Last Week

Another week has gone by...

Monday
- I had my usual coffee klatch for English and French, where we discussed some of the events coming up. After coffee, I hitched a ride to the hospital, where I made a few appointments, and *attempted* to pay a bill - it took me some time to find out where to go, and by the time I got there, they were closed...

Tuesday
- My usual cleaning day, and then grocery shopping with the neighbors - we had to decide what to make for the next day's potluck!

Wednesday
- I brought Raz el Hanout chicken nuggets and an almond baklava. Raz el Hanout is a combination of spices that is normally used in couscous - the flavor is something like curry, with a North African twist. The baklava was ok, but I'm not sure I'll make it again. The potluck was fabulous, as usual - there were about 18 of us this time, and the hall was a jumble of chatter, fueled by good food, desserts, and wine :-)
- During lunch, I got a recipe for how to use the liver of the Monkfish!
- After lunch, Rick went to an appointment, while some of us walked around town, did a little shopping, then to a friend's house to rest a bit.
- Then we went to Espace Georges Brassens for a concert. The group was Cuisine Moi une Chanson (Cook me a Song); one section chanted, another sang, and still another made percussive sounds - each part was an ingredient, that combined to make music. They truly did "cook a song!"

Thursday
- There was the Fête de l'Europe downtown, and I had planned to go. But, I was simply exhausted! I cocooned at home instead.

Friday
- I had an appointment at the hospital for a bone density scan, and I decided to combine a few errands (sometimes this works, but I learned in Costa Rica that usually you have to give up on one or two of those errands).
- I got there early, and was able to pay my bill (yay!)
- I had my scan, and waited only a moment for the results (good news! I have very strong bones - even stronger than the average healthy 30 year old - see the explanation here). Then I had to return to the front office to settle up - I paid my 11€ (I know, crazy, right?) and left...
- Off to get a few groceries, then a prescription. Ack! Standing in line, I realized that my health card was still at the hospital! So, I returned, got my card, and decided to try the hospital pharmacy. Well, it turned out that (1) it was difficult to find, and (2) it was closed... Back I go to the original pharmacy, where I finally got my prescription.
- Home again, home again! All that running around took 3 hours, and I was exhausted again.
- Did I mention that it was raining?

Saturday
- More shopping, and a whole lotta resting up

Sunday
- great Skype with my parents, and even got to see cousins Vicki and Dave :-)

~~~
I am definitely hitting up against some culture shock - every small piece of my week was really wonderful on its own, but all taken together, it was just too much. I feel lucky that I was able to recognize it (if perhaps just a little later than preferred), and I know it will settle back down.