Hotel Féniers

I have been very reluctant to write since Beth and I arrived on 2 October.  Part of it is the absolute sh** internet connection that I have through my 3G phone hot spot.  And I’m a little pissed off at myself for not attacking that head on when I got here as I probably could have arranged for the French internet/cable company SFR to install a connection while we were here.  But the Yorkie in me didn’t really want to pay $40/month for the 6 months we weren’t going to be here.  Nonetheless, I should have pulled the trigger and got it done.

Another reason I haven’t written is because I simply wanted to try and enjoy with Beth. I have always been bad at recording events– we tend to just want to live in them.  Kids won’t like us much for it and as such I have regretted not taking the time to document enough.  So…

However, as I sit here tonight thinking about things, I have come to realize that the real reason I haven’t been writing is because I’m scared.  Yep. Really truly scared.  Did we make a shit decision?  Is Feniers the right town?  Was I impulsive?  Will we be bored here?  Can we make a business here?  Will Beth and I be HAPPY here?  Up until now I have been singularly focused on making this whole thing happen.  Now that it has happened? Borderline panic!

The weather hasn’t been that great.  OK, but not great.  BUT SHOULDN’T IT BE PERFECT WHILE WE ARE HERE IN THE FALL?  The house is filled with garbage and there is an immense amount of work that needs to get done to make it feel like a home.  There isn’t much useful furniture. The kitchen is functional but not pleasant.  The yard is trashed. WHY DIDN’T THE PRIOR OWNERS TAKE CARE OF EVERYTHING?

I guess all of a sudden I was filled with doubt?  And overwhelmed with all of the things that had to happen?  I’m not entirely sure.

But today was different and I felt encouraged again.

I dozed off around 9pm last night listening to the Red Sox.  I faded in and out and thought the Red Sox were going to win after Devers hit the in the park homer, but then I woke up again to the Astros celebrating to a 5-4 win. Ugh.  But I slept until 5am.  A pretty solid 7-8 hours of sleep. Pretty normal for me, but what wasn’t normal was reading the news for an hour then falling back asleep again until 9am.

When I looked at the clock I immediately felt guilt (don’t ask) and quickly got ready to go downstairs.  Brushed my teeth, made some coffee and quickly got on the phone to get our electricity account finalized and to pay for our home insurance.  It took over an hour, but it was supremely satisfying to be able to get these things done in France.  My French has improved exponentially over the last few months and it makes me very happy.

At 10:30 am I set off to the mayor’s office to get the water account transferred.  The mayor speaks no English.  Nor does her secretary, so it was a little bit challenging.  Still, again, I got it done.  And I was even able to make some jokes and have some fun.  I love both of them– they are so kind.

Around 11am I decided I was going to track down the local golf course.  There’s a sign in Feniers for it– so I followed– but I finally discovered that the course (after getting hopelessly lost and navigating Google Francais) was in a town around 20 minutes away. Not far, but too for today.

So I set off for a lunch in La Courtine, a military base/town about 20 minutes from Feniers.  In fact, back in the day, the hotel I’m sitting in as I write this was the hotel that served French Air Force officers stationed there for many, many years.  I can’t imagine what this place was like then, but it does stir my imagination.

Lunch was good but not great at a hotel in town.  Carrot salad was exceptional.  Pot au feu was just ok.  Veggies were perfect but the beef was dry.  Cheese was good.  Bread was either stale or poorly made– couldn’t decide.  The fruit salad?  Meh.  Gateau Creusoise? YES!  Espresso was way better than normal.

So a mixed bag.  Which I kind of like.

When I got back to the hotel it was time to go to work.  I prepped the trimmer. Unpacked the circular saw and extension cord.  Readied the garbage bags. Unclasped the pruners. Managed to get the lawnmower beyond coughing and attacked a small portion of the backyard.

That lasted all of about 15 minutes because a neighbor ambled over from across the street for a conversation.  Which lasted 30 minutes and 3 Galloises.  He is a tough one, Mr…. just can’t remember his last name.  Heavy accent.  A little brusque and dismissive of my just ok conversational French.  But as time wore on and he stuck around I found myself getting more into the moment. We talked about lots of things:  how to make the mower work better, who the neighbors were, how much he knew about our house– and I started caring way less about how perfect my French was. I just slowed it down and started expressing myself.  It wasn’t perfect, but it was real, and Monsieur WHATSHISFACE started really enjoying himself.  So did I.

Of course, no work was getting done, but around that time “Jacques-O,” Feniers sole city employee showed up around the corner.  Beth and I had met him previously and he is a REALLY nice guy.  We shook hands and all started talking about the weather.  Why not? Then Monsieur ? asked Jacques-O if he could help him with his 10 year old BIC phone. The flashlight was on and he couldn’t figure out how to turn it off. And it was pissing him off because it was draining his battery.  I had all I could do to not not burst out in laughter.

Anyhow, that took no less than 30 minutes.  Jacques-O attacked the phone and I used Jacques-O’s phone to try and figure out a solution.  Finally Jacques-O, to everyone’s relief found the setting and the light was off.  Imagine that for a moment if you will.  A city employee charged with making everything happen maintenance-wise in the city took the time to help an old guy in town figure out his phone.  Has your brain exploded yet?

After the main event we hung out and talked.  For at least another hour.  And it was incredibly pleasing.  Time stopped and I finally said screw it to my chores.  I was in France.  This was what I wanted and I am going to enjoy it.  And I did.  And I made two new friends. Good friends, I think, whom I will be able to do this with for many years.

A big step towards being able to live in the moment.  A weakness for me since who knows when, but one that maybe I can stomp out sooner rather than later.

I love France.  And I’m ready to write again.