What a great day I had today. First, I got to have a reunion with my French group here in NJ - my teacher Martine, fellow students Melissa and Sharon (Linda was unfortunately absent and I missed her!), and school owner Rita were surprised and happy to see me. We had a delightful hour and a half chatting about Paris and catching up on everyone's holiday and life in general. Melissa said this is like her women's support group and I agree -- I wish I could pack all of these wonderful women in my suitcase and take them along with me! Hopefully some of them will visit me sometime.
From there, it was on to meet my friend Marlene at her office. She works for the current iteration of the corporation I used to work for, a company that has changed hands and personalities and names so often it's hard to keep track, but which is now a FRENCH pharmaceutical company (they were a German chemical-pharmaceutical company when I worked there) and even flies the French flag next to the American flag out in front of the building. We had lunch in the company cafeteria because Marlene wanted me to see how Frenchified everything is -- down to French photography and artwork on the walls, the "bienvenue" sign when you walk in the lobby, and boeuf bourgignon on the menu (it was quite good, actually).
What is so sweet is how interested my friends are in how I like life in France and what I'm doing there. It's really nice to have that kind of support and to have people care what I'm doing. I know that right now, it's a bit of a novelty and in time we will move onto other topics of conversation. But I'm very touched by how my friends have noticed that I seem happier (and thinner -- woo-hoo!) since having made this life decision.
I know I will be making new friends in Paris but damn, it's so good to know I have such marvelous, wonderful people here. I feel very, very blessed in the friend department.
