Another laundry day and I’m sitting outside the laverie in
Vernon, France, the neighboring town to Giverny and Monet’s beautiful gardens.
A woman in high-heeled black boots and excessive make-up and jewelry for
laundry day just came in to try to wash her comforter while my four big loads
are churning. She asked me for help, in French. Having become a pro at the
French launderette, I could probably have shown her how to select the wash
cycle and put her euros in the correct numbered slot on the opposite wall to
start her machine. However, I probably couldn’t have explained it any different
or better than the very detailed explanation on the wall. She was just
panicking because she had never done before what she was trying to do – use a
laverie. Besides, I don’t speak French. And here’s my thought on this episode –
much of our interchange in life involves non-verbal communication as we take
cues from our surroundings. I have done an entire ER triage on a deaf person
without a word spoken – the message can convey. I’m not sure if it’s my skills
as an ER nurse enabling me to quickly size up a situation with limited information,
or just my willingness to learn new things that allows me to get through
countries without speaking the language. Right now I’m parked in front of the
laundromat in a spot marked “payant” with a “P” machine at the end of the
block. I think I can figure out that I need to pay the parking meter. I feel
very lucky that I’m able to show my kids how we get along in the world. Mike
and Rebecca just returned from the patisserie with an apple tart for me.
Apparently, most all of the shops in Vernon are closed today because it’s
Monday. Rebecca was able to get this information with her limited French, the
baker’s slow explanation, and her father’s charm. Later, someone will ask me:
“Don’t you think you’re sheltering your kids by not sending them to school?”
Yeah, right, I love that.
I didn’t finish this post because I was enjoying my apple
tart, and then my laundry was done. It’s been a busy couple of days staying in
a French farmhouse, visiting the Caen Memorial to Peace, the American Cemetery,
and the beaches of Normandy on V-E Day. I am now on a 17-hour ferry ride headed
from Cherbourg, France to Rosslare, Ireland. The free wi-fi has been out in
every place we’ve stayed, including this ferry, for the last week so we’ve been
limited to quick email and facebook checks in free wi-fi cafes. I’m starting to
feel blissfully out of touch with life at home, finally, after three weeks into
my month-long trip! I did want to say Happy Nurse’s Week to all my co-workers!
You guys are the best!!! I actually miss work and the hospital environment. I
really love being around all the different people there. I highly recommend an
extended vacation for all my burned out co-workers. I think Intel has it right
with this one and giving their employees sabbaticals. It keeps them fresher. Just
in case my work has replaced me, I did identify my back-up plan in Bilbao,
Spain. I think my next career will be as the pedestrian-only area Bilbao
street-sweeper J Here
I am:
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