Kindergarten Cop

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I decided to leave my last place in Sourdeval a few days early, as I’ve discovered that 2 weeks is an ample amount of time to live with one family. The kids seemed upset that I was leaving early, and had their own ways of showing it. On my last day, the little five-year-old kept coming into my/his room, and just hanging about the doorway, not really doing anything, just talking nonsense. I went to the bathroom across the hall, and heard a knock on my bedroom door. “Can I come in?” he chirped. Shaking my head, and knowing I might regret speaking up, I told Finlay that I was in the bathroom. Outside the door, I could audibly hear the wheels in his head turning. Then, after a pregnant pause, he says, “did you know that girls don’t have a willy?” I shook my head, “yes, I know”. At least he didn’t say “boys have a penis and girls have a vagina”.
I took a train later that day across the top of France to Lille, which is on the Belgian border. There’s not a whole lot to Lille, except that it’s a once-industrial town, now up-and-coming. This tends to be my type of area, judging by where I choose to live. I have a friend of a friend who lives here, and was generously willing to let me stay. I figured it was my duty to take advantage of the extra time I have, and to see at least one more place (even if it’s not Ireland), and for virtually no money.
I showed up (after a rigorous transfer of trains in Paris, I was extremely lucky I’d already familiarized myself with the metro system, otherwise it would have been all over for me. But I got off in Lille, and there was Gaspard waiting for me. It’s amazing what Facebook has done for this world. At first, I was reluctant to get a cell phone, but figured that free long distance would pay off. Now, I can’t imagine life without it. It was the same with Facebook (to a lesser degree). I was tricked into joining, my junior year of college. I’d just gotten back from rural Mexico, and these two girls were raving about Facebook, telling me I had no choice but to join. I still didn’t really know what it was, and they already were starting up an account for me. I really haven’t changed my profile since then, but my original skepticism has faded as I’ve learned of all the wonderful benefits this online social organization offers. Gaspard is a friend of my good friend, and I'd never met him, nor spoken to him before. But we “Facebooked” (my new favorite verb!) each other, and I was able to see pictures of him online. He also told me I would recognize him by the fact that he always wears a blue hoodie (though I don’t think this really narrows the field down). But both pictures and hoodie helped me find the fellow waiting mid-way down the train station platform. He was a very warm personality (which one would expect, considering how willing he is to let perfect strangers on his couch), and I gratefully let him take my suitcase from me. I still haven’t figured out a way to travel for long periods with no heavy luggage…It’ll be the death of me.

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Photos

Kittens
One of these is Tweelo, my favorite

More Kittens
They slept alot

Wall phase 1
We were building a drywall cover for the stone, to lighten up the room

Wall phase 2
Partly dry-walled, with insulation

Wall complete
I think it looks good, probably could've done better on my own...