Tout Va Bien

After an abysmal weekend of weather, the sun has finally returned, as blue and bright as ever. Tuesday was another day of no classes because the school were away skiing (again) so I had the day at my leisure (again). I decided to stop putting off one of my vague New Year's Resolutions and with reluctance knocked back some black coffee, donned my trainers and set off outside for a run. I decided to do intervals- five sprints up the steps that lead up to the Notre Dame de La Garde, (the empty church that overlooks the town of Apt) and use the jog down to bring my heart rate down.  The first 'sprint' adjusted my expectations slightly, and I decided four ascents would be perfectly acceptable for the first time. My legs would barely lift, and I was sure any second I would trip and smash my nose on the step in front, but I struggled upwards, and completed the four, even though the final time was more of a crawl than a run. Walking back down the hill to school my legs didn't really feel like legs anymore, and I wasn't convinced they would take my weight much longer, but I made it home and collapsed.

In the afternoon it was too good a day not to go back out, so I took a book and went to sit in Bar L'Aptois in the sun. It was too hot for a coat, I barely even needed a cardigan, and I sat down to write some ideas for my blog with a coffee, feeling rather conspicuous considering all the French adolescents were glaring over in my direction. I was feeling slightly uncomfortable and fed up with France and its constant ability to make me feel like an outsider, when the man that runs Bar L'Aptois stopped by my side to ask what I was writing. I told him it was a letter to my parents (wasn't sure whether a blog is 'un blog' and a letter is definitely 'une lettre') and he sat down next to me, and asked where they were, where in England, and what I was doing in France. Of course, this is a relatively normal conversation, but my heart felt ready to burst with gratitude, that he had acknowledged me with kindness and interest rather than the hostile looks and mutterings behind me that I've become accustomed to. When I left to go he called after me, have a good day, and see you soon at which the French adolescents nearly fell off their seats.  Feeling smug, I wandered back to the apartment to do some lesson prep, and sat at my desk with the windows wide open in the sun. That evening I had a sunburnt face- and that's pretty good going for the 21st January!