The change in lifestyle sometimes brings revelations that one does not expect. I have embarrassed the daily shopping and not storing a great deal of food to have on hand to cook and eat. This brought a little bit of an issue as when I woke up it was pouring down rain. Sunday is my day to go shopping at the St. Aubin’s farmers market and it is a definite walk from the apartment. I had to go shopping or I would not have anything to eat for dinner – I could have just decided to go out to dinner but decided to stick to my routine.

I made breakfast and hoped that the rain would taper off and I would be able to walk over when it stopped. This did not happen in the timeframe that I needed for other activities that I had planned for the day. So I braved the rain and headed out to go shopping. It is definitely different than my life in Alexandria as I would have just gotten in the car and driven to the grocery store to shop. Luckily, the rain had slackened off and was just a heavy drizzle rather than downpours.

As expected, the market was not as busy and a number of vendors had decided not to set up with all the rain. I would say that 80% of the vendors braved the rain to be at the market.

I was able to get the fruits and vegetables that I needed for dinner on Sunday and Monday. Again, the daily shopping and shops being closed on Monday necessitated my shopping on a rainy day. All the markets are closed on Monday so I would have had to go out two nights if I did not shop on Sunday. I could shop at the super markets and get food but it is not the same as buying it fresh from the markets.

I always buy olives from the same stand when I shop. They speak English and are super friendly and funny. The man at the stand was joking about the weather and coming out to shop in it and hoped next week would be better. He told me that he has olives from the grove that is used to make his olive oil. I buy it and use it to cook and for salads. He said that he would have some next week and they were very special. He said he would have some for me next week. I said great and I would definitely be willing to buy some – his response was no buying he would give them to me as they were for friends only. It is nice to know he considers me a friend. He also always gives me a handful of nuts, which they sell as well after I buy my olives.

I got back to the apartments and unloaded the groceries I had bought from my backpack and then quickly changed clothes to head to church. Fortunately, the rain had ended and it was partly sunny for the walk to church and back.

Later in the afternoon, I headed out for a run. I was hoping to avoid the rain for the run and mainly was able to but did get rained on a little during the run. I ran the Parc de Garonne course and was happy as I figured out one of the loops. The first time I ran it, I could not figure out the loop so did some doubling back to get the miles I wanted. This time with some perseverance and just being willing to take a chance, I found the route that brought me back to the river from the land side of the park. It is a very pretty run. It is both paved trails and dirt trails. I was worried that it would be really muddy on the dirt part but was not too bad.

The revelation that I mentioned was the difference between American lifestyle and French lifestyle. In America, the rain really would not have made a difference in life as I would have used a car to go out if it was raining. Also, I probably would have food in the house (freezer) that I could have cooked without even having to go to the grocery store. Here I had to go out in the rain to shop as I did not have food in a freezer and I had to walk in the rain as I do not have a car. I can definitely say the American lifestyle is convenient and easy but I definitely like the ability to shop daily for fresh food and the healthily aspects of the life. I got my 10,000 steps in walking to the market and then to church. I definitely would not have gotten that many steps in Alexandria. It is all about perspective and what you want and like.