Getting out there

I thought that I was doing pretty well with "jet lag" because after 12 hours of sleep the other night, I felt great! Then it caught up with me.....I tossed and turned last night 'til 4 a.m.! And I had to get up this morning for a 10:00 a.m. meeting that I wanted to go to. So, a groggy me woke up at 9:00, took a luke-warm shower (we don't know WHY we didn't have hot water this morning!) and got out the door 45 minutes later. I walked the nearly 10 blocks to anxiously meet a group of women meeting for coffee (AMERICAN COFFEE) from the Women of the American Church group. They meet just once or twice a month and I wanted to get going and start meeting people. I am glad I went!

There were about 10 women from all sorts of different backgrounds and reasons for being in Paris, but with a common goal of meeting other women, getting involved in fun as well as service events. I was the newest one there, having arrived on Monday, but others were there from as long as 23 years to a few months. What a diverse group - many from America, but also others who have been transplanted via Singapore, Australia, Switzerland and Cairo. One woman held a doctorate and teaches, another was a free-lance writer here with her retired husband living their dream, another was newly married to a French man she met in Colorado, another was married to someone in the Swiss Embassy who has been transferred every few years to Cuba, China, and Afghanistan! I learned about upcoming lunches, Bible studies, volunteering at a soup kitchen on Fridays, seminars for expats, and taking local and day tours. One that is coming up is a lunch with the actress Leslie Caron ("Gigi") at her home outside of Paris next Friday. Sounds intriguing, but Lyle and I had already started planning a weekend trip to Brussels or Amsterdam. Good grief.....can I handle this excitement??

Afterwards, four of us walked a few blocks and had lunch at a cafe. One of the women is an ESL teacher from the states and teaches French, so that was helpful to listen to her talk to the waiter. The others know enough French to get by......a goal for me in the next year! I just need to find time to do my Rosetta Stone and find a class.......