Whew! I've arrived safe and soundly in Marseille, France. What a marathon of a journey but it all went smoothly. I almost missed my flight from London to Marseille but the plane was running late, and that lateness allowed me time to (literally) run through the airport to catch it. I was the last person through the gate! After 28 hours of traveling I had a great nights sleep in "my" apartment. I'm house-sitting for coworkers while they're in the States this year. The next few days will be unpacking, settling in and getting over jetlag. I'll start my responsibilities at the office soon, too! I'm really looking forward to this year in Marseille!
I'm also enjoying the slightly cooler weather than what I experienced when I was here in July. It's only about 22C today, overcast and rainy.
Here's a little transcript of a dialogue I had with the passport control officer in the Marseille airport. My ears were so plugged and sore from the pressure change on the airplane that I couldn't hear much of anything. Plus I was a bit nervous!
Passport control officer: (in French) Do you speak French?
Me: (thinking I heard him say "Do you want me to speak in French?) No. (I was having a hard enough time hearing him and thought things would go smoother if I could communicate in English.)
PCO: (in English) Well, you must know a little bit!
Me: A little bit of what? (Having no idea what he was talking about)
PCO: A little bit of French. You ARE Canadian, aren't you?
Me: Err, uh, well, yes. I know a little bit of French.
PCO: (He said something but I couldn't hear him because of my ears.)
Me: Pardon?
PCO: (He repeats what he said.)
Me: Pardon? I'm sorry...it's my ears. I can't hear you very well.
PCO: (He repeats it again, getting a little impatient.)
Me: I'm sorry. I can't hear you. (I try leaning forward at the same time as rubbing my ears in a vain attempt to clear them)
PCO: (Obviously lost his patience, smiles, rolls his eyes, hands me my passport and waves me through.)
Me: Merci.
It wasn't until I was in line waiting to get my luggage that I realized he didn't even get a chance to question me properly about how long I'd be staying in France, what I would be doing, etc etc. My ears are still sore today but at least I can hear again! : )