halfway around the clubhouse turn

Reflections on the trip at the half point: The preparation for the trip was well thought out and done well, mostly by Cindy. We haven’t really run into any deal breakers, the weather was cooler than expected. When we were planning this trip we had on a few occasions researched weather conditions in this specific areas. Upon arrival in Paris, we experienced colder than normal weather, in the Nice and Antibes area we also got colder than normal weather. And lastly in the Dordogne there was cooler weather than the region historically experienced. We were expecting cold weather, and packed accordingly, but were expecting it to let up on occasion. This would be why there aren’t many tourists at this point of the year. The school experience for Caleigh started out with a bang, she rolled up her sleeves and dug into it, with the invaluable help of a few good souls, did amazingly well. However as of late she is encountering a few bumps in the road. She isn’t giving up, but the language arena does force her on occasion to rely on friends. She will upon our return to the states, be an ambassador to any new students, as she appreciates the invaluable comfort that some of her new friends have given her. She has experienced a bit of vulgar comments directed towards her USA-ness. Typical of what would be expected by 12 year old boys from a rural upbringing, seeing Hollywood on T.V. and not having the worldly view to understand that it’s make believe and not fact that 12 year old girls from L.A. , Ca. aren’t, well lets just say not possessing virtues. And from former world views espoused from our white house, lets just say, we have a little mending to do in the arena of the global community, Yes there is such a thing as a global community, the recession that we’re going through, made its way across the ocean, we are connected for better or worse. It’s just that you can chose to work with it or try and just save your part of the boat from sinking. Cindy has seen the fruits of her labor, bloom in so many ways. She now has her wish of all three of us having dinner together, we talk of the days events. She is reading and writing, not as much as she would like, but she is. She is opening herself to different ingredients for cooking with, ones that might not be so available in the states. She is not commuting on a daily basis, she may miss her little mini s, but she doesn’t have the 45 minute drive to and from work. She doesn’t miss the T.V.. Then for me, I’ve got to admit, I just love it over here, driving around all these stone houses, the food, the wine, and being imprisoned 24 / 7 with Caleigh and Cindy. Whoohoo!!!