I wrote this last week and never published it...oops!
Tonight, in Verdun, it is raining. In fact, it's been raining all day. As I was walking home from Rosie's, I had the sudden sensation that I didn't find the town nearly as ugly or uninviting in the rain as I had on previous occasions. A few months of hard living can really do that to a person, I suppose.
But it's true. I had just come from Rosie's hobbit hole (she's a hobbit, no buts about it...she's just a little on the tall side) and my heart was very warm and full of good things. I was thinking how blessed I am to have friends who care about me.
With the lights beaming onto La Meuse river from the Quai de Londres, Verdun is actually quite beautiful. It is not beautiful by it own merit but made so by the people who live here. In a few days, some of my favorite people will be gone, and the town will no longer capture my imagination, love, or appreciation.
I think I've said this before, but I might as well say it again. It's not about the places you visit, but the people you meet. Walls cannot speak or welcome you or teach you the essence of a place's culture. Only people can do that. The more I travel, the more this has become my motto.
This past weekend I visited our dear friends in Stenay again. My friend was kind enough to invite us to spend the night in her home with her family. We had such a lovely time with them, going around and looking at all of the WWI monuments. It was freezing cold. We took a picnic lunch to eat on the road, but since it was too cold to eat outside, we asked a local cafe if we could eat it there inside. We bought our drinks from them and had a great time looking at all of their relics from the Great War proudly displayed around the whitewashed walls. It turned out that it was easier for them to speak English than French because the husband was Irish or something. Who'da thunk it!!
Afterwards, we went to the theater and then to the home to our other very dear friends in Stenay. As it happened, their sons were visiting and we all had a good chat in English. Dear reader, you probably don't understand, but when you've only spoken a foreign language for so long, it is such a relief to speak your own language for a while. We spoke until 2am and then they kindly took us home. I really hope we get a chance to see them again (as I wish with a TON of other people here). They are really two special families. Oh those polo-playing, posh, intelligent, gorgeous crickets!
In short, my experience here has been a good one, not because of the place (heaven forbid!) but because of the people who live here. Granted, they never want to leave La Meuse, but that's what makes them so cute.
I'm sorry, no pics, I don't have time to upload them. You'll just have to take my word for it that the sons were pretty cute :) just kidding, I'm not that superficial.
Tonight, in Verdun, it is raining. In fact, it's been raining all day. As I was walking home from Rosie's, I had the sudden sensation that I didn't find the town nearly as ugly or uninviting in the rain as I had on previous occasions. A few months of hard living can really do that to a person, I suppose.
But it's true. I had just come from Rosie's hobbit hole (she's a hobbit, no buts about it...she's just a little on the tall side) and my heart was very warm and full of good things. I was thinking how blessed I am to have friends who care about me.
With the lights beaming onto La Meuse river from the Quai de Londres, Verdun is actually quite beautiful. It is not beautiful by it own merit but made so by the people who live here. In a few days, some of my favorite people will be gone, and the town will no longer capture my imagination, love, or appreciation.
I think I've said this before, but I might as well say it again. It's not about the places you visit, but the people you meet. Walls cannot speak or welcome you or teach you the essence of a place's culture. Only people can do that. The more I travel, the more this has become my motto.
This past weekend I visited our dear friends in Stenay again. My friend was kind enough to invite us to spend the night in her home with her family. We had such a lovely time with them, going around and looking at all of the WWI monuments. It was freezing cold. We took a picnic lunch to eat on the road, but since it was too cold to eat outside, we asked a local cafe if we could eat it there inside. We bought our drinks from them and had a great time looking at all of their relics from the Great War proudly displayed around the whitewashed walls. It turned out that it was easier for them to speak English than French because the husband was Irish or something. Who'da thunk it!!
Afterwards, we went to the theater and then to the home to our other very dear friends in Stenay. As it happened, their sons were visiting and we all had a good chat in English. Dear reader, you probably don't understand, but when you've only spoken a foreign language for so long, it is such a relief to speak your own language for a while. We spoke until 2am and then they kindly took us home. I really hope we get a chance to see them again (as I wish with a TON of other people here). They are really two special families. Oh those polo-playing, posh, intelligent, gorgeous crickets!
In short, my experience here has been a good one, not because of the place (heaven forbid!) but because of the people who live here. Granted, they never want to leave La Meuse, but that's what makes them so cute.
I'm sorry, no pics, I don't have time to upload them. You'll just have to take my word for it that the sons were pretty cute :) just kidding, I'm not that superficial.
No comments:
Post a Comment