Anniversary

I've passed the one-week mark! Still with a job, no parking tickets yet and I carried on a two-sentence conversation today in French. So, all is good. I realized driving home (yes, driving!) tonight from work, stopping at the grocery store, paying for my parking place in the grocery store parking lot (yes, true), shopping, checking out, driving past the little winery down the street (at left), getting into my tiny apartment garage spot and coming up to my temporary apartment that I have done every single one of these things before! (Except pay for the space in the grocery store lot. Who knew? So, I've actually EARNED parking tickets this week, just haven't GOTTEN one.) It's a good feeling to have some familiarity. When not every single thing is new, it is a bit less overwhelming.

An American work colleague and I today were sharing what we are and are not willing to learn. He refuses to switch over to Celsius, which doesn't really bother me. But, I refuse to use a French keyboard, while he has adapted just fine. (The "z" and "y" are switched, plus all the symbols are mixed up. I had several days of signing my name "Pattz" before I thought, screw this, and reprogrammed my computer to an English keyboard.) Anyway, it made me think that there will be certain things that I will (and/or should) embrace and some others that are not mountains I am willing to die on. I'm working on the language, trying to adapt to the social norms (or at least figure out what they are), and using metric. But, I'm sticking by my keyboard, with a vengeance. I could probably wax poetic about the literal and figurative meaning of all that, but I think you get it.

For those who have been waiting for the latest cheese update...today was Emmentaler and Gorgonzola with Mascarpone. Yum!

Time to watch some TV
...or... not...

Good grief! Here comes another episode of Eye on Macedonia on CNN The World. Who would guess that it was a regular feature on the only English speaking TV station that I get. While you are all watching Jersey Shore (actually my friends are above Jersey Shore...except those of you who KNOW WHO YOU ARE), I'm watching a 49-episode (it seems) documentary on the socio-political impacts of the emergence of Macedonia from its Soviet history. OK once, but I think the next 48 episodes will be painful. Remind me to search for online TV!

So, instead I'll Facebook. Maybe the only website that is actually accessible in Europe??? I should have Netfix and Playlist call them for advice.

Bye for now. Happy anniversary to me. :-)