Of cabbages and kings

Well, this week or whatever it's been since I last posted has been one of those where you feel like you've been really busy, but looking back, you haven't really done anything. Or at least, haven't achieved anything. Probably due to the various drinkies I've had with people... Said drinkies were *not* the reason why I overslept and missed my first class this morning - first time that's happened and it had to be my last class with them, I feel awful!

Anyway, I've been trying to plan for my move. Today I bought a suitcase, it broke before I even got it home :( So I took it back and told the guy it broke. I didn't understand what he was saying at first because I mistook the word 'poids' (weight) for 'poil' (hair), which is dumb because they don't even sound the same. Thought he was throwing some obscure idiom at me. But anyway, turned out he was saying that he would exchange the suitcase, but it wasn't made to carry heavy stuff (um, what?) so if I came back again, he wouldn't exchange it. I tried to argue with him a bit because it was not heavy - I had put some shopping and my school stuff in it on the trip home - it was maybe like 10 kgs, which I would not call heavy for the size of this suitcase, but because I had initially been confused about what he was saying, he just kept repeating the same thing like I didn't understand, so I just gave up and took the exchange. So I think I will use this suitcase to FedEx some stuff to Tours, and take my big suitcase and backpack on the train with me, cause I don't want it to break on the trip. Probably a waste of 30 euro, but as long as it gets to Tours intact I won't be too upset... but still...

That's kind of as far as I've got, other than setting up some appointments for apartments at Tours. Started to have some final lessons with the students, not a fan of goodbyes even if it's not like all emotional or anything.

A couple of other random things - I read in the paper the other day that cupcakes were supposedly the new 'tendance' (trendy) thing in France. Lo and behold, what should appear in the bakery section of my local Monoprix but tiny cupcakes imported from the USA which cost 3 euro a pop! Seriously, if you're dumb enough to pay 3 euros for a tiny cupcake that's mass-produced, pumped full of preservatives and shipped over from the States, rather than a delicious French pastry baked on the spot, you deserve it.

Also, I was sitting in front of some Kiwi chicks on the bus to Cannes the other day, who kept tossing around the word 'carnes'. Kids, despite what they might say on TV1 news every time the festival rolls around, it's pronounced more-or-less as 'can' as in 'I can I can't' :)

That's it for now I suppose. Hard to believe I leave next Tuesday arrggh lots to do, not much time and it's just slipping away so quickly. Unfortunately the weather hasn't been fantastic, kind of sunny but a bit humid & fine clouds most days. I walked from Nice to Eze the other day, got rained on half the way, but it was only spitting, and I did another walk from Cannes back towards Juan les Pins, other than that nothing exciting. I bet Tours will be like going back in time vis-à-vis the weather :( But I won't miss the intense heat and crowds of tourists in the summer here I'm sure. A+ as the French kiddies say (= à plus = laters or something along those lines)