On Wednesday, I celebrated 4 weeks of my adventure in Toulouse and today was the end of October so I guess it marks a month of my stay.

I am not sure exactly how to describe my feelings on the past month. It has been an adventure and I have enjoyed it.

It has not turned out exactly as I had expected but since I tried to go into it with no real expectations, I cannot say that it has been a disappointment. It has actually been better in many ways that I expected.

1.) My French is improving but I am not able to speak it as well as I would like. I find it hard to hold conversations with people above the general chat of “how are you doing”, the weather is nice, those types of things. I can do the daily necessities of life in French, I can shop at the market, go to restaurants and order food. I can generally be polite. The biggest issue is that when I start in French and try to only speak French, suddenly the person will come back with rapid French and I will look like a deer caught in the headlights. So far, most people have been very friendly and understanding and will work with me on understanding or switch to English. I do Babble every day in hopes of building my vocabulary and getting better. The problem is that most of it is not French that a normal French person would use in conversation – it is more tourist French but it still helps.

2.) I have not met many people but it is getting somewhat better. The running group is fun but most of them are French (unsurprising) and I can chat with a few but again long conversations are not my skill yet. It is still a very valuable part of life. It gives me something to do two nights a week and makes me feel part of group even though I cannot really converse with the other runners. It has also show me parts of the city and giving me other running routes that I can do. I have become a better runner again from running with the group and then doing my own runs. I really enjoy my Sunday runs along the Canal di Midi and the Garonne River.

I took two tours through Taste of Toulouse and that has afforded me a way to meet a few people. The guides were great and offered me suggestions of how to meet people and I have followed up on some. I am attending a Thanksgiving dinner later this month through a contact the guide gave me. I am also having dinner Saturday with a woman who was on the tour and is also doing a long term stay in Toulouse.

I have found a restaurant that I like and the wait staff are very friendly and always make me feel welcome when I come in. I am doing better at having conversations with them so that is good. Again, it makes me feel like part of a community.

3.) I love the daily life in Toulouse. I really like shopping in the city markets on a daily basis for my dinners and other food that I need. I like all the wine stores where I can peruse wine and learn a little more about the wines of the regions.

I love being able to go out and find a cafe and have a pain au chocolat and a hot chocolate. I love being able to sit on the steps at the river and read in the afternoon. It confuses me that I am willing to go to the river and read when I would never do that when living in Alexandria and having the Potomac so close. This might change if the weather gets colder. Here even when it is hotter, there is usually a breeze that mitigates the heat.

There is something interesting to do a see almost every weekend in Toulouse so that keeps it interesting. I like being able to go to the flea/farmers market on Sunday at St. Aubin. Every week there is something different going on a the market. The Urban Opera was fascinating. There is a wine and food festival this weekend. There was the sustainability market and exhibition in the main square. There will be a Christmas market coming soon.

I really enjoy my daily wandering around the small streets and alleys in the city. I never get tired of just walking around. There is always a liveliness about the city. Every time I walk around, I am amazed at the number of people walking, sitting at cafes with coffee, wine or beer. There is a vibrancy to the city that is really nice. Also, I have had to adjust to the idea of ambling rather than walking as no one is in a hurry in Toulouse.

The other aspect is the lack of situational awareness that the French have. People just stop at a moment’s notice whether they are in a crowd or not. They also just walk directly at you and do not move and except you to move or they just casually bump you. This is true of cars, motorcycles and bicycles. I am confounded when I am running with the group and there are 20-30 runners heading at some people strolling and generally the people just keep walking and all the runners bob and weave around the people walking. Rarely, will a walker step out of the way.

4.) I miss my friends from Alexandria. I would like to see them and spend time with them but modern communications makes it better. Texting is a major part of my life now. I am able to keep in touch and maintain the friendships through texting. I am able to keep up with what is going on. I look forward to being back in Alexandria in December and seeing all the people I miss.

I appreciate all the people who view my daily picture on Instagram. I try to find things to show but they are probably boring but I appreciate people looking at them. I, also, hope those who read the blog enjoy it. I know it is probably is boring as well but I like chronicling my time in Toulouse for myself. It gives me time to think about what I do everyday and it will be a good tool to remember this time in my life.

All in all, I have been happy with my decision to do the two month stay in Toulouse. I have enjoyed it immensely and am having a good time. It is not always easy and I did not think it would be.