France 2011

We are reaching the end of winter here and it is hot during the day, cool at night and extremely dry the whole time. Thankfully it is not as hot as our last days in Lyon. Why is it that whenever I go to Lyon there is a heat wave? Enough about the weather. There we were: Toulouse, Seignosse, Narbonne, Lyon, Lisboa, friends, family, beaches, gardens, parks, merry-go-rounds, etc.

We had a wonderful time in France and it took me about two weeks to recover from the return to Ouro Preto. Two weeks to stop thinking about what we do not have here (my family, my friends, the ocean, comfort - decent cheese, ham, bread, raspberries, natural yogurt, organic food, anything unsweetened, and a couple of other delicacies - hot water from the sink, safety on the roads and in kiddies playgrounds, public swimming pools, trains, am I forgetting anything?). Writing it down at once was pleasurable and I can now focus on the other aspects of life that I truly love here: how friendly the people are, in particular with kids and families. The plane was loaded with Brasilians who did not seem at all annoyed by us, but instead smiled at us as we exercised our legs up and down the aisle and greeted us with compassion when either Leila or Coline expressed their discontent. I also like our town very much, walking up and down its streets, the mountains around, the tropical fruits, our neighbours, how peacefully slow things are, I like how few shops there are and how limited the choice of anything, and I hate that too.