste of time but the weather was warm and sunny - just about perfect. I went on a boat ride to the cliffs and inlets arouind Marseille, as well as the Chateau d'If of The Count of Monte Cristo fame. About 10 of us went, and we had the whole front of the boat to ourselves. As the sun beat down on our faces and the breeze cooled our backs, we couldn't help but yell "we're in ther fucking south of France!" Another good result of the soul-murderingly terrible orientation: I now have friends in the two cities neighboring St Remy: Avignon and Arles, as well as a friend in the alpine spa/ski town Digne-les-Bains. Guess where I'll be skiing this winter?

Right now its the small victories and defeats that determine whether a day is good or not. Yesterday was great. I woke up and trimmed my hair - always a risk - and it looks good. The England-Australia rugby (world cup) match was a close one, and, St Remy being a vacation town, there were plenty of English around celebrating their win. Plus, as England had been the underdog, their win bode well for the French that evening. Both my parents and Pete called, and despite the internet saying their were no available seats, my mom managed to move my flight home for Christmas up two days. After the match I went to the grocer, and on the way, I found a not-expensive cloth-lined market basket that fits perfectly into the armoire in my room, so I don't need to use my suitcase as my sock and underwear drawer anymore. Plus, the woman at the grocer commented on how pretty the basket was. After dinner, I went out to watch the France-New Zealand rugby match. As I passed by the cafe with wifi,that I come to just about every day, I waved to the patron. He came out and asked me where my computer was. When I said I was watching the match, he told me which cafe had the best TV to watch it on. Then he asked if I was on vacation. I guess I had been coming to the cafe longer than he expected of any anglophone. I told him I was here for work, and would be here for a year. He told me that if I needed anything, help with french, or anything else in my move here, to come in any time and ask him. I had just become a regular, which is hard to do as a foreigner in tourist season. That was the whipped cream on the sundae of a good day, and then, of course, came the cherry: France (the host country of the rugby world cup) won their quarterfinal game against New Zealand (favored to win it all), against the odds and despite horrendous 1st half play. I will not be living in a depressed land, at least not for the next week.