When You're Strange

In the afternoon of yesterday, something in my brain clicked and the inside of me "got" what living here is about.  It happened while grocery shopping while marveling at how all the grocery stores here have an ENTIRE AISLE dedicated to yogurt with the opposite side of it dedicated to applesauce and pudding.  I was about to drop any old packet of mini yogurts into my cart when I realized that I didn't have to take any old brand.  I could comprehend enough French to pick one that had the flavors I liked and did not include any sugar (important since Lilah eats yogurt as her primary source of Mommy's Dr Ordered Attempt to Fatten her up Since she is too Skinny) and that there wouldn't be so damn many choices if different parents didn't want different things so I could choose the exact one that I wanted for Lilah.  After selecting Lilah's yogurt, we cruised around the grocery store, figuring out without too much trouble (okay with quite a lot of trouble) the French equivalents of baking soda (comes in packets like yeast) and brown sugar (called cane sugar, not moist like in the US) so that we could bake chocolate chip cookies.  

Here is a picture from one of the grocery stores we go to.  That is 5 different kinds of shopping carts to choose from (including one child sized).  They also have the kind with the fisher price style car for the kid to sit in which we used today but I forgot to take pics of.  You cant really see it but they have a system like the old Park n Shop where you need to put in a 50c piece to get a cart of the stack and it is returned to you when you return the cart.

As much as we are starting to feel more comfortable, the locals still find us very interesting and perhaps a little off putting.  Although Lilah gets a lot of adoring looks, people dont seem to know what to make of our calling to each other over the aisles and holding up cute baby outfits for the other to see from across the store.  We have, however, had two people approach us in the town of St Marcellin (the nearby town with the cool playground).  Both were non French natives living in France who told us that despite living here for many years, ours was the first time they had ever heard American English spoken in the city. 

Other than grocery shopping and a failed attempt at visiting a McDonald's playland (playland was outdoors and it was pouring rain today), we spent today doing almost nothing.  I slept in since Chris was kind enough to take Lima for the morning, then when she took her morning nap I made the aforementioned cookies (quite a feat with no measuring devices).  Later, to make up for the cookies, I managed to keep my heart rate up for a full 45 minutes by playing my Work Out mix on iTunes and repeating the basic Zumba steps I taught myself from YouTube.

Speaking of Music, todays Song of the Day is not so bad.

 Danza Kuduro

We have figured out our agenda for the rest of the trip!  Tomorrow and Friday:  Lyon.  Saturday: Playdate with Renes twin grandniece and grandnephew.  Sunday through Tuesday: Paris.  Weekend after that: Chamonix.  Then pack and back to DC.  Really looking forward to some of the cool playgrounds in Paris and romping in the snow in Chamonix!  Here is a lovely picture of Lilah in a French dress on a little rocking chair at the Riviera Villa.