in dunkerque...

a true first day in france, i woke up hungover from champagne & vin rouge because after ali picked me up at the port of calais & we spirited back to his home in dunkerque (which my tongue can only pronounce in espanol) & a few hours playing catch up with my amina masi & the kids we were off to a dinner party with his boss that lasted hours...tres european. it was a welcome night filled with good conversation that i half understood & wine that i understood completely. somehow my jetlag was postponed indefinitely.
now as i sit here trying to digest my day i keep wanting to express myself with all these gorgeous french words that i am utterly in awe of but i can't. how i wish i knew just a little french. thankfully, between my broken gujarati & slow english i am communicating with the family but there are moments when i just nod & hope for the best. i have a feeling that this is just the beginning of my tongue-tiedness.
it is now tuesday evening & i have gotten quite a taste of their life in france. it has been lovely to stroll by the seaside & take it all in. we've discussed many aspects of our very different lives & cried & laughed & i've visited the kids at school & watched masi pray namaaz & eaten rafika's scrummy samosas & belgian waffles & played the slot machines at the casino & confronted french imperialism & the experiences go on & on. i am most definitely on my way...to somewhere different. i'm not quite sure where this journey will take me but there have already been surprises. & i am learning that surprises are all i can expect at this point.