Epic-curiosities en Provence and other things that make me go Hmm

I like to go all fruit ninja on my eggs sunny side up. I write with my left but throw with my right. Everyone’s got their thing - an idiosyncrasy. A peculiarity. Provence is no exception.

Back home we’ve all accepted that, in the end, colourful dyes in toilet paper is a no go. But in Provence, they’re still holding on to colour toilet tissue as an “ass-thetic.” Ochre, Rose, and of course Lavender are all popular choices for tooshie cushies. And whilst in the toilette, don’t let it turn your world upside down when you realize that you need to flip the light switch down to turn it on, and flick it up to turn it off. Oh and you’ll probably find such light switches in a toilet only room - no sink or shower!

I mentioned in a previous post that there’s no school on Wednesdays. That day is used for honing children’s other skills such as circus performing, and more standard activities like judo, tennis, and English!

Walking around the the picturesque fields you may think you’ve stumbled onto an escargot farm. Not so. You’ll find prolific white-shelled molluscs clinging to plants and fences which brings a seaside feel even though you are a long way away from the coast. And while they spread like dandelions, I doubt they’re nearly as edible. Shopping for food at the local grocery store you may also be confused when you can’t find eggs or milk in the refrigerated section. Try looking at a regular aisle, they don’t keep such things in the fridge here.

The language itself can leave you scratching your shell. If you’re at an Asian restaurant and are asked if you’d like a baguette with your rice and noodles, they’re not trying to put you on a carb overdose. Baguette also means chopsticks! Just ask for a fourchette. Other such embarrassing language mixups is montrer (to show) and monter (to climb). I’m not sure how many times I’ve needed help and asked someone to climb me.

According to Paul Simon, there must be 50 ways to leave your lover. There are 3 ways to leave in French: quitter, partir, and sortir. Dang luck if I use the right one in conversation! As I quitter/sortir/partir this entry, all I have to say is bonne soiree, a bientot, au revoir, a la prochaine, a demain, tout a l’heure…

P.S. Their pillows are square.