tick tock.

Never underestimate a simple meal. The one I just had, for example: baguette- 85 cents, can of sardines- 75 cents, a couple leaves of lettuce for my greenage- negligible. But what a combination.  And don't turn your nose up on sardines; some Americans have an unnecessarily negative opinion of them.  When's the last time you ate some?  This baguette sandwich is new to me since coming to France, but already the taste is nostalgic: it's something I ate on my bike ride in October.  All I had to do was carry the can, stop at one of the countless boulangeries along the way for the baguette, and voila-- portable oblong goodness.  Tasting it again today brought me back to sitting on a stone wall overlooking the fields of le pays lauragais.

I don't miss American things (besides family and friends, bien sur).  I don't miss peanut butter or barbeque or Redbox movies or whatever else people usually miss while abroad.  Things here are still stimulating, even after 4 months; my mind can't miss what's lacking when there are 10x more things left to try. I'm already anticipating what I'm going to miss when I leave France.  I feel a sense of urgency; it makes me want to sprint down the street and return with armfuls of cheese and pastries! It's not all about the food (but a lot of it is). I'm going to miss the very French-ness of my surroundings.  I'm going to miss speaking French! ... My seven months in France are more than halfway over.  As a fellow assistant said, the first half is spent adjusting and the second is spent making up for lost time.  How true.  I wish I could get the sound of a ticking clock out of the back of my mind, but if it weren't there, would we ever get things done?  Would we ever stop talking about doing things, and just do them?

On that note, I have a museum to visit and a Bible study to attend.