Just Go With It: The Importance of Patience

We've been here a little more than a month now (which I cannot believe) and have settled into a nice routine. During the week my husband goes to work and I spend my time around the house and town doing things I finally have time for. I can read again and actually stay awake. I finally finished Graeme Fife's 2011 edition "Tour De France" (review pending). Currently I'm delving into subjects I used to be well versed in but haven't studied in a while, like cathedral architecture and the history of pre-Renaissance Europe. Visiting places from that period obviously reignited the interest. It's so much more enjoyable to step into a place like St. Etienne's and know what you're looking at. Its even better to be able to re-learn these things outside of a class. Besides studying, I get to spend more time with the bikes, not only riding them but taking care of them. What a relief to hop on and know everything is in order. Who knows, I may even get back into painting while the weather remains wet and gloomy.

On Saturdays we go on our field trip adventures. So far we've seen castles, cathedrals, small towns, and bustling cities. Every week we are introduced to new ideas, lessons, beauty, and culture.

It's only been a month and we've learned so much. Every day is a learning experience and not just in the cliched sense. We've learned that smiling at or greeting someone on the street isn't necessarily welcome unless they know you. We've learned that spontaneity can cause issues in a place where dinner reservations are a must and all the stores are closed by
7:00pm. Coffee only comes in small servings. You have to bring your own bags to the grocery store or buy plastic ones at the check out. Pedestrians really do have the right of way. Coins are viable currency and you have to carry them. Speaking in French, no matter how broken, goes much further than rattling off everything in English (we even got some smiles
and encouragement from some folks in France, who, as you know, are notoriously cool to foreigners). Sticks of butter are enormous and intimidating. Local produce, for that matter is also huge and hard to fit in the fridge. Eating ketchup instead of mayo with your fries is weird. Being soft spoken in public is normal, which means you can actually have a conversation with someone in a restaurant without having to shout over everyone else. Most importantly one has to have patience.

I locked myself out of the house the other day. I just got back from walking the dog. We came in the front door, I unhooked his leash, grabbed the key for the mailbox, stepped out to grab the mail and closed the door behind me. It was only at the sound of the door latching shut that I realized I had set my house key down when I picked up the mail key. The door automatically locks. As appropriate as some self reprimand was at that moment, I had to act natural; there's never fewer than a half dozen people walking around outside. There I was, standing dumbfounded at my doorstep still holding the dog leash (thankfully, he was safe and sound in the heated garage) without my cell phone or even a cent in my pockets. My husband was scheduled to return from work in about an hour. There was nothing to do but wait. So, I walked around town always within 10mins of the church so I could check the time (yeah, no watch either). It was cold. I couldn't step into a bakery or cafe because I didn't have money and I didn't fell comfortable going in the church to wait out the hour in a pew. There was a great deal of people going in and out. I ended up on a bench in the center of town, with a German newspaper to hold my attention. I couldn't read it, but the pictures were entertaining. As I sat there waiting for the hour to tick by, I reflected on the last month and our experiences and the lessons learned. Patience was the most important one, painfully obvious at that moment.

Everything moves slowly here. It took three days for our cell phone service to activate. Our home Internet, telephone, and television won't be installed until late February or early March even though we signed up at the beginning of January. It's taken almost a month to get our car. The list of these patience lessons could go on and on. For someone who comes from a place where "get everything right away" is the norm, it can be a challenge to conform to this slow paced society. Let me tell you, I can't wait to have Internet again. The biggest complaint we hear from other ex-pats is how long everything takes in Lux.

The thing is though, there's nothing we can do about it. So, we just have to accept it and move on; learn to go with it. The sooner we can do that, the sooner we can adjust to being here. However, this lesson in patience will benefit us even when we return to the States. Its certainly a lesson worth learning.

Of course, mine was being tested when my husband was an hour late due to last minute phone call and it was dark and raining.

But, I've never appreciated the indoors more than that moment he unlocked the door.