Gifts & Love - Month Five

What an awful and amazing few weeks! My funding finally arrived – 3 weeks late, and the school has decided that I was overpaid last year and has decided to keep half of it! Paris is hard enough with the little money I have. For a moment, I had pretty much decided to pack it in and head back. And then, the most amazing outpouring of love arrived. My mother decided to forego her first trip to Paris and give me the money instead. My sister Sharon decided that since she’d been here before (yeah, right!), she gave me that money as well. And my friend (who would kill me if I mentioned her name) mysteriously put money in my account. My friend Abe covered my overdrafts from the States and saved my life! And, thanks to Monique Wells, I found a part-time job (at BonjourParis.com) doing some work on Paris that will help with dumb stuff like food and transportation (see her review of Hottentot Venus on the Cafedelasoul website)! Blessings flow, don’t they? What a humbling and wonderful life I have. So, as they say, I’m back!

Looked out the window the other day and saw snow! Snow is not my friend. Thankfully, it was short and didn’t stick. But Paris, my friends, is cold! Walking the streets – great no money fun – is hard when you can’t feel your toes. But it’s Paris, so I’ll shut up now. Research is back in high gear (easier to do when you can concentrate) and I can again marvel at the life I’m trying to create. There is no place on earth like Paris. Fresh bread is cheap (yea!); so are veggies. Just a reminder if you’re budgeting for Paris, gas and electricity are horrendous expenses; more than double what I was paying in the States. Even the phone costs more – and don’t even get me started on cell phone costs! But it’s Paris, so I’ll shut up now. Thanks for all the support; I am constantly reminded how very lucky I am. Don’t think I ever take it for granted.